Odyssea 2006 Model MH Lights

[fishrule]

Thanks Dustbunny...
I forgot to mention, luckily none of the fires I have been too involving cheap house lights resulted in death of Human Life, which is also something you may want to ask yourself when buying a potentially hazardous product to save some cash. (Not to mention the medical problems that can be caused by breathing the melting plastic and other things in these lights...) Is it worth your life is something does go wrong?

 

[joncat24]

FISHRULE...I am not trying to debate your infinite widsom as a fire safety officer in any way. AS I too have heard the stories of this brand of lights catching fire. But if you read the stories closely it sounds to me as though the lights weren't the problem, but rather the people operating the lights.
In particular, there is one posting on here of someone who did not plug the light cords into the ballasts, but directly into the wall.
I am in no way saying that you are wrong, but any piece of electrical equipment has the potential for a fire, especially when it is not operated correctly.
Yes I do own one of these lights, it is the 2007 version 785 watt Mh/Pc fixture. I have had it running for approximately two months and it is flawless up to this point. That being said, I hope it is still flawless two years from now also. Yes the main reason I chose this particluar unit was price. But, I also believ if it is operated correctly and plugged into an arc fault circuit interruptor , that it is as safe as any other light.
In closing, like I said, I am not trying to bash or argue with anyone, Just simply bringing up another viewpoint. Which in the long run is what we are all on these boards to do..
have a good night

 

[dustbunny]

In the instances I've seen where the ballast has indeed caught on fire, it's in a way that no interrupter could have prevented the situation. Most of the time one of the caps in the ballast just decides to explode...pure structural, mechanical error. AFCIs sense erratic currents, or low currents in line, not pure system faults. Another problem is the heat factor. From seeing the way these systems heat and the fact that owners across several forums report major cooling problems, I believe (and this may be false) that the main reason the ballasts fail isn't an electrical fault but instead it's due to excess heat thanks to shoddy components. This should take the form of some low-draw problem thanks to a fault in manufacturing. This means that the problem is a so-called "glow fault", totally undetectable but absolutely preventable if the product in question had non-defective components. Now, assuming I'm wrong and the AFCI prevented absolute chaos, you're still out one shoddy, now unusable (and through Odyssea, unreplaceable) ballast, and consequently a light system. There goes the great deal.
The sad thing is that if the ballast was a bit better, I would have no problem referring these lights to any hobbyist...beginner or otherwise. The MH systems made by Odyssea are good looking lights that perform admirably for their price. That is, until the ballast goes. It's a real shame, and it's always nice to hear about the "too good to be true" product that turns out to be true. Congrats on being a lucky one joncat, hope it all turns out good with the setup.

 

[tolboy]

Originally Posted by Dustbunny
However, Jebo and Odyssea are the Chinese products of 20 years ago. These are the same quality manufactured components that brought us crappy plastic toy soldiers and fake ray guns that busted apart in 20 minutes.
However, if it doesn't work (and there's a good chance it won't) try to sue a company who is going to change their name, address, telephone number, and void their warranties in the process...if you're still around to do so.

For some reason I found these qoutes hilarious

.Way to describe the the quality of the lights by comparing them to "crappy plastic toy soldiers and fake ray guns that busted apart in 20 minutes

."I can't stop laughing but anyways....you made up my mind it's not close to being worth it in the least bit I'll just keep saving my pennies.

 

[saltfreak4]

Originally Posted by Firedog
So far I have not found any other manufacturers that make a 175 HQI.
BTW the traders website also lists a 14000 K bulb too, in addition to the 10 and 20 K.
It appears that for now you only have Odyssea bulbs to use as a replacement. Maybe things will change in the near future.
I would like to know if anyone else found replacement bulbs too.
Aquatraders has the 175W bulbs in 10000 15000 and 20000. For about 24.00

 

[psusocr1]

gotta love people that have a bad experience with somethign and then tell the world not to buy it..but did you ever ask the question where was the light sitting?? how high was it? did it fall causing the heat to catch something what could have caught around the light because of it? etc. etc. etc.
i bet if a coralife halide caught fire noone would say "dont buy coralife" just because things are cheap in the pocket doesnt mean that they are poorly made or a cheap product, sometimes companies like coralife and every other lightign company are just WAY overpriced. i do beleive in the saying "you pay for what you get" 99.9% of the time but not this time.
i would back odyssea and jebo products , not only their lights

