Is buying "brand" name lighting important?

[puffer32]

I see coralife, jebo, current, and odyessea on ----, all have about same watttage, (some have 4 x55 watts, some 4x 65 watts) all 10,000K and accentics. Why are the prices so different. I saw odyessea for as low as 85.00 while coralife was twice that, with same sized bulbs. and if they all are 10,000k, but some are 55 watts while others are 65, are the higher wattage bulbs better? Thanks! Oh and I would like to have moonlights but some don't have them with the strips, any ideas on how to put them on your tank if you buy them seperate later on?

 

[bri23520]

i have the current and am very happy with it!!!!4-96

 

[sprang]

In aquarium lighting you get what you pay for. The oddessy and jebo are not u.l. listed and don't carry true lighting spectrums in thier bulbs. For instance my friend that owns a lfs said thier bulbs are painted often times which will do your inverts no good if you put one in. Worse your house may burn down. I like satellite (IMO). They are about as cheap as you can get for respectable quality. Many people upgrade lighting, so you may see about getting a used p.c. etc.

 

[puffer32]

Wow, had no idea, figured the lighting has to be the same if watts, etc were the same.... I sure learn alot here, thanks!

 

[mbrands]

Originally posted by puffer32
I would like to have moonlights but some don't have them with the strips, any ideas on how to put them on your tank if you buy them seperate later on?
My LFS sells a seperate moon light that can be added to any size tank. I didn't get a brand name, but if the LFS sells them you can probably find them online too. Try searching on the big auction site.

 

[dmc888]

I just upgraded from my jebo 220w to a coralife260w. Big difference in lighting.
I can stare into the jebo lighting easily, but the coralife bulbs are blinding.
The spectrum is totally different. Jebo shines blue and the coralife shines purple. And the other coralife bulb shines more yellow.
I believe jebo and oddysea are the same company.
My coralife makes my jebo look crappy.
Nice sleek aluminum housing with two cords and 2 water resistant switches compared to plastic ,one cord and two cheap switches.

 

[cowfishrule]

i have the odyssea lights, and i absolutely love them
i have 2 moonlights that i will be selling that i bought from the site with the 2 doctors.

 

[dalerich]

I went from 30 Watts of it came with the tank lights to Jebo lights at 220Watt and it turn my anemone brown. It must be doing somthing right. I agree the name brands are better but again my anemone does not know the difference.

 

[jasonk]

one thing to note about the jebo is, their actinics are not really actinic, they are just blue bulbs that are worthless for your corals. also, the jebo 10000k bulbs aren't as bright as better name brand bulbs. when i got my jebo fixture all i did was replace the bulbs with a better name brand bulb, same auction site and i got that same bright light, and same looking color spectrum as my brother who bought his lights for about $250. with the new bulbs my jebo still only cost about $130, and the corals in our tanks are both growing rapidly.

 

[wog99]

name brands are something to consider but lighting is second most important in this hobby as is water quality. The better lighting and more wattage you have running in your tank, the more diverse marine life you can carry out in your tank.
I run about 45 watts in my 10 gal with coralife, and soon to upgrade to 55-65 watts plus an additional flourascent (homemade) that puts out 15 watts. Lighting is all relative to what you want to have in your tank. So I suggest selecting a few species doing a ton of research on what type of lighting they require and then purchasing the accurate amount of lighting needed.
Although there is always a recommended amount of lighting per species, the more the better I've found with my tanks.
Hope all is helpfull.

 

[dmc888]

I'm thinking i might strip my jebo so i can add 110w more watts in the back. And maybe 110 to my other tank.
Not sure yet .

 

[puffer32]

Can you replace 55 watts with 65 how do you know what maximum wattage you can upgrade to? I thought they all came with the max allowed in the fixture?