Icecap/Odyssea swap out

nmhs2 · 12/25/2008, 11:58 AM

So i had my odyssea fixture for 1.5 years and was getting sick of those cheap ballasts. So I ordered two icecap 250w ballast plugged them straight into the socket of the existing odyssea fixture and it worked. I could immediately tell the difference. The lights were VERY BRIGHT WHITE. I use 10k of eBay 2 for $50. Now my question is the first week the bulbs were really nice and bright now i woke up this morning and they don't look as intense any more. Could my ballast be getting ruined from cheap eBay bulbs>? but its electronic it cant overdrive itself correct? I just want to know if anyone thinks its the bulbs or my ballast. Ballast are 1 week old, ebay lights are 2 months old.

Emory Speight · 12/26/2008, 08:25 AM

Now that you have quality ballasts, I would suggest getting quality bulbs also. The combination of a good bulb and ballast will complement each other. On my 90g. I use Phoenix14k hqi bulbs with electronic ballasts and am pleased with it. I have also tried the ebay mh bulbs that you mention but side by side their is no contest. By the way, I do not believe the bulbs are hurting your ballast but maybe your ballast is crying out for a more worthy dance partner.

BigJay · 12/26/2008, 08:46 AM

The ebay bulbs are known to shift spectrum and lose PAR more quickly than their more costly name-brand counterparts.

phish guy · 12/26/2008, 08:13 PM

the E-bay bulbs are probably poor quality. if its a no name brand, its probably worthless. get a new bulb. after about 8 months MHs start to lose their color/power/par.

i also have an Odyssea fisture, and i too swapped the ballast for an Icecap. then the bulb for a Pheonix 14K. trust me, you'll like it. if you want a pic, (before & after) ill send ya one.

very much worth it.

jubjub · 12/26/2008, 10:25 PM

i have a oddysea fixture as well.... i dont blame ya the stock ballasts suck!! i replaced the bulbs with some 10s XM bulbs for some growth and they are very white and have been for month or so.... i would say cheappie bulbs are the culprit. get some phoenix,xm or ushio's

nmhs2 · 12/27/2008, 01:11 PM

thanks for the reply, im glad to hear some other people had odyssea fixtures. But in your honest opinion if I wait a few months to get new bulbs do you think i could damage the balast?

phish guy · 12/27/2008, 01:40 PM

nope

Spartanman22 · 12/27/2008, 06:36 PM

I too have an oddysee fixture that that I swapped out for lumantek ballasts and reeflux bulbs and am very happy with it. The only problem is I am not getting the blue hue that I should with 12 k bulbs.

Jflip2002 · 12/27/2008, 06:40 PM

12ks shouldnt really have much of a blue hue. The lumatek is probably just getting more power to them, making it more white. I have a 400w 20k radium powered by a 400w ice cap. Its not as blue as my 14k hamilton 250w powered by my PFO magnetic.

nmhs2 · 12/27/2008, 08:06 PM

Besides the upgrade to the metal halide ballasts have any of you guys with the odysea fixture upgraded any parts to the actinic lighting part of the system?

usfpaul82 · 12/27/2008, 08:20 PM

I've heard of people removing the powercompacts and putting in t-5s. I just use dual actinic compacts from coralife.

nmhs2 · 12/27/2008, 08:54 PM

What would you recommend to me then because I would like to upgrade my actinic lighting. Should I just replaced the 4x65w lights or should i also replaced the source that power them also?

usfpaul82 · 12/27/2008, 09:07 PM

If you wanted to replace the power compacts with t-5s, you could use the t5 retrofit kit at hellolights.com. The 48" kit should fit you fixture.

nmhs2 · 12/27/2008, 09:36 PM

Yea im probably going to do that, so it should fit my 48" odyssea fixture. Im probably going to go with this kit you showed me>> http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp...OD&ProdID=1369 my only suggestions is do you think a icecap 430 will be a better power source than the one that comes with the kit?

phish guy · 12/27/2008, 10:19 PM

check this out

nmhs2 · 12/27/2008, 10:24 PM

thanks a lot for the thread AWESOME!

phish guy · 12/28/2008, 09:31 AM

yeah. it was quite handy.

i got some pics of my light with an icecap ballast and pheonix 14k bulb if your looking for MH bulb choices.

as for your T5 swap, cant help ya there. i stayed with PC.

12/25/2008, 11:58 AM	#1
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	Icecap/Odyssea swap out So i had my odyssea fixture for 1.5 years and was getting sick of those cheap ballasts. So I ordered two icecap 250w ballast plugged them straight into the socket of the existing odyssea fixture and it worked. I could immediately tell the difference. The lights were VERY BRIGHT WHITE. I use 10k of eBay 2 for $50. Now my question is the first week the bulbs were really nice and bright now i woke up this morning and they don't look as intense any more. Could my ballast be getting ruined from cheap eBay bulbs>? but its electronic it cant overdrive itself correct? I just want to know if anyone thinks its the bulbs or my ballast. Ballast are 1 week old, ebay lights are 2 months old.

