how are aquatrader lights

[snappedbigfoot]

how are these lights there cheap but are effective and good. thank you
pat

[jeffgp]

well it depends on what you want to keep in the tank ..
if its for reef .. i wouldnt get it .. if its FO then there ok but there not the greatest ... i use them for my attnics but i have replaced the bulbs on them and removed the housing .. i just use the balast and reflector off of them

[calebjk]

i got there 216W light and i am looking to change the actinics, one of the bulbs got black spots on it after a week of use. i still feel like i got what i payed for, after changing the bulbs i will still be way under the cost of other brands.

[dhnguyen]

Even if you replace all the bulbs and ballasts for better ones, you will still come out way under than buying other brands IMO.

[05Xrunner]

Originally posted by dhnguyen
Even if you replace all the bulbs and ballasts for better ones, you will still come out way under than buying other brands IMO.

exactly..I put 14k phoenix and Coralvue ballast on my 48" 760 light and its still few hundred cheaper...light has been flawless...look few threads up..like 100page thread about it.

[snappedbigfoot]

i want the pc lights i have 72 inch 80 gallon tank

[dhnguyen]

Same goes for the PC light.

[carlso63]

Originally posted by snappedbigfoot
i want the pc lights i have 72 inch 80 gallon tank

If you are going "reef" get the 1134w MH / PC combo fixture... around $600... you should get 15K MH bulbs in your light (I did) and the stock setup will be fine - as is- for anything you want to keep - including SPS corals and clams.

There has been debate about the output of the MH ballasts; some have chosen to replace the stock ones with 'name brand' ballasts like Coralvue or Icecap...

IMO, you can if you want to - but you don't have to... my Clams and coral are doing fine under the stock setup. In your case, your 80g(?) tank is probably pretty shallow and you can keep clams and SPS corals, even on the sandbed, no problems...

If you go PC only, then you will be limited in what you can keep, IMO...

[moze229]

I bought the 380W 24" 250MH and two PC's. I had to replace an electrical wire on the unit because I didn't want to ship it back, but it wasn't a big deal. I'm sure they would have taken care of it, but it was an easy and cheap fix ($2.00). Works great so far, except I had a pretty bad algae outbreak with the cheap bulbs. Although people replace the ballast at times, I'm going to stick with mine. I'm with dhguyen - buying this unit and replacing the ballast and bulbs still puts you ahead in terms of investment. And, it's not a bad fixture at all.

Matt

[ccorpse27]

So can anyone confirm if the newer units have a fixed ballast?

[Zestay]

my ballest runs great.. running daily since march. ( only 2 months ) but its stays cool to the touch .
the stock fan is a little loud.

[05Xrunner]

only problem the stock ballast only push around 160w
If you put a good ballast on the stock bulb its a very nice white compared to how it looks with the stock odyssea ballast. of course they work but they are not to powerful. They help get you buy till u can save for better ballast though

[Jasonincuritiba]

Like everything else in life you get what you pay for, cheap aquatrader lights, jebo, odyssea, what ever other knock chinese light product you will have more problems and end up replacing them. Just buy a quality fixture from a reputable manufacturer and have some piece of mind when your lights dont catch on fire or explode over your tank.

[calebjk]

Originally posted by Jasonincuritiba
have some piece of mind when your lights dont catch on fire or explode over your tank.

have you experienced this kind of thing first hand or are you just making stuff up?

[dhnguyen]

Originally posted by Jasonincuritiba
Like everything else in life you get what you pay for, cheap aquatrader lights, jebo, odyssea, what ever other knock chinese light product you will have more problems and end up replacing them. Just buy a quality fixture from a reputable manufacturer and have some piece of mind when your lights dont catch on fire or explode over your tank.

Here we go again with that "you get what you paid for" BS line.

I've got news for ya... I've seen first hand a number of ballasts from "reputable" (re: expensive) manufacturers smoking with exploding or melted capacitors. Fact is ALL magnetic MH ballasts are vunerable to this regardless of brand. You should do some research first before making such a statement. Or let me guess... You heard from someone who heard from someone else whose cousin twice removed heard from someone that had a ballast from Odyssea that exploded and burned down their house.

Also the new Odyssea MH fixtures are now using electronic ballasts that all but eliminated this problem.

Even then if you were to replace ALL the ballasts and bulbs for better ones you will still spent less than buying a more expensive brand.