 

[dustbunny]

You know what...I've never owned a odyssea mh light. That's because I've seen MULTIPLE instances where people have had their lights fail. The reason you don't see people saying "don't buy coralife" is because the ballasts don't catch on fire. I would recommend coralife and jebo products, especially if price is an issue, but I can't, in good concience, recommend these mh lights. I've used a Jebo protein skimmer for a while on my old 55 and it worked great. I've heard wonders about the Odyssea T5 lighting (despite not being an HO, it's a damn good light, especially for the price). I wouldn't even have a problem if it was just one or two people with ballast problems. You can justify that. However, with the amount of problems this particular brand and setup has had, I would never, ever trust it fully. As I've said before if you bought the lights and they work, great. I hope they do. Personally, I'd spend some extra dough for a good mh system or downgrade to a T5 and save up for a more trustworthy setup.

 

[sinaloa213]

yeah u could say i was pretty much screwed is all god thoughi got all my money back the problems were is that the balast broke first then a bulb whent out in about a month so i all i could really say is stay away from these light they are a flat out rip off

 

[slayer]

I have these lights and have spent the better part of the past 3 months trying to get the ballast replaced for the cf lights and have had the wrong ballast sent twice

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by slayer
I have these lights and have spent the better part of the past 3 months trying to get the ballast replaced for the cf lights and have had the wrong ballast sent twice

I have the 175 HQI with 46 PC from Aquatraders and I thought my ballast was out after about a month but the plug wasn't snug. In the mean time they sent me 2 ballast components (they didn't know which one worked) in about one week. I was surprised.
Mc

 

[slayer]

Originally Posted by grumpygils
I have the 175 HQI with 46 PC from Aquatraders and I thought my ballast was out after about a month but the plug wasn't snug. In the mean time they sent me 2 ballast components (they didn't know which one worked) in about one week. I was surprised.
Mc
well everything is snug and I have had 2 different ballasts sent even after sending a picture of the ballast I had and it takes at least a week for them to respond to my emails and they don't answer their phones

 

[mamie]

I have been using these lights for about 3 months now. I got it on flebay 36" 480 watts. I have nopt had any problems at all.
Linda

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by slayer
well everything is snug and I have had 2 different ballasts sent even after sending a picture of the ballast I had and it takes at least a week for them to respond to my emails and they don't answer their phones

That sucks......I was convinced they didn,t have phones! Good Luck!

 

[slayer]

Originally Posted by grumpygils
That sucks......I was convinced they didn,t have phones! Good Luck!

I think the number I got for them just goes to a phone line locked in a closet somewhere

 

[fishrule]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
gotta love people that have a bad experience with somethign and then tell the world not to buy it..but did you ever ask the question where was the light sitting?? how high was it? did it fall causing the heat to catch something what could have caught around the light because of it? etc. etc. etc.
i bet if a coralife halide caught fire noone would say "dont buy coralife" just because things are cheap in the pocket doesnt mean that they are poorly made or a cheap product, sometimes companies like coralife and every other lightign company are just WAY overpriced. i do beleive in the saying "you pay for what you get" 99.9% of the time but not this time.
i would back odyssea and jebo products , not only their lights
I’m just trying to point out the obvious on the MH lights. There have been too many warnings for me to feel safe enough to put one of these in my house with my new baby girl… For anyone that has one, I hope there are no problems. I’m not trying to put anyone down for buying these… I have been burned (figure of speech…) on too many things and felt it was worth it to spend a little more on my lighting this time.
I do think some of the Jebo/Odyssea are decent products. My new 55 gallon Tank is Jebo and I love it. Also, like I said above, I have Two Odyssea PC light setups that I like, they just happen to not have working fans…

psusocr1, I love your tanks by the way… I have shown them to my wife and we would like to have a shark tank at some time…

 

[saltfreak4]