12/26/2008, 08:46 AM	#3
BigJay Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Southlake, Texas Posts: 1,872	The ebay bulbs are known to shift spectrum and lose PAR more quickly than their more costly name-brand counterparts. __________________ PBITAWA

12/26/2008, 08:13 PM	#4
phish guy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: South NJ Posts: 1,003	the E-bay bulbs are probably poor quality. if its a no name brand, its probably worthless. get a new bulb. after about 8 months MHs start to lose their color/power/par. i also have an Odyssea fisture, and i too swapped the ballast for an Icecap. then the bulb for a Pheonix 14K. trust me, you'll like it. if you want a pic, (before & after) ill send ya one. very much worth it. __________________ Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. Current Tank Info: 150 Gallon Reef, Reeftech LEDs ( on their way out for reefbreeder Photons), Reef Octoput NWB250, Custom made Sump/Refufium, Mp40wES, Koralia's. SPS, LPS, Zoas/Palys

12/26/2008, 10:25 PM	#5
jubjub Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: vacaville, cali Posts: 2,698	i have a oddysea fixture as well.... i dont blame ya the stock ballasts suck!! i replaced the bulbs with some 10s XM bulbs for some growth and they are very white and have been for month or so.... i would say cheappie bulbs are the culprit. get some phoenix,xm or ushio's __________________ "The world holds two classes of men - intelligent men without religion, and religious men without intelligence." - Abu Ala Al-Maari

12/27/2008, 01:40 PM	#7
phish guy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: South NJ Posts: 1,003	nope __________________ Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. Current Tank Info: 150 Gallon Reef, Reeftech LEDs ( on their way out for reefbreeder Photons), Reef Octoput NWB250, Custom made Sump/Refufium, Mp40wES, Koralia's. SPS, LPS, Zoas/Palys

12/26/2008, 08:25 AM	#2
Emory Speight Moved On Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Phila.,Pa. Posts: 88	Now that you have quality ballasts, I would suggest getting quality bulbs also. The combination of a good bulb and ballast will complement each other. On my 90g. I use Phoenix14k hqi bulbs with electronic ballasts and am pleased with it. I have also tried the ebay mh bulbs that you mention but side by side their is no contest. By the way, I do not believe the bulbs are hurting your ballast but maybe your ballast is crying out for a more worthy dance partner.

12/27/2008, 01:11 PM	#6
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	thanks for the reply, im glad to hear some other people had odyssea fixtures. But in your honest opinion if I wait a few months to get new bulbs do you think i could damage the balast?

12/27/2008, 06:36 PM	#8
Spartanman22 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Oswego Posts: 1,314	I too have an oddysee fixture that that I swapped out for lumantek ballasts and reeflux bulbs and am very happy with it. The only problem is I am not getting the blue hue that I should with 12 k bulbs.

12/27/2008, 06:40 PM	#9
Jflip2002 Eagles & Tigers Fan Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 3,543	12ks shouldnt really have much of a blue hue. The lumatek is probably just getting more power to them, making it more white. I have a 400w 20k radium powered by a 400w ice cap. Its not as blue as my 14k hamilton 250w powered by my PFO magnetic. __________________ I hate cheap powerheads. Current Tank Info: 40g Breeder

12/27/2008, 08:06 PM	#10
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	Besides the upgrade to the metal halide ballasts have any of you guys with the odysea fixture upgraded any parts to the actinic lighting part of the system?

12/27/2008, 08:20 PM	#11
usfpaul82 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Lakeland, Fl Posts: 1,149	I've heard of people removing the powercompacts and putting in t-5s. I just use dual actinic compacts from coralife. __________________ 90g SPS, 40 breeder sump, ATB 840 v2 skimmer, 2 x 250w Radiums in Lumenmax 2 reflectors and Blue Wave M80 ballasts, 2 x 4' VHOs, 2 x Finnex 36" LED royal blues (18 x 1w LEDs each), 2 x Vortech Mp40w, ReefKeeper Elite

12/27/2008, 08:54 PM	#12
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	What would you recommend to me then because I would like to upgrade my actinic lighting. Should I just replaced the 4x65w lights or should i also replaced the source that power them also?

12/27/2008, 09:07 PM	#13
usfpaul82 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Lakeland, Fl Posts: 1,149	If you wanted to replace the power compacts with t-5s, you could use the t5 retrofit kit at hellolights.com. The 48" kit should fit you fixture. __________________ 90g SPS, 40 breeder sump, ATB 840 v2 skimmer, 2 x 250w Radiums in Lumenmax 2 reflectors and Blue Wave M80 ballasts, 2 x 4' VHOs, 2 x Finnex 36" LED royal blues (18 x 1w LEDs each), 2 x Vortech Mp40w, ReefKeeper Elite

12/27/2008, 09:36 PM	#14
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	Yea im probably going to do that, so it should fit my 48" odyssea fixture. Im probably going to go with this kit you showed me>> http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp...OD&ProdID=1369 my only suggestions is do you think a icecap 430 will be a better power source than the one that comes with the kit?

12/27/2008, 10:19 PM	#15
phish guy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: South NJ Posts: 1,003	check this out __________________ Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. Current Tank Info: 150 Gallon Reef, Reeftech LEDs ( on their way out for reefbreeder Photons), Reef Octoput NWB250, Custom made Sump/Refufium, Mp40wES, Koralia's. SPS, LPS, Zoas/Palys

12/27/2008, 10:24 PM	#16
nmhs2 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Boston Posts: 224	thanks a lot for the thread AWESOME!

12/28/2008, 09:31 AM	#17
phish guy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: South NJ Posts: 1,003	yeah. it was quite handy. i got some pics of my light with an icecap ballast and pheonix 14k bulb if your looking for MH bulb choices. as for your T5 swap, cant help ya there. i stayed with PC. __________________ Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people. Current Tank Info: 150 Gallon Reef, Reeftech LEDs ( on their way out for reefbreeder Photons), Reef Octoput NWB250, Custom made Sump/Refufium, Mp40wES, Koralia's. SPS, LPS, Zoas/Palys