Odyssea MH's and their "300 bucks"

[jonnywater]

I have a question. Even if you buy the things, a 48" for under 300 dollars, isnt it still worth it? I could assume the only loud part could be the fans. The ballast can not make THAT much noise. Which the fans can be replaced with ones that make no noise for 15 dollars. Then also the way they are put together. I dont have a problem with tightning all the bolts down, or even welding some brackets to hold the things together better. Bottom line is that you are still getting two decent HQI bulbs, the housing, the ballast, all the wiring and the PC bulbs all for under 300 bucks. I know some regular PC systems you cant get for under that.
What is everyone elses takes? The noise and the way they are put together are pretty much a non-issue here.

 

[cowfishrule]

i had their pc's, and the fans were loud as hell.
once they crapped out, i swapped out the fans with better ones.
they were also loud- its the fact that they are so small- they are the same as the ones that are in your pc, and you can hear that when it kicks on.
i think once the salt starts building up on the berings, that it gets loud and only a matter of time until the croak.

 

[jonnywater]

Well, salt maintenance should be a weekly cleaning project. Also as I said - the fans are not an issue at all. I dont care if they are underneath the lights. The fact is that you CAN buy small ones that are EXTREMELY efficient as well as extraorindarily quiet.

 

[jobob]

i had the 48in pc fixture from them, it worked great, i still have it(retro fitted) in my canopy. i think its worth it. its a china knock off pretty much, and there is no warranty. but for $300 u cant go wrong. i would have bought one for my 29 but they didnt make a 24in.

 

[littlebuck]

well like everyone says you get what you pay for. But if they are a good set of lights and a known person for selling lights then i would look in to it. Personally i wouldnt get them i have heard alot of good and bad things about them so its hard to once you hear the bad. Noise is a big factor. Also you need to make sure the bulbs are good ones. alot of companies are now sellign units without bulbs, you have to buy them extra. and then need to look at the shipping. Well hope you find a nice set of lights. If you want some nice ones and you have a canopy or even if you dont let me know. I have a very good place to get them. littlebuck70@yahoo.com

 

[kjord97]

I have had and have known alot of problems with the lights. my buddie in our club bought some for his tank and the ballast would turn on the lights smoetimes. The whole system is a knock off. The lights where not the same, the ballast suck and the fans are so loud.
This is saltwater, the life and blood of a good system is the lights. That is the one area i would not go cheap with. Your spending hundreds on corals, dont skimp on the lights. If you cant afford saltwater and do it right, or just DON'T DO IT. For a fish only tank, lights do not matter, you dont even need them, but for reef spend the money. I have a 125 gal reef with 2 sets of corallife MH's PC combo they run $450 a set for the 36'' set. I love them, quiet and dependable.
Like the saying goes, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

 

[matt819]

where did you find a 48" fixture that cheap?!

 

[jonnywater]

I dont think its that hard to figure out myself. Any other insight though? Like I said, I could care less about the fans. The lights have also been upgraded over the last couple of months. I believe they went to compacts from T-5's. Now to my knowledge, T-5's have had problems with going off at random times.
As far as I am concerned though, it isnt a car. 299 bucks for the whole fixture with two external ballasts, 2x150 watt double ended 20000K HQI Bulbs, 2x96 watt compact actinic blue bulbs and 6 moon lunar LED lights.......is more then worth it. Even if I have to pay for new lights within 2 months and 3 new fans (the only reason is because I can get the fans for 15 bucks a piece and they are completely silent and only turn on when the light hits a certain temp.). The rest is just wiring and solid objects (like a hood on a car). All that stuff can be replaced for A LOT less then spending 5-600 bucks on a better brand for a 48"