Cheaper Lighting???

[Reefer's]

I am looking for a 48" MH/PC combo with night lighting and it is crazy how much money they are. I was wondering if anyone knew who has the best prices on fixtures. seen some on ebay but I am kind of worried about buying a no name setup and there is not much on there as far as Coralife or Current or any of the other larger brands, I was wondering what you are using and with what success?

 

[Reefstang]

Cheap or affordable? You can get Chinese made fixtures for less $$ but they generally do not use UL stuff and are prone to being junk. IMO you get what you pay for and are just gonna have to replace it later. DIY something but that can still cost a decent coin.

Good luck

 

[Tanked]

Cheap or affordable? You can get Chinese made fixtures for less $$ but they generally do not use UL stuff and are prone to being junk. IMO you get what you pay for and are just gonna have to replace it later. DIY something but that can still cost a decent coin.

+1

I bought a odysea mh/pc fixture for like 360 shipped and all was well for about 6 months untill I changed bulbs and the ballasts would not fire good quality bulbs.Needless to say I have retrofitted the complete fixture with icecap products and yes it cost me more than if I would have just bought a good one to start with.I did get by though for quite awhile and the actual body of the fixture is nice just the innards are junk.So all in all if you can not drop all the loot at once,one of these fixture will get you by but plan on fitting it down the road with quality parts.

 

[luke33]

The best way to find an affordable fixture is to search the used equipment forum. Can always find deals for 48" lights as thats a popular item.

 

[firsttime]

Look for used or you might have to save up and spend on a good fixture.

Lighting is one of the key elements in reef keeping and if you are looking to be in the hobby for couple of years then it should pay off in the long run.

Also you can do DIY T5 set up for a decent price. I use workhorse ballasts and they are not very expensive. They are a less cost alternative to icecap ballasts

You should remember that this hobby in general is a little expensive.

 

[wicked demon]

If you are gonna do it, do it right the first time.
You will really hate yourself for going cheap on lights or on skimmer.
Those 2 are the most varying products I have seen.
Getting opinions here is an excellent place to start.

 

[am07f]

I got my lights from Aquatraders.com
Any critisism you find will be about their old lights. These new ones are cheap and pretty nice. I got mine for $300

The thing you can do is upgrade the bulbs for sure and the ballasts if you want.
I have the 48'' Two 250W MH + four 54W T5 and it is awesome. I spent $100 on 4 new T5 bulbs and its even better. I still havent spent $800 like the other fixtures cost.
I have a mixed reef but lots of SPS and clams. I have crazy growth on my acro and monti. So i think the light does the trick. Just replace the stock bulbs for sure..good luck

 

[KrautBurner]

I too have some cheep Oddysea lights
but they are the newer style with the external ballasts
(I heard the ones with the internal mh ballasts were the ones that had some melting issues

I've had mine for nearly 2 years, no issues

I'm about to order some new bulbs from Aquatraders.com this week

 

[justreefin]

A lot of people are going to LEDs now so you will see them sell there MH. If you have the time, you can get some great deals.

 

[subielover]

The original post was 2 years old...

 

[justreefin]

oops..lol

 

[Jake1]

I have 2 lights from aquatraders no problems at all! 2 years going strong

 

[KrautBurner]

The original post was 2 years old...

Oops