[happi]

IMO they are very good for the price, people claim that they will burn down, but that happened with the older models, the new one should be fine and without any problem, you can buy one on ebay for less than $65 for 2X54Watts fixture. i have used this in the past and it produced good light which will keep you in medium light due to lack of good reflector.

 

[nriesen]

I figured there was a catch. Anyone wanna suggest a good 36" fixture? It's gonna be a t5HO. Likely 4 bulbs.

 

[IWANNAGOFAST]

I have a current USA sundial t5ho. It was VERY expensive compared to odyssea, but I like it a lot. Very high light and it has built in timers so that you only need 1 plug.

 

[nriesen]

Anyone else wanna spend their 2 cents here.

 

[Gookis]

Catalina Aquariums- I purchased a 36" 4x39 Custom. I had it set up with the ability to run just one bulb, or the two on the outsides, or 3 bulbs, or all 4. With legs and hangers and a water guard. $200 to my front door!! Pretty good! Great lamp. The finish on the lamp is not spotless but if I set up my tank right, no ones going to be inspecting the finish on the lamp.

Good luck!

Matt

 

[MlDukes]

Ive used the Odyssea 4x54w for just over a year now. Only complaint is the blues leds went out probably 6 months in. other than that, great fixture.

 

[DANIELSON]

I used the same fixture as MlDukes for about 9 months and everything worked great. I loved the lighting and my tank did well. My LEDs i didnt use all of the time so mine worked fine when i had them.

 

[aman74]

IMO they are very good for the price, people claim that they will burn down, but that happened with the older models, the new one should be fine and without any problem, you can buy one on ebay for less than $65 for 2X54Watts fixture. i have used this in the past and it produced good light which will keep you in medium light due to lack of good reflector.

Well, I did hear a recent instance of the light shorting out, but no fire. It gives me pause about the overall quality.

Catalina seems a good price and quality.

What are some other good value options? I see Solarmax mentioned.

Then there's always the hydroponic stuff.

Any other's?

 

[nriesen]

It's interesting, my coral life fried a pile of wires. Replacing it for 80$ is attractive.

 

[Da Plant Man]

http://www.bigalsonline.com/Fish_Li...-X2-Lighting-Fixtures_9916161_82.html?tc=fish

Great light, mine came broken but big als gave me a refund. Worked great while it lasted...

 

[nikonD70s]

good thread, i'm too is looking for T-5 fixture but dont want to spend too much. is it possible to get any of those fixture mention above WITHOUT the bulbs? since i want geismen bulbs.

 

[nalu86]

Go for odyssea!! I love the fixture, looks great and really decent!
For the price you can't go wrong! I just bought mine 2 weeks ago, my plants are growing like never before (only had 2x 18w before) and are pearling with 1, 54w bulb burning.

Why would you spent dobble? Check around some are couple bucks cheaper on other places!

 

[HolyAngel]

Yep, I'm absolutely satisfied with my 4x24w odyssea fixture. Just cannot beat the price at all and it's worth it. Its not going to put out as much light as a catalina/tek fixture of the same bulb/wattage due to odyssea using a single reflector for all the bulbs, but its *definitely* enough light and enough to necesitate co2 with all 4 bulbs on. I haven't had a single issue with heat or otherwise out of it.

 

[OverStocked]

I figured there was a catch. Anyone wanna suggest a good 36" fixture? It's gonna be a t5HO. Likely 4 bulbs.

Unless your tank is 35 inches deep, I HIGHLY doubt you will need 4xt5HO. All you will get with that is algae.

 

[NJAquaBarren]

4 t5ho is a LOT of light. You won't need it and it is more likely go cause problems maintaining balance.

However, it can be nice to have the flexibility of two independently controlled banks of lights. By alternating banks during the day you can vary the source of light, providing more spread around the tank which will help achieve more uniform growth.

You can use different types of bulbs in the two banks. O have all daylight in one bank that I use in the am to early pm, then I switch to two flora bulbs for a softer, more colorful look late pm through evening.

So you don't need 4, but you can put them use if you have them.

 

[antbug]

I have the Odyssea dual T6 and it works great. On an 18" tall tank, I get 30 micromols at my substrait and around 90 micromols at the water line.

 

[hbosman]

I have a Nova Extreme SLR 36" 4x39 Watt light. SLR - single light reflector, really means on reflector bent into a VVVV with a bulb in each V. It works well, really bright. I learned the hard way to use only 2 bulbs in it otherwise, I was constantly fighting BBA and filling a gallon bucket with stem plant trimmings on a weekly basis. The fan was very noisy so, I don't plug it in anymore since I only use two bulbs at a time. I also removed the clear plastic shield to release heat. I know, probably not the safest thing to do but it's on a GFCI outlet at least.

If I had to do it over again, I would get a Catalina 3 bulb fixture because it is wider than a typical 2 bulb fixture and I would still only burn two bulbs at a time. Catalina offers a 3 bulb configuration especially for planted tanks and I think the price is only about $140.00 approx. The website only shows it in a 48" version but I understand that if you request a 36", they will make it for the same price. You can request different kelvin rated bulbs and different wiring configurations as well.

 

[MlDukes]

4 t5ho is a LOT of light. You won't need it and it is more likely go cause problems maintaining balance.

However, it can be nice to have the flexibility of two independently controlled banks of lights. By alternating banks during the day you can vary the source of light, providing more spread around the tank which will help achieve more uniform growth.

You can use different types of bulbs in the two banks. O have all daylight in one bank that I use in the am to early pm, then I switch to two flora bulbs for a softer, more colorful look late pm through evening.

So you don't need 4, but you can put them use if you have them.

+1

I bought the 4x54w with intentions of adventually converting over to a reef. For now I only run 2 bulbs at a time with a similar cycle. 1st bank: 6700+10000k 3pm-6pm. 2nd bank: 10000k-12000k 6pm-9pm and back to the 1st bank: 9pm-midnight. I cant tell much of a diff in growth with the alternating cycle, i just like the variations. IMO plants look better under the 1st bank while fish appear more vibrant under the 2nd bank.

 

[jgmbosnia1]

Again.....you don't need the 4XT5HO. I have a 4X54W T5HO myself.....I haven't set up my 90G yet. But when I do I'll only be running all four of them 20% of the time to simulate midday light. My fixture will also be about 8 inches from the top of the tank.

As far as the Odyssea....I had a 440W fixture over my 75G reef. After a year I decided to run a better MH bulb then the one they provided. The ballast wouldn't run a higher quality bulb. At first I thought there was something wrong with the ballast....the only thing wrong with it was the build quality.
Another issue with that fixture was the ease of maintenance. It wasn't easy at all.

If I were you I would go with a Catalina. Catalina is a good fixture for the price. They also have pretty good customer service. You aren't dealing with a cross your fingers something doesn't go wrong kind of fixture. Catalina can also custom make a fixture for you. Most of the 2 bulb T5HO fixtures out there are very narrow. They can make a nice wide fixture for better light spread.

That's my .02.