fishneedit.com's CHEAP T5 units

[widmer]

This is such a transitional period of my life lol... I just switched from 4 computer operating systems (they will remain nameless because I don't want this thread to go there). But I'm also thinking of going from metal halide to T5

So I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with fishneedit.com's super cheap T5 fixtures? I could get a 3 foot, 4 bulb fixture for $100. Granted, the bulbs that come with would probably be crappy, but is it a good fixture otherwise? Because in that case, I'd get a 4-bulb and a 2-bulb fixture to go over the top of my 40 breeder. Any comments on the quality?

[widmer]

no one's bought em?

[jayco5]

I'm sure someone has. Just give them time.

[areze]

I dont have one, but now I want one... I was looking at a 48" HO unit on ebay for $120 shipped, and this is t5 for 148$ shipped... both with LEDs and 3 plugs.

love to hear if its good!

[areze]

fwiw, he has an ebay account, and has 12 months of feedback with 100% positive 5 stars... 480 total feedback. now Im really interested...

[widmer]

Hey thanks for letting me know, I didn't see him on ebay at all. Have you got a link? The only problem is there's no way for the seller's rating to really reflect how the product works out long term.

[secrest]

That would be an amazing price if they work.

You could always look up his history on ebay and send a message to one of the people that bought lights from him a few months ago so see if they still like em.

[areze]

he was under "fishneedit" on ebay, I came accross it from google when i searched for him, his ebay account also came up.

I just bought 2 48" LED 4tube lights with 3 blue and 1 white per unit... we will see wont we?

[jennmac415]

post pics when you get them set up...

[areze]

will do.

[Bushman]

Ordered a 48" 4 bulb fixture that will be here Monday. I'll let ya know how they turn out.

[awcasper]

I have the 36" 4 bulb fixture (model w/ one cord, w/o LEDs) for about 6 months. It's a bit better than my 36" Corallife PC in terms of visual satisfaction, however the craftmanship is not that great. These these are made in China, afterall.

The reflector is one mostly flat piece as opposed to having folds to maximize the output of the bulbs.

To remove the plastic shield protecting the bulbs (changing bulbs, cleaning), you have slide out a 2" thick flat piece of plastic on the end and slide the clear shield out. The clear plastic shield gets stuck and impossible to remove after awhile.

The LFS I use to work at use to order many fixtures from this business. The two guys are pretty nice and stop by once a week. I have seen several fixtures returned because the sockets holding the bulbs broke, or the fixture didn't work.

It's not a bad deal for the money, but don't expect it to last for a long time.

[widmer]

That was a great contribution to this thread.

I'm OK with a fragile fixture that's on the verge of being flimsy, as long as it does its job well and looks good. But do you think it would be possible/worthwhile to fit individual reflectors in there for the bulbs?

[Bushman]

Before I ordered earlier this week, I emailed them and asked what type of reflectors they had. He told me that the older fixtures had one reflector, while the new ones....the ones now available, have the individual reflectors. We'll see when they get here.

[areze]

the picture APPEARED to be individual reflectors, but that could be misleading, mine will be here october 2nd. same day shipping, so... thats cool

[widmer]

Originally posted by Bushman
Before I ordered earlier this week, I emailed them and asked what type of reflectors they had. He told me that the older fixtures had one reflector, while the new ones....the ones now available, have the individual reflectors. We'll see when they get here.

EXCITING...I definitely thought that for the price it would just have an individual reflector, hence the purpose of that other thread I started yesterday. But if it has individual reflectors and they're actually pretty good then it's bound to be e great deal. Let us know...Now if only they came in black(!)

[Brandan]

I'm excited to see how this turns out.

[Aqua Keepers]

There's a bunch f pics on the website of customer tanks

[kuyatwo]

here is a thread on someone in our local forum that regrettfully bought them

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=51471


in this thread you can see the cheap ballast used

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=50257

[widmer]

Yikes according to the thread in the top link, the ballast is cheap and according to one person, "the icecap 660 fires the bulbs to be 4 times brighter." Who knows, maybe they've improved the ballast since that was written. Either way, it may even be worth it for the enclosure alone if it comes with individual reflectors now. Thanks for the extra info.

[Bushman]

Got my light today. Took some pics that I'll try and post later. All in all, the packaging was quite sufficient, with the fixture encased bubble wrap, then placed inside a styrofoam box, and slid into a cardboard box for delivery. Has 3 seperate cords as well. Ordered the 14k white lights, and honestly, the color isn't that bad. I would prefer a bit more blue, though.

I don't think my cheapie camera will do a tank pic any justice, but I'll try and get the pics of me unpacking the box up as soon as I can. Hope this helps.

But, I gotta say, I'm pretty happy right now with what I see and what I paid for these lights. Time may prove otherwise, but right now I like what I see!

[Aqua Keepers]

Bushman, Just wondering if you have experience with any other t5 fixtures that you could compare these to?

[Bushman]

Pito, unfortunately I don't. And thanks for bringing that up, because I don't want to come off on this thread that I know alot about this topic. So, everyone, please keep that in mind. I certainly hope someone with more experience chimes in with first hand information.

One thing I forgot to add was about the reflectors. I can't really say I've seen lights with individual reflectors, but these have what seems to be individuals. They are bent around each light, and not one big piece of metal curved around all of them. Man I hope that makes sense. As soon as the wife gets back and let's me know where the camera cord is, I'll upload these pics. Maybe one will turn out well enough to show everyone.

[Aqua Keepers]

Is the reflector one piece of metal that bends around each bulb, or does each bulb have it's own piece of metal?

[Bushman]

Looks like it's one piece bent around the lights. Also, just noticed that they sent me 10k bulbs instead of 14k. Like I said, I just prefer a bit more blue. But color isn't that bad. No yellow at all.