odyssea MH fixture review... new electronic version

[bigmatt]

I should have some pics up later tonight, with the 15k and 20k bulb

[cherubfish pair]

Is Odyssea the same as what they sell at Aquatraders.com?

[moprint]

yes,but alot of people have ordered off of ebay from a seller called homby

[phish guy]

i just got mine from a lfs. its not on the tank yet as i need to work on the mounting legs, stupid corner tank making this difficult. but WoW, this baby looks nice. i didnt know it had 4 double led moonlights, thats a nice bonus. took a few minutes for the 15k bulb to burn in but it looks great.

what was funny though, my girlfriend said "thats not that bright" when i first turned it on. then the bulb started to burn in. she could barely see for the next few minutes. haha

[abulgin]

I just placed my order with aquatraders. I couldn't resist. I hope I like it!

The product info doesn't state which temp the bulbs are. Does anyone who has purchased this unit lately know what they send--a 10,000K or a 15,000K?

[phish guy]

its 15 k. the store i got it from gets their stuff from aquatraders.

[abulgin]

Hmmm. I've heard that 15,000K is not ideal for coral growth. Any truth to this?

[carlso63]

Originally posted by abulgin
Hmmm. I've heard that 15,000K is not ideal for coral growth. Any truth to this?

"Ideal" is a tricky word... Ideally corals will grow best at a low K spectrum - like a 6500K bulb.

However, with 6500K bulbs your tank water will be so 'yellow' looking you will think someone has been peeing in it...

So, the vast majority of people use at least a 10K bulb, all the way up to a 20K. The 10 is the "whitest" (sometimes still with some yellowing), a 12 or 14 or 15K is white with some blue, to significant blue (depending on the brand of bulb), a 20K is generally a strong bluish tint...

But, the difference in coral growth is not extreme in any case.

Personally, I say use what looks "good" to your eyes...

[alex1965]

HELLO CAROLO65.How do you take the BUBBLE WRAP from the long FLUORESCENTS? Thay have a glass cover covering over them.And I doint see how to remove the glass frome the unit. I have the ODYSSEA 36 INCH UNIT its one month old I bought it from HOMBBY on EBAY.

[carlso63]

Originally posted by alex1965
HELLO CAROLO65.How do you take the BUBBLE WRAP from the long FLUORESCENTS? Thay have a glass cover covering over them.And I doint see how to remove the glass frome the unit. I have the ODYSSEA 36 INCH UNIT its one month old I bought it from HOMBBY on EBAY.

1) Take the endcap off of the fixture - the side without the wires. (There are maybe 3 or 4 small screws holding the endcap on.)

2) Carefully slide out the acrylic covers off of the CF bulbs.

3) take off the bubble wrap and reassemble.

Note: Your CF bulbs may have what look like 1 or 2 small white 'rubber bands' near one or both ends of the bulb. Those stay ON...

[alex1965]

HELLO CAROLSO63. HAPPY HOLIDAYS. And thank you.

[carlso63]

You're welcome, Alex.

I hope you enjoy your new light...

and "Happy Holidays" to you & your family, too

[alex1965]

HEY CAROLSO63. One more thing how do your coral like your light? And what type of corals do your system have?

[carlso63]

I have soft corals, LPS, SPS and clams - and they all are doing great under these lights (I have the 15K bulbs too)

I am very happy with these lights so far...

If you look back over this thread I have posted plenty of pictures of my set up.

[TaubBaer]

Odyssea 15k 250w & Stock Ballast with blue CF on (Note: I don't have a picture with blue CF off which was more ugly yellowish.)


Odyssea 15k 250w & CoralVue Ballast with blue CF off


Odyssea 15k 250w & CoralVue Ballast with blue CF on (Very a little difference)


Hope that those children are happy with new ballast! CoralVue is a bit more warmer than stock ballast so I move it a shelf below so it will not warm the bottom of tank much.

I noticed that I can see the HOB Skimmer more with new ballast than stock, but not much.

[TaubBaer]

Originally posted by phish guy
its not on the tank yet as i need to work on the mounting legs, stupid corner tank making this difficult.

