[kate801]

Has anyone bought these before? I've always used Coralife or Current fixtures, but these seem like a great deal. There are a couple different Ebay sellers that offer them and they have several different sizes. Any opinions/experience would be appreciated.

eBay - New & used electronics, cars, apparel, collectibles, sporting goods & more at low prices

 

[itsott]

Im not sure if its the exact same as mine, but i used something similiar on a softy coral tank and it made a ton of heat. Be careful with it around darts. You can however get a nice tan under them.

 

[Pumilo]

Agreed. That is too much light and too much heat. If you are going to go with PC over T5, typically a single U-tube bulb over your viv should be plenty. Personally, I like to use a pair of T5s with good reflectors. Now if your application requires bulbs less than 2 feet long, I may step up to PC but watch your heat.

 

[Hashbaz]

That is a really cheap price for 4 x 55/65W PC lights. At half the price of the equivalent Coralife fixture, I would probably risk it.

On the other hand, those legs don't keep the lights very far off the glass. This will compound the possible heat issue. Will the viv open from the top or the front? If the viv opens from the top, the light might get in the way and make it difficult to access the viv.

P.S. Are you setting up a 4 foot vivarium!?!?

 

[kate801]

Looking at possibly hanging this over a quad of 20H verts. My basement gets cold so I often go with warmer/brighter lights than some. Almost all tanks have PCs right now. Granted with my small collection that's only 18. One of these days I'd love to try T5s, but so far I've just kept going with what works for me.

 

[johnachilli]

IMO that is way more than you need for your application, 65 watts of cfl per 20gal seems excessive. If you have you heart set on cfls than something about half that size seems more appropriate, or just a 4 foot T5HO should work well.

How cold is your basement getting?

 

[kate801]

Right now it's around 65. My U. Sikorae viv has a Current light w/ 2x65w PC and stays around 70-73 during the day. Temps in my frog room are a bit different, typically around 78, but can be raised/lowered as needed.

 

[dablock]

I've bought those lights listed on EBay for my freshwater aquariums. They are usually one of a couple of different generic brands available, although they don't give you the brand names. I find them to be a very good and reliable substitute for the the much more expensive brands sold at pet stores. I haven't used them with frogs, but as far as quality is concerned you'll be pleased.

You've shown an ad for the compact fluorescent (CF) reef bulbs, but I would recommend that you purchase the freshwater T5 HO bulbs. The freshwater bulbs are 6500K (daylight) rather than a combination of 10,000K and actinic bulbs. The T5 HO bulbs also put out a lot less heat than CF, but provide a nice bright light for less watts used. I've recently replaced my old CF fixture with the T5 HO and I'm pleased with it.

Here's a link for the light I bought from the seller it bought it from.

48" 216W T5 4x54 6500K Fluorescent Aquarium Light LED Lamp Hood Freshwater Plant | eBay

 

[Pumilo]

I've bought those lights listed on EBay for my freshwater aquariums. They are usually one of a couple of different generic brands available, although they don't give you the brand names. I find them to be a very good and reliable substitute for the the much more expensive brands sold at pet stores. I haven't used them with frogs, but as far as quality is concerned you'll be pleased.

You've shown an ad for the compact fluorescent (CF) reef bulbs, but I would recommend that you purchase the freshwater T5 HO bulbs. The freshwater bulbs are 6500K (daylight) rather than a combination of 10,000K and actinic bulbs. The T5 HO bulbs also put out a lot less heat than CF, but provide a nice bright light for less watts used. I've recently replaced my old CF fixture with the T5 HO and I'm pleased with it.

Here's a link for the light I bought from the seller it bought it from.

48" 216W T5 4x54 6500K Fluorescent Aquarium Light LED Lamp Hood Freshwater Plant | eBay

Do you run 4 T5s like the link shows, or do you just run two? I get very nice results running just two T5s as a four foot fixture, covering 4 vivs.

