Budget T5HO lighting whos the Best bang for the $$?? Please step in and share.

[Aquaticfan]

Ok, So we all know (or alot of us do now) that you get alot of what you pay for when you buy Lighting. The Companies Like Tek and Catalina and others that make high dollar lights work and work VERY well. I own some stuff from Catalina and love it. BUT Ive read tons and tons of info on all the good stuff.

There are alot of Budget builders out there as well. And besides the budget builder there are folks looking to step out of Low light into medium or low high light and cant or dont want to hang the lights. They just want to set them on the tank or on legs. Either way..... What i think needs to be tossed out there is what is what. How does all the budget brand lights compare. What are you paying for that makes one better or worse.

Kinda what im looking to do is put a guide together for the budget minded or budget restricted buyer.

So I would appreciate any input from those of you with plenty of light knowledge.. Yes this means you Hoppy. Lol Thanks!!

[Jaguar]

Fishneedit was my go-to budget conscious choice. But when I went to order, they were out of daylight color bulbs and while their customer support was very nice and prompt, they have a bit of a language barrier and they did not understand that I was asking WHEN the bulbs would be in, they just kept saying "sorry we have none" so I never did find out LOL.

I needed the fixture ASAP so I ended up investing in a DIY LED kit and couldn't be happier with it. I'm glad I went this route in the end, TBH.

[jimko]

I've been getting away with aquatraders stuff, but they have had their issues in the past seems to have gotten better with time. Prices are unbeatable.

[lipadj46]

Odyssea is OK but in reality basic Catalina t5 fixtures are not that much more money.

[NWA-Planted]

Originally Posted by jimko

I've been getting away with aquatraders stuff, but they have had their issues in the past seems to have gotten better with time. Prices are unbeatable.

+1 on the odysea, yes you get what you pay for, buy you don't pay much and get a product that works quite well.

One of these days when I have the money to drop on like the 300 gallon tank I want, will probably invest in some nice lights

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

[2in10]

If you don't mind a little DIY work you can get a very high quality 2 bulb set up from Hellolights.com for a little over $100.

[Aquaticfan]

Originally Posted by lipadj46

Odyssea is OK but in reality basic Catalina t5 fixtures are not that much more money.

I'm not sure about that. Let's look at tanks like a 90 gallon or tanks that are taller like that. The catalina 4 bulb fixture is over $200 - $250. Where as i believe the oddysea is not over $100. Yes there is a difference in quality but that's not what this thread is about.

I see lots of people on a budget asking for help with lights. The higher end stuff is what they are always pointed to. But its nor within their reach. So i think it would be cool for them to have a reference to be able to use to make a decision on what to get to fill their needs.

So does the oddysea lights put out a decent par for what they cost?

[Hoppy]

If you want low cost lighting there are several ways to go, depending on what size tank with what proportions you are lighting. For tanks that are less than 16 inches high, and that are 24 , 36 , 48 inches long, you can use T8 lights and get good low medium intensity. For tanks that are lengths that don't match ordinary fluorescent bulb lengths, you can use screw-in CFL bulbs, selecting a wattage that gives the light intensity you want.

You don't really need T5HO lighting until you get to tanks that are 20 inches high or higher. At those heights it takes too many T8 bulbs to get the lighting you want.

Some T5HO lights aren't really HO powered lights - FishNeedIt is a good example. Four bulb FishNeedIt lights are a good choice for 18-24 inch high tanks, assuming that they will have good reliability.

Then, there are several hydroponics T5HO lights, but I don't have PAR data on them. They look like they would give very nearly as much light as expensive T5HO lights, based on their reflectors.

Finally, there is this: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053 which I keep wishing someone would try, just to see how good they are.

[jhunt]

If you're patient you can get really good deals on eBay. I recently bought a practically brand new 4x39w Tek for $102.

[Aquaticfan]

Thanks hoppy for the input. This is the kind of info I was hoping to see.

Btw as others have mentioned. What's your feelings or thoughts on the oddysea brand stuff? Is it higher out put then the fishneedit stuff ?

Never saw that light from home depot. I may just have to toss that 4 bulb set up on my 90 gallon and see what happens for a month or two. Could be a nice alternative for some people.

[Dave6265]

I'm happy with my Zoomed setup... I have mine 22" over the substrate, and all my plants are doing well.

[antiquefloorman]

Originally Posted by Hoppy

If you want low cost lighting there are several ways to go, depending on what size tank with what proportions you are lighting. For tanks that are less than 16 inches high, and that are 24 , 36 , 48 inches long, you can use T8 lights and get good low medium intensity. For tanks that are lengths that don't match ordinary fluorescent bulb lengths, you can use screw-in CFL bulbs, selecting a wattage that gives the light intensity you want.

You don't really need T5HO lighting until you get to tanks that are 20 inches high or higher. At those heights it takes too many T8 bulbs to get the lighting you want.

Some T5HO lights aren't really HO powered lights - FishNeedIt is a good example. Four bulb FishNeedIt lights are a good choice for 18-24 inch high tanks, assuming that they will have good reliability.

Then, there are several hydroponics T5HO lights, but I don't have PAR data on them. They look like they would give very nearly as much light as expensive T5HO lights, based on their reflectors.

Finally, there is this: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...atalogId=10053 which I keep wishing someone would try, just to see how good they are.

I am going to see how it works. Let you know

[mach_six]

Home Depot has T5 HO fixtures now but limited to 24" and 48", just search for T5 High output

$25 for a 24" T5HO strip.
$90 for a 2x24w
$130 for a 4x54W

Never tried it but that 24" T5 HO strip is cheap. Looks like the same company that made it for the Current ones a while ago.

[Hoppy]

Originally Posted by Aquaticfan

Thanks hoppy for the input. This is the kind of info I was hoping to see.

Btw as others have mentioned. What's your feelings or thoughts on the oddysea brand stuff? Is it higher out put then the fishneedit stuff ?

Never saw that light from home depot. I may just have to toss that 4 bulb set up on my 90 gallon and see what happens for a month or two. Could be a nice alternative for some people.

I don't have any PAR data on Odyssea lights, and they improved them not too long ago, so the newer ones may be better. I just don't know how much light they produce.

[theblondskeleton]

I picked up some of the new ones a few weeks ago. I've had several Odyssea lights in the past - most were ok, one died a little prematurely. They have improved quite a bit. I have 2xT5HO with aqua floras installed. The reflectors fall in the middle category based on the description in Hoppy's sticky. They are flat on top and angled on the sides. From a few degrees off center you can see 3 images of each lamp, while from directly below you can see 2. The end caps slide over the entire metal cap of the lamps and the leads are completely splash-safe. I have yet to see how it does over water, but they are considerably better built than in previous years. Packaging was better too.

The acrylic protector does slide out if you tilt it on end, but for $60 shipped? Win.

I'm sure some brave soul could retrofit better reflectors, but I'm not sure that the height of the fixture would accommodate anything that would make much difference. It'll get you by until you can afford a Catalina.