odyssea aquarium lights? good, bad, ugly?

[dclegern]

anybody heard of these fixtures.......almost bought one! then remembered my first one......
wondering if it was a fluke!!!!

[Regric25]

:thumbs_down:I had the 48" T5 setup and 2 36" PC setups for my Freshwater tanks. The T5 lights were okay and the PC lights SUCK! The bulbs are not bright at all. I bought the T5 set up used and on all three fixtures they got really hot, so hot it cracked my glass tops when the cooler tank water hit it. I would not use these lights on a reef set up the bulbs are not that good. If you are looking for an inexpensive T5 set up for a fish only tank then you could get by using these. I will never use these ever again. I got the 2 36" PC lights new from aquatraders and the feet were broken and some were missing and one of the fixtures had loose wiring and the light would not turn on I had to fix it myself because the cusomer service there bites the big one. They never got back to me so I took care of it myself. If it is one thing I have learned is you get what you pay for! If you get them good luck :) This is just my personal experience though.

[dclegern]

that's about what I remember............but I won't close the link just yet!!!
wondering about the metal halides too.......

[cowboy572]

From what I have read and researched, when you buy any of the Odyessa metal malide combo units you will have to upgrade all the bulbs and ballasts. The bulbs are the wrong color and par. The ballast don't put out the full 250 watts as advertised. In the end the only thing left Odysessa is the fixture itself. I should know, I have one and I am going through that process or upgrading parts. I upgraded my ballasts to Coralvue and bulbs to Phoenix 14k's. The only thing left to upgrade are my four actinic power compacts. Don't get me wrong the quality has improved, no more of a fire hazzard, but it's a good unit if your on a budget or need something in a pinch.

[Third Coast Tropical]

I have had a 150 watt MH for about 6 months..other than the actinics not working initially (sent back and was sent another unit) I have had no issues....I like it and am planning on purchasing another for one of my other tanks...hard to beat their prices.....

[cowboy572]

Afew months after I bought mine, had a ballast go out. Ordered a replacement ballast it when out a few weeks later. So thats when I bought my first Coralvue ballast. Sometime during all this I had a bulb go out. Bought replacement bulb and it lasted. But with my Phoenix 14k's it's like night and day difference with the Odyessa bulbs.

[tzhanks]

I recently bought one and had to send back the ballast because it did not work. Customer service is really good and quick to respond.

[Salty]

I recently bought one and had to send back the ballast because it did not work. Customer service is really good and quick to respond.

Good customer service is ALWAYS nice, but it's disturbing when so many people can vouch for it either way. Kinda telling you something isn't it...:wink_smile:

[JoshOdphi]

i've had a odyssea fixture 250 wat 2x65w actinics....and have never had a problem with it....i switched out they bulb for a reeflux 12k and im honestly happy with it...no overheating issue or ballast problem....i was goin to change to an icecap ballast but jason at aquarium designs said it was working fine and pushin good in order to fire up the bulbs....so with his advice i kept the original ballast...

[rockmp]

I have the 24" 250w mh with 2x65 actinic s and 8 LED's....very satisfied with the fixture. Defiantly change out the bulbs. The odyssea ones are junk. But once you have a good quality bulb i there you will be very satisfied with it. IMO

[Teeb]

As others have said, bulbs HAVE to be replaced and ballasts should be. However, if you add it all up, you can have a "high end" light basing everything off of an Odyssea fixture for about the same price as regualar Coralife. I would buy one in a heartbeat, but would plan on immediately replacing the bulbs and swapping ballasts within a few months.

[ballardjr2000]

I asked this about a year ago and its all hit or miss, like josh said he has one and just changed the bulbs. me personally they look like the corallife fixtures. However they are not UL listed. Just some advice. I went with the marineland t-5's 4 bulb system I am running two fixtures for a total of 8 bubls with 432w of light for a 90g and have a clam, ricordia and others with no problems but I have thought long and hard about getting a odyssea

[dclegern]

I'm gonna risk it.
I just ordered the ones I wanted, I'll let you guys know if they are tears of joy or pain over what I've done here in a week.....

[ballardjr2000]

Just swap bulbs bro you will be happy i am sure my boy JOSHODEPHI loves his even more after swapping bulbs out.