anyone know anything about this fixture?

[ometh]

found it on ebay figured it was a good deal if it works well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/36-234W-Aquarium-Light-Reef-Marine-Tank-w-LCD-Timer-Freshwater-Lighting-Coral-/370573909637?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5647ed1e85#ht_1709wt_1002

[semper]

Don't bother get an ATI or Tek

[ometh]

Don't bother get an ATI or Tek

Righto

[tntdsol]

I looked at the same fixture. Once you replace bulbs with halfway decent ones and get it up and running, it will cost you as much as atrk or ati. Look for used Teks I saw an 8 bulb Tek on CL for 375$. These are just the 2 I have seen recently.

http://houston.craigslist.org/for/2833146703.html

http://houston.craigslist.org/for/2822155995.html

[Totenkampf]

i saw that too and it looks like an unbranded odyssea so it likely has crap ballasts and fittings. i am using aquatic life and current usa novas and they seem to be a good value. i have a wavepoint too but i am not sure about it since one of the ballasts seems to overheat and shut down / restart over the course of the day. look up catalinaaquarium.com, they look to have high quality fixtures at a good price.

[Kiko]

it looks kool only if it works though!!!... lol

[Sea-agg09]

it looks kool only if it works though!!!... lol

more than likely...it wont. I notice it says vents, but nothing about fans, which means humidity will build up in the aliminum frame and destroy it.

My 2 cents on all these kinds of things;
Aquarium manufacturers are always competing with each other to make their prices cheaper. With that said, they also have to keep the quality of their products. Icecap switched over to cheap chinese-made ballasts, and look what happened to them. Aquarium retailers, both online and in stores, are always looking for the next big thing, to try to be the first on the market with a new hit product. Retailers are also wary about selling crappy products because the store has to deal with consumers dissatisfied with the product. In summation, if you see a product on an unregulated site, and you have never seen or heard of it before, chances are it is crap that will not withstand the scrutiny of legitimate aquarists and professionals.

If you see a product, and the price seems too good to be true, it is. Prices can easily be dropped by removing small things, like fans. Which make room for bulky, cheaply made ballasts. After 6 months, your "warranty" is no good for one reason or another, and you just flushed a large sack of money down the toilet.

Also; That thing says nothing about being UL listed or gfci or anything. It also has no pic of a power cord anywhere. That thing will probably burn your house down....

[ometh]

haha i just stuck with metal halides and got 2 fishneedit 150w pendents lol

[Totenkampf]

it is[/B].

Also; That thing says nothing about being UL listed or gfci or anything. It also has no pic of a power cord anywhere. That thing will probably burn your house down....

+1 to that. it looks like a ripoff of the aquaticlife fixture that has moonlights and a controller. although even cheap electronic ballasts are pretty safe (compared to old fire hazard magnetic types) the fact that it doesnt have a UL or NRTL certification is not great. CE stamps are not hard to get and are not equivalent.

a quality ballast makes the fixture, thats what i like about catalina. they tell you which ballast you will be getting and offer retrofit kits as well. individual reflectors are standard too. i will order those for my next setup if i stay with T5HO and dont decide to experiment with 3W CRee based LEDs, SHO CFLs, or the new T2HO.