 

[phender]

You can get equal to more light with a 48" 2 bulb HO T5 fixture with half the energy cost and a lot less heat than the CF fixture that was posted. The MSRP for a 48" 2 bulb Sunblaze fixture (with hanging hardware) is about $114. Check the web for deals, but beware excessive shipping costs with some deals.
Sun Blaze 42 4 ft 2 Lamp Fluorescent Fixture 960296

 

[dablock]

Do you run 4 T5s like the link shows, or do you just run two? I get very nice results running just two T5s as a four foot fixture, covering 4 vivs.

Doug, I use these fixtures to light a planted, 90 gallon, freshwater aquarium so I use the one with 4 bulbs. It might be too much light for a viv. I use much less light in my vivs, but I don't tend to get high color in my broms. I'm not sure what size viv Kate is using. I'm sure someone will give her advice on lighting needs for the plants she's using and the size viv she has if she posts this information. I was just giving a nod to the quality of the fixtures themselves.

 

[kate801]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I was originally just interested in responses to that particular product, but I appreciate those of you who added more info. I love how eager everyone in this hobby is to help out. I'm actually thinking about trying T5s instead now. I've always had great results from my PC fixtures, but maybe I'll do even better with something different.

 

[ZookeeperDoug]

You might consider the T5 fixtures available from Aquatraders - Guaranteed Best Prices on Aquarium Lightings + Free Shipping!. I'm using 2 of their quad t5 fixtures in my rack on a set of 20 verts and 29 verts. I'm having great luck with them. If quad is overkill, they do have dual t5s available. I went with the quads because they were not that much more expensive. I only run all the bulbs for about 6 hrs. So far heat has not been an issue. Since these are not over water, I removed the acrylic protector and run a small fan over them.

 

[light365]

You might consider the T5 fixtures available from Aquatraders - Guaranteed Best Prices on Aquarium Lightings + Free Shipping!. I'm using 2 of their quad t5 fixtures in my rack on a set of 20 verts and 29 verts. I'm having great luck with them. If quad is overkill, they do have dual t5s available. I went with the quads because they were not that much more expensive. I only run all the bulbs for about 6 hrs. So far heat has not been an issue. Since these are not over water, I removed the acrylic protector and run a small fan over them.

Owah! it's great... I already visit your site... thanks for sharing.. I"ll back soon again....

 

[james67]

in my opinion, if your looking at a 4 ft. light, you cant beat the price, reliability, and ability to get cheap bulbs locally, of a dual T8. granted it uses a little more electricity, for slightly less light, but i think you'll be fine. 4 ft housings are $20 a walmart, and 2packs of "daylight" bulbs run about $12 at most local hardware stores.

$32 is hard to beat in the world of lighting.


also, 65F is pretty reasonable for darts, 78 is getting pretty darn hot. i personally keep temps at about 73-5 and its fine.

james

 

[soldier]

I do not have the one your looking at but instead an odysea I believe and was off eBay. It has 3 bulbs and a built in timer and you can also switch from 1 bulb to 2 or have all 3. I think it's a great light and I only payed 80 for it with free shipping. They do get hot stay I have it hanging about 8 inches high and have a little fan that blows across the viv tops. They are very well made also

 

[pdfCrazy]

I think it all depends on the viv. I have a 2 foot 54 watt power compact that is bright white. When I tried it over my 40 breeder, that viv got too hot, way fast, close to 30 degrees celsius. However, after recently completing a extra-tall exo terra build, I found myself cashless and unable to buy the 4-buld T-5 setup I wanted. Being that there are no frogs in the tank yet, I decided to try it out in the interim. The light put out is excellent color and reaches the bottom well (36"). I currently have a hodgepodge of lighting over the viv, 1 dual tube T-10 fixture with aquarium gro-bulbs, the single power compact, a singleT-8 striplight that gets hotter than the power compact, and a hydrofarm T-5 single tube striplight. The highest the temp has gotten has been 24.5 degrees celsius. And all of these fixtures are sitting ON the glass untill I can get my small canopy built. So, I don't find the temp, on THIS particualr viv to be extreme. However, on a smaller tank, absolutly.