An Odyssea review

[barnacle jack]

About a week ago I purchased an Odyssea 17" light fixture for my 12G Aquapod. It has one 150W MH and two 14W actinics fed by an electronic ballast. Odyssea lights have gotten a lot of bad press on the net, but so far, I can't see why. The light is fairly well built and came very well packaged. I've run this light for 8 hours at a stretch and find that the light itself is only mildly warm. The ballast is slightly warmer than the light and the power cords are actually cool to the touch. (It's 20 degrees outside, everything in the house is cool to the touch!) The stock MH is a little on the yellow side for my taste. I was worried that 150W on a 12G nano would create a heat problem but so far so good. I'm going thru a bit more top off water since the tank isn't completely covered like before but the water temp is holding around 80-81 degrees. Overall I'm very pleased with my purchase. Just my 2 cents....

 

[andezzzy]

I was wondering for the people who said they replaced the stock ballasts with icecap ones particullery 250 w if it was plug n play meaning the female quick disconnect hooked into the male odyessa quick disconnect with no problem thx

 

[drsteve2001]

I have had mine now (250w halide) And no problems, very bright, although will agree stock bulb is a little yellow, but not bad once it gets warmed up to its full brightness.

 

[kingpin8771]

i have 2 odyssea fixtures and love them both.Ive had them for about 8 months or so and i love them.but if u use there bulbs just change them more often.i did what alot of others have done and put name brand bulbs in and i love it and the price was right.ive had the 700 doller fixtures before and all i can tell is i spent to much money.

 

[pirates]

I have a odyssea light 716 watts 2 250 watt metal halid and 4 54 watt t5's i have had them for 3m's now with in the first week the metal halid ballast went out shipped out the bad ballast to the person that i bought the light off of he shipped out me a fixed ballast then one of the t5's ballast went out told him he shipped out the new ballast i know how to work one this kind of stuff i went to school for this the first thing win you get your light open it up and look at all of the wires do not let the wire touch something that get hot and melt the wires all and all i love the light I do have the money to buy the more $$$$ lighting but i like to work on this kind of stuff. Now the t5's ballast that went out i opened it up some one had fixed the ballast i seen that they had put in a jumper wire in the circuit board where the main power wires come in some parts was replaced in the ballast the one that i shipped out they fixed that one. the light is still running and had no problems yet after the new ballast and the fixed one. I do not like the bulbs will be changing them soon i have seen that my corals are growing better and getting biger WoW I love this light the price is right and it is a good lighting system. You can get a brand new car and have problems with it to

 

[novahobbies]

Eric, how are the lights holding out?

 

[mell]

I was actually wondering the same thing! I've really been pondering the idea of getting an Odyssea fixture for my 125, but I'm not sure if I've got to get 2 30" fixtures or 1 60" fixture since I've got the center brace.

 

[eric b 125]

I totally forgot about this thread. The lights have been working without any problems. I've had them over a year now, and I'm keeping sps, lps, softies and a clam with good results. I had an anemone for months that seemed healthy but I took it out when I rearranged my rocks in fear of it wandering. I hate to admit it, but I haven't changed my bulbs yet. I have to get on that asap. The only problem Ive had with these odyssea fixtures is that the screws holding the legs on are a bit rusted.

 

[novahobbies]

Heh, it's funny that you and I both thought of this thread again after so long. Good to hear your fixture is still running!
A couple months ago I went ahead and bought that 150w MH fixture they sell that comes with 2 14w actinics. I've had it running on the seahorse tank with decent results. I have a new phoenix bulb coming in the mail tomorrow because I really dislike the stock MH bulbs AT sells. I don't think the spectrum is right at all.....the algae growth I've been getting is really rampant, and I suspect that the bulb spectrum is at least part of the problem. We'll see how the phoenix looks instead.
Other than the bulb, I feel like I got a good deal on this fixture. Ballast is only ever barely warm to the touch, and I use extra fans around the fixture itself to assist in cooling the tank so the bulb itself never feels very warm to me.