[calebjk]

Originally posted by dhnguyen
Here we go again with that "you get what you paid for" BS line.

right on, i get so sick of people acting like they know everything.

furthermore, as long as we keep on buying overpriced stuff, the prices will stay high and get higher. it's the people who mindlessly buy stuff because someone said you get what you pay for that support this kind of market.

i personally am giving aquatraders/odyssea a chance, i picked up their 48" 216W light and their 24" HOB refugium/protein skimmer. i am replacing the bulbs in the lamp, still saving a ton of money. And the power head on the skimmer couldn't suck air because there was to much back pressure, so i just hooked it's airline up to an air pump i had laying around, the thing works great and i spent less than half the price of a CPR product.

for the most part we are all intelligent people who got into reef keeping because we wanted something challenging. lets not let manufacturers and retailers make us look like a bunch of mindless consumers.

[sherm71tank]

I have the dual 250 watt hqi over my tank. It works just fine, have had zero problems with it. I have replaced the mh with Phoenix 14K's and changed the actinics. I didn't have to but I wanted a bluer/whiter look.

[DarG]

Do the Aquatraders make any of the Metal Halide combo fixtures with T5 or VHO or are they all PC's?

[sherm71tank]

http://www.aquatraders.com/

[moze229]

Originally posted by calebjk
furthermore, as long as we keep on buying overpriced stuff, the prices will stay high and get higher. it's the people who mindlessly buy stuff because someone said you get what you pay for that support this kind of market.

Excellent point. If Aquatraders keeps selling lights like I think they are now (thanks to some honest opinions at RC), and they continue to grow, the prices of Aquatraders lights will go up a little bit and everyone else's prices will come down a little bit. This would also give Aquatraders a little bit more room for R&D and product improvements. They definitely are not the best light kits out there, but for 1/3 the price who cares?

Matt

[petedoc]

Totally Agree! I have three Aquatrader lights and have been very satisfied. I have spent much more on brand name high price units and they failed within two years. So, you don't always get better quality just because you pay more. Right now the Chinese production costs are much less, so why not take advantage of a good deal.

[Saltcreep1]

You get what you pay for

There is some truth here.....


Most of the time you DO get only what you pay for.

I just got cheap car speakers......and they sound like CRAP


They were DIRT cheap......I got what I paid for.


With Aquatraders lights they are only cheap in comparason to those other overpriced fixtures. They actually work. We have seen improvements in Chinese knockoffs recently to the point where they can't really be called knockoffs anymore.

I'm happy with mine.

[JOSEPHLB]

People need to remember that are alot of people that are very well off it seems, and have an endless supply of $$ at their disposal. Those are going to be the people that look down on you guys for purchasing from AquaTraders. They are the type that think "name brand" is the only way to go. They probably cruise around in their BMW's, Mercedes, etc.. etc.. They probably purchase a saltwater tank just to have a conversation piece in their $600,000 McMansion and don't really have a damn clue about the hobby. Its more for the "cool" factor.

[DarG]

Originally posted by JOSEPHLB
People need to remember that are alot of people that are very well off it seems, and have an endless supply of $$ at their disposal. Those are going to be the people that look down on you guys for purchasing from AquaTraders. They are the type that think "name brand" is the only way to go. They probably cruise around in their BMW's, Mercedes, etc.. etc.. They probably purchase a saltwater tank just to have a conversation piece in their $600,000 McMansion and don't really have a damn clue about the hobby. Its more for the "cool" factor.

That's a generalization that's not entirely fair. There are a share of elitist attitudes here, that is true. And it's probably fair to say that the majority of those with the elitist mind set are financially free to spend whatever they want on whatever they want. I have a Current USA Outer Orbit that I got for under $300 new because it had a bad ballast. I could buy the Sifigoli right now if I wanted too.
The bottom line is that corals can thrive under the properly chosen Aquatraders, Current USA or Sifigoli lighting. The corals dont give a LLamas butt hair whether they are basking under a Chinese made fixture or an Italian made fixture. Not everyone who has the means, has to spend some of it on the highest priced and/or best item out there. And not everyone who has the means thinks that they are better than anyone else or looks down on budget equipment.

[prugs]

Originally posted by JOSEPHLB
People need to remember that are alot of people that are very well off it seems, and have an endless supply of $$ at their disposal. Those are going to be the people that look down on you guys for purchasing from AquaTraders. They are the type that think "name brand" is the only way to go. They probably cruise around in their BMW's, Mercedes, etc.. etc.. They probably purchase a saltwater tank just to have a conversation piece in their $600,000 McMansion and don't really have a damn clue about the hobby. Its more for the "cool" factor.

It's more about your priorities, drugs/alcohol/cloths/ fish/cars/housing etc.
There are a lot of DIY people that have awesome setups, because they DIY, not because they have a lot of $$$.
$$$ does not buy everything, including commonsense.
Not to say there is no commonsence here