# decent fixture?



## peteremard (Sep 29, 2009)

has anyone used this particular light system or know anyone who has? my tank is 20" deep and i will use it for java fern and some some anubias. will this be sufficient? i am on a budget right now so im trying not to spend too much money. also i know i will have to replace the bulbs but can anyone suggest a starting point and where i can get them? thanks ahead of time

http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-48in-4x54W-T5-HO-Light-Fixture-Pro-Series-p/52211.htm


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi peteremard,

I see this is your post post on APC! Welcome to the best aquarium plant / planted tank website I have found. There is a lot of great information here and friendly people to help if you need it. I'm glad you joined us!

I think you are on the right track, 4 X 54 watts is a good wattage for a 75 gallon aquarium, it might be a little too much for a 55 gallon. What would concern me are the bulbs, this fixture has bulbs for a marine / reef aquarium. The bulbs would probably have to be replaced for a freshwater aquarium and that could become expensive. The Actinic Blue bulbs put out light in a spectrum that is basically unusable by freshwater plants, and the 12000K is substantially higher in spectrum from the 5000K to 9325K that typically are used in planted tank fixtures. I use 6700K bulbs in my fixtures. Let's see what some other members suggest!


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## Bryeman (Aug 24, 2009)

That's not entirely true with the bulbs, at least in my experience. Although early with my new fixture, my plants are growing so much better than before. I have a 8x39w fixture with 4 - 420/460nm and 4 - 700+nm bulbs. I run 4 bulbs at a time over my 125g for a 10 hour period. I then have a 4 hour period in the middle where all 8 bulbs will run. My plants have responded much better with this fixture bulb combo versus the 356w of CF I had. I'm by no means an expert, but I like to let results do the speaking, and they are clearly saying positive things at least in my case. 

Just a different perspective.


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Do a search on that brand fixture here. There are many better ones. And Seattle is right about the bulbs, you need bulbs between 5-10000k, your plants will do much better.


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## Bryeman (Aug 24, 2009)

Guess my plants are growing by accident then. Funny.


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## peteremard (Sep 29, 2009)

thanks for the replies. the tank is going to be a planted tank and i already planned on removing the bulbs and replacing them asap. i have done some research about the bulbs and i know G.E. makes a 9325k bulb that a lot of people seem to like but i have only been able to find it in t8 and CF. if they come in t5 can someone link me please? 

Bryeman: do you mind telling me which bulbs you are using?


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## Bryeman (Aug 24, 2009)

I bought the 8x39w Aquaticlife fixture. I left the "saltwater" bulbs in them. 4 are 420/460nm (actinic) and 4 are 700nm+ (10,000K). They are aquaticlife brand bulbs in there.

I would go with what the other people are saying as I don't want to lead you in a bad direction. I can honestly tell you though that I have no intention of changing my bulbs because there's no need to. My plant growth since changing fixtures (old fixture was 359w of 6,700k CF's) has been tremendous. Within 20 seconds of turning the new fixture on I had pearling at a much faster rate. The only negative I see so far is the visible color is not what I was used to. My old 6,700k bulbs gave off a deep green look while this new bulb combo gives off a white to blueish sort of effect. You can see the before and after photos in the photo section. Just posted them few days ago.

Good luck whatever you do!


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## bigstick120 (Mar 8, 2005)

Bryeman said:


> That's not entirely true with the bulbs, at least in my experience. Although early with my new fixture, my plants are growing so much better than before. I have a 8x39w fixture with 4 - 420/460nm and 4 - 700+nm bulbs. I run 4 bulbs at a time over my 125g for a 10 hour period. I then have a 4 hour period in the middle where all 8 bulbs will run. My plants have responded much better with this fixture bulb combo versus the 356w of CF I had. I'm by no means an expert, but I like to let results do the speaking, and they are clearly saying positive things at least in my case.
> 
> Just a different perspective.


Switch out your bulbs and you could probably only run half your bulbs for 8 hours. I never said they wont grow plants, they just wont do it as effectively. Plants dont absorb that spectrum as well as say 6700K. That and the blue does nothing aesthetically over a planted tank.


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## peteremard (Sep 29, 2009)

bigstick120 said:


> Do a search on that brand fixture here. There are many better ones. And Seattle is right about the bulbs, you need bulbs between 5-10000k, your plants will do much better.


i was thinking about making my own set up in a canopy but it would get pricey for the t5ho's. this may be a dumb question but does the ballast make a big difference with bulbs?


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## xximanoobxx (Sep 7, 2009)

just wondering, are the odyssea lights not UL-listed? Since I've heard about these fixtures causing fire. Just a heads up.


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## peteremard (Sep 29, 2009)

xximanoobxx said:


> just wondering, are the odyssea lights not UL-listed? Since I've heard about these fixtures causing fire. Just a heads up.


thanks for the heads up! time to look for something else


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## Bryeman (Aug 24, 2009)

bigstick120 said:


> Switch out your bulbs and you could probably only run half your bulbs for 8 hours. I never said they wont grow plants, they just wont do it as effectively. Plants dont absorb that spectrum as well as say 6700K. That and the blue does nothing aesthetically over a planted tank.


That's not correct either. Plants use a tremendous amount of energy in the mid 400nm range to photosynthesize (spell correctly?). You are right about the color, however. That said, the first bulbs I'd change out would be the 700+nm bulbs as they are the ones that are likely doing the least for the tank.


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