 

[stdreb27]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric B 125 http:///forum/thread/368069/an-odyssea-review/60#post_3345870
I totally forgot about this thread. The lights have been working without any problems. I've had them over a year now, and I'm keeping sps, lps, softies and a clam with good results. I had an anemone for months that seemed healthy but I took it out when I rearranged my rocks in fear of it wandering. I hate to admit it, but I haven't changed my bulbs yet. I have to get on that asap. The only problem Ive had with these odyssea fixtures is that the screws holding the legs on are a bit rusted.
wow, I'm happy for you... (even nicer fixtures don't use high quality screws all the time it ticks me off)

 

[novahobbies]

Well my new Phoenix bulb came in yesterday. Let me add my voice to the yea-sayers and comment that the Phoenix bulb fired up just fine in my "crappy" Odyssea fixture. Didn't even take 2 seconds to arc, and the initial color is fantastic. Almost as blue as the Odyssea 20,000k bulb, but MUCH brighter looking. I know it will whiten more with a few days use, but the actinics will help supplement the blue.
Now, I just wish I could find some 14 inch T5 aftermarket bulbs! I suspect that might be a problem.... has anyone looked for those bulbs outside of the AT site?

 

[eric b 125]

wish i could help you on that one, but my fixture came with PC's. i went from N.O. florescent's to these and didnt experience an algae problem. i will be placing an order for new bulbs tomorrow. a friend of mine who has been using odyssea lights for years now was telling me that the MH bulbs tend to run a little white so i think that i may go with the 20,000k bulbs. is that what you were running novahobbies? if so, do you have a pic?

 

[novahobbies]

I do have some pics, but I'll have to dig thru to find them. Check the last couple pages of my tank diary on the seahorse forum; I might have some there (just too darn tired tonight to go searching!)
The 20,000 was indeed fairly blue-white, but on the dim side. And as I said, I suspect the quality control for these bulbs isn't that hot.... there was a lot of algae growth that was in part due (I believe) to the bulb. I am personally VERY happy with the Phoenix bulb in this fixture, and it's still a good deal even when you factor in the cost of a better bulb. I'm just trying to save you money...don't do like I did. I bought the Odyssea 20,000k bulb separately, didn't like it, and then bought the Phoenix. $20.00 that could have gone to coral frags wasted, IMO.
BTW, the 15000k bulb that came stock with the fixture with was very yellow after burn in....how were yours?

 

[eric b 125]

they did appear a bit yellow at first but after burn in they got more white with a hint of blue.
i did run into my first problem with these lights, but it wasnt the fault of oddysea- it was a badly misjudged drunken stumble by one of my friends this morning. both fixtures: in the tank. thank goodness for grounding probes and gfi's. i like these fixtures enough to go with them again. however they have changed the lights a lot and no longer offer the 36" 442 watt fixtures i have. i will have to either go with 2 X 250's on each side or step back to 1 X 250 mh and 2 X 39 T5- which is what i think i'll be doing. i dont need 1,000 plus watts right now, and neither does my electric bill (especially with my fiancee's affinity to leave every light on in the house with every faucet running and the thermostat set to 93)

 

[eric b 125]

i just got off the phone with A.T. not sure why people say they have bad customer service- the two times i've called them, they've been very helpful and pleasant. i called because i looked at the fixture i was going to order on their website, and the bottom of it looked extremely skeleton. the response i got was that they have a re-designed model coming out on feb 1st, with two sets of t5's rather than one set, and also upgraded reflectors for the MH. it wont be here until feb 10th, which means i needed to cram a 6' reef into a 3' section of my tank because i was able to borrow a 36" fixture from a buddy. i'm looking forward to the new fixtures, but hate that i have to wait...

 

[novahobbies]

I wonder if they're going to re-do their website AGAIN. I noticed that the small fixture I bought was taken off the list....I wonder if they're redesigning it also. Mine is the 150 watt fixture with the 2 14 inch t5s and the extendable legs.

 

[eric b 125]

how are those extendable legs? i forgot to ask if the fixture i'm waiting for has them. are you able to "lock" them into place? if these fixtures do come with them, i may have to finish the canopy that i started, because i'm not thrilled with them. maybe i'll hang them... hmmmm.

 

[novahobbies]

The one I have came with plastic support legs that bolt into metal u-tube brackets. The u-tube metal slides in and out of channels along the bottom of the fixture. I can't truly comment on the rigidity of the design, because my tank is small -- I actually had to push the brackets all the way in to get it to fit on my tank. I'll take some pics this evening if I can to show you what I'm talking about.

 

[eric b 125]

i know what you're talking about now- my lights have the same legs.
i went to the AT website this morning and they havent put up pictures of the new fixtures. probably because it was 5a.m. there when i checked at 8am here. my fingers are crossed that the new design will suit my needs. i'm going to keep the fixture my friend gave me, which i plan on using for a 40 breeder frag tank that i'm pretty pumped about.

 

[novahobbies]

New designs are up online. The one I have is now much nicer looking -- with LED moonlights, of course. Frack it.