I had the same problem so I solved this problem using Coralife Hanging Kit:

[phish guy]

i actually got it to sit perfectly on the tank. just had to take a quark board off from behind the tank and the light slid right into place. havent had any trouble with the heat either, ofcourse its winter we'll see what happens when summer rolls round.

wish i had some pics to sahre.

[phish guy]

tuabBaer -i actually got it to sit perfectly on the tank. just had to take a quark board off from behind the tank and the light slid right into place. i can still open the top for feeding too. if i couldnt, i would have hung it as well. what size koralis do u have in your tank?

[dan3949]

I was looking for an inexpensive MH fixture and came close to buying the Odyssey fixture. I reviewed this thread (took several days) and ended up buying a different fixture. This one is also on ebay, yet the one I bought is 24", 150W with 2 T5 actinic lights:

(see xsord2007 on ebay)

I just received the fixture and I am fairly pleased at this point. If anyone is interested I can provide additional information on a different thread (I don't want to highjack this thread).

I did not find much info before buying this fixture. Does anyone have experiecnce with this light?

[flasher1]

I read through about 15 pages from the beginning of the thread and got sick of reading arguements. So whats the final say on these fixtures, good or bad? Should I replace the ballasts and with what?

[jmc74]

Originally posted by flasher1
I read through about 15 pages from the beginning of the thread and got sick of reading arguements. So whats the final say on these fixtures, good or bad? Should I replace the ballasts and with what?

ok, here is my .02 cents...

I have two fixtures, both are the 48" dual 250w, I have been really happy with both, and I have not had any problems, I did replaced the ballast on both, on my main tank I also installed Phoenix 14k bulbs, and true 03 Actinics, so i get lots of color, the 14k are great for growth, I have multiple Acros that are about to come out of the water, and I now have official 6 colors of encrusting Montipora (neon pink, Neon Green, red, Purple, green/purple, and brown/purple) and all are growing great.

all of my corals have grown alot, and my frag tank just made me $300 worth of frags, so far..

on my frag tank I have 14kblue Hammilton and 2 03Actinic & 2 Actinic blue. and the coloration I get on some coral is getting better, but I preffer the Phoenix bulbs.

BTW, I run the MH 8hr/day and the actinics only turn on 1 before the MH, and then off 15min after MH are on,so the MH are the only source of light all day. then on 15 min before the MH are off and finally run for 1 hr, then 15min before Actinics turn off, the moon lights turn on, and they run till 2am.

so i save on electricity, and I still get the color and growth.

with that said, i believe this is a good fixture that can be made better, and still cost less than a comparable one.

if you replace MH bulbs and ballast, plus the cost of the fixture you are about $750+/-, and a comparable unit is about $1k...


you decide... and good luck

[TaubBaer]

I had purchased the Odyssey 24" for $200 at LFS and replaced the ballast at $105 online which cost me $305. I still SAVE $200+ for not getting brand name model. I noticed that the softies like the new ballast.

[DarG]

Originally posted by dan3949
I was looking for an inexpensive MH fixture and came close to buying the Odyssey fixture. I reviewed this thread (took several days) and ended up buying a different fixture. This one is also on ebay, yet the one I bought is 24", 150W with 2 T5 actinic lights:

(see xsord2007 on ebay)

I just received the fixture and I am fairly pleased at this point. If anyone is interested I can provide additional information on a different thread (I don't want to highjack this thread).

I did not find much info before buying this fixture. Does anyone have experiecnce with this light?

Cool, somebody finally made a cheapie with T5's.

[jmc74]

Originally posted by dan3949
I was looking for an inexpensive MH fixture and came close to buying the Odyssey fixture. I reviewed this thread (took several days) and ended up buying a different fixture. This one is also on ebay, yet the one I bought is 24", 150W with 2 T5 actinic lights:

(see xsord2007 on ebay)

I just received the fixture and I am fairly pleased at this point. If anyone is interested I can provide additional information on a different thread (I don't want to highjack this thread).

I did not find much info before buying this fixture. Does anyone have experiecnce with this light?

post pictures please, I know this is about the Oddysea, but im interested on the performance of this unit...


can you tell me what tye of MH bulbs are? how about the T5?

are the ballast magnetic or electronic?

[Duff Man]

I vote for pictures too. The pictures in their description are lacking. Does the cord come out the back or the sides?