FISHRULE...I am not trying to debate your infinite widsom as a fire safety officer in any way. AS I too have heard the stories of this brand of lights catching fire. But if you read the stories closely it sounds to me as though the lights weren't the problem, but rather the people operating the lights.
In particular, there is one posting on here of someone who did not plug the light cords into the ballasts, but directly into the wall.
I am in no way saying that you are wrong, but any piece of electrical equipment has the potential for a fire, especially when it is not operated correctly.
Yes I do own one of these lights, it is the 2007 version 785 watt Mh/Pc fixture. I have had it running for approximately two months and it is flawless up to this point. That being said, I hope it is still flawless two years from now also. Yes the main reason I chose this particluar unit was price. But, I also believ if it is operated correctly and plugged into an arc fault circuit interruptor , that it is as safe as any other light.
In closing, like I said, I am not trying to bash or argue with anyone, Just simply bringing up another viewpoint. Which in the long run is what we are all on these boards to do..
have a good night[/QUOTE
I have a problem with this statement. One person says it and then more repeat it. Now, please note, I have never seen these lights! With that in mind, I have seen many ballasts, as I am looking at lights as well, and the many ballasts I have looked at, you physically CAN NOT plug the lights into the wall. It's a completely different outlet.
Let me also say this, the arc fault circuit interruptor is for arcs. I know many don't know what that is, that is when the unit melts, IF wires come in contact in such a way to create an arc, then the circuit is faulty and the mechanism interrupts the flow and shuts the ciruit down. Hence, the name. The problem with things getting too hot is this, it is possible (and probable) that when it melts the heat becomes overwhelming and MIGHT shut the system down. It has to cause a faulty circuit inside the unit before this happens. So the machine could sit there and melt for minutes or hours before the circuit shuts it down, and by that time it's too late.
Not worth it my friends, not worth it.

 

[saltfreak4]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
gotta love people that have a bad experience with somethign and then tell the world not to buy it..but did you ever ask the question where was the light sitting?? how high was it? did it fall causing the heat to catch something what could have caught around the light because of it? etc. etc. etc.
i bet if a coralife halide caught fire noone would say "dont buy coralife" just because things are cheap in the pocket doesnt mean that they are poorly made or a cheap product, sometimes companies like coralife and every other lightign company are just WAY overpriced. i do beleive in the saying "you pay for what you get" 99.9% of the time but not this time.
i would back odyssea and jebo products , not only their lights
Well if they had repeated problems you would hear about it. Anyone hear of a coralife burning up???? Anyone?

 

[joncat24]

saltfreak...the cords on the odyssea's can be plugged straight into the wall the outlets on the ballast box are the same as a wall outlet. that is where the problem has been is some people pluggin them straight into the wall instead of the ballast box

 

[xrobbx03]

Ok i hate these horror stories it makes me want to take mine off my tank. But i must say mine have been running for 6 months now. Fans still working fine in both the ballast case and the fixture. The ballast still runs very quiet and cool. The bulbs I am using are still the ones that came with the lighting fixture and still are OK, not great bulbs but OK. They get the job done. I will be upgrading my bulbs however with coralife 65w pcs and now that is been said that it will be safe to use another brands 150w DE bulbs i will be moving from the aquatrader bulbs to the 14k 150s mentioned in a post above.

 

[my way]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
gotta love people that have a bad experience with somethign and then tell the world not to buy it..but did you ever ask the question where was the light sitting?? how high was it? did it fall causing the heat to catch something what could have caught around the light because of it? etc. etc. etc.
i bet if a coralife halide caught fire noone would say "dont buy coralife" just because things are cheap in the pocket doesnt mean that they are poorly made or a cheap product, sometimes companies like coralife and every other lightign company are just WAY overpriced. i do beleive in the saying "you pay for what you get" 99.9% of the time but not this time.
i would back odyssea and jebo products , not only their lights
But you don't hear over and over about a coralife unit failing or catching on fire. The fact that they are not UL approved tells you something in it's self. there have been more than enough posts about the shoddy craftsmanship of these to tell anyone to stay away from them. There is a reason these units are SO much cheaper than any of the other manufacturers, POOR QUALITY!
I find it amazing anyone can stand up for this company. Would you buy a fish for your tank if it had ich and could wipe out your tank? Of course not, so why do the same thing with your lighting?