# What does everyone think of Odyssea lights?



## brianc

I saw some of them at AI today. How do they compare to the competition? It's obvious they are made in Asia but the price is hard to beat. How reliable are they?


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## RevoBuda

Bulbs or Fixtures?

I have the bulbs and have zero problem with them so far.


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## brianc

I was talking about the fixtures.


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## RCode

I bought a Quad 24" Odyssea from AI a month ago and been very happy with it. Only thing I would have liked different is the on/off switch to be on the hood and not the power bar.

You can't really beat the price unless you get a good deal on a coralife used, but I've even seen them not working, or with broken legs so who knows what you pay for sometimes.


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## Kooka

They are excellent fixtures for the money. Granted, you can't compare them to brand-name lights in terms of quality of build, components, etc... but they get the job of lighting your aquarium done. I bought a 48" 4x54 watt fixture from Aquatraders and its a fantastic light. Comes with a built in timer and even has led moonlights. They used to have a bad reputation for starting fires, but I believe that only occured once to someone who had a metal halide fixture (those things get super hot regardless). For $140 shipped, its an awesome deal; but if you're buying from the states, beware the insane customs fees.


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## Jaysan

To go on Kooka's comments, if your ordering from the states, ship it to cbiusa.com
Its like $6 per package and usually AquaTraders has free shipment within the States!
For people in the GTA, that is about a 1.5hr drive down to the boarder to grab the package. The cbiusa warehouse is just over the boarder by the Rainbow Bridge


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## JayPetro

Don't count on the moonlights lasting, had the fixture for about a month and all led's are dead. The fluorescent tubes seem alright, can't complain for the price.


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## brianc

What about their c02 equipment? Anyone ever take a stab at those before?


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## default

overall good lights. have the 18" and 36". for the price its good. plants grow great too. only problem is the power bar/ballast placement, could be better.


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## bigfishy

Jaysan said:


> To go on Kooka's comments, if your ordering from the states, ship it to cbiusa.com
> Its like $6 per package and usually AquaTraders has free shipment within the States!
> For people in the GTA, that is about a 1.5hr drive down to the boarder to grab the package. The cbiusa warehouse is just over the boarder by the Rainbow Bridge


but with the high gas price

it's another $30 to Niagara Falls


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## randy

I'm willing to pay the extra $30 for people willing to pick up a bag of shrimp ;-)


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## Jaysan

bigfishy said:


> but with the high gas price
> 
> it's another $30 to Niagara Falls


Yea, understandable, but I will be going over to do some shopping aswell and make a day of it 

Plus, CBIUSA keeps the item as long as you want without charging a fee. 
I usually get a whole lot of ppl to ship stuff there and one of the persons from the group will go and pick everything up.
Everyone splits the cost and everyone saves


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## Kooka

Hmm, CBIUSA you say... I'll have to look into that. Are there any limits to what you can hold there, besides the obvious?


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## brianc

I always go there to pick up car parts. I might be going again next month if anyone is interested in joining or having me pick up something for them (small things though lol)

They keep things for months. You can have as much as you want. 

The road getting there is crap btw - for those of you with low clearance cars.


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## shadow_cruiser

Aren't you spending more by picking up from cbiusa because of customs/duties?. When ordering from Aquatraders, there are no custom fee's


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## default

how much of a difference are they at the falls anyways? like compared to AI.


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## Jaysan

Kooka said:


> Hmm, CBIUSA you say... I'll have to look into that. Are there any limits to what you can hold there, besides the obvious?


no limits.
You can hold a boat there if you like, LOL
I know they store motorcycles and cars there aswell but the price is not $6.


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## Jaysan

shadow_cruiser said:


> Aren't you spending more by picking up from cbiusa because of customs/duties?. When ordering from Aquatraders, there are no custom fee's


Customs/duties, well, maybe. Just don't claim it. Say it was already in your car when you crossed the boarder 

I usually don't have any issues crossing the boarder and paying customs/duties. Of all the times I crossed the boarder, I only paid once, and it was because my friends couldn't lie and said they purchased $1000 worth of stuff -_-
Because of that, I don't bring them along anymore, LOL



default said:


> how much of a difference are they at the falls anyways? like compared to AI.


Go to AI's website. 
Look at what they have.

Go on Aquatraders.com and see what they have.

If the items are similar or exactly the same, compare the prices 

For my light that I purchased, I think the difference was a savings of over $50


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## brianc

shadow_cruiser said:


> Aren't you spending more by picking up from cbiusa because of customs/duties?. When ordering from Aquatraders, there are no custom fee's


If you are purchasing from a US company who ships UPS/Fedex then you will definitely get slammed with a bunch of taxes and duties. When you pass the border. Most of the time they just tax you whatever you provincial tax rate is.

Best way is to ship USPS. That's usually cheaper then picking up from CBI. Unless the item is very large. Then it might be worth it to pick it up rather then ship cross border.


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## brianc

Jaysan said:


> Customs/duties, well, maybe. Just don't claim it. Say it was already in your car when you crossed the boarder
> 
> I usually don't have any issues crossing the boarder and paying customs/duties. Of all the times I crossed the boarder, I only paid once, and it was because my friends couldn't lie and said they purchased $1000 worth of stuff -_-
> Because of that, I don't bring them along anymore, LOL


Even if you declare all $1000 worth of stuff. It's still cheaper to pick it up by driving across and declaring legally then shipping UPS. For example. If I buy a small item that can fit inside a small box for $50. Shipping to Canada via UPS is $15. When I pick it up at the post office. I'm paying like $30 for taxes and fees.

If it's USPS. There are usually no taxes or fees. And when there is. It is usually just taxes.


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## Jaysan

brianc said:


> Even if you declare all $1000 worth of stuff. It's still cheaper to pick it up by driving across and declaring legally then shipping UPS. For example. If I buy a small item that can fit inside a small box for $50. Shipping to Canada via UPS is $15. When I pick it up at the post office. I'm paying like $30 for taxes and fees.
> 
> If it's USPS. There are usually no taxes or fees. And when there is. It is usually just taxes.


Thats true.
The good thing about Aquatraders is I believe they ship via USPS for those that are scared of getting charged duties and customs.

I will be heading down to Niagara anyways so I might as well have it shipped there. =)


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## vraev

I just ordered a odyssea fixture as well... couldn't pass up on the great deal... quad 20" T5 with 6500k bulbs at 50$ is insane. Even with shipping that is only like 85$. 

I hope its enough light. I plan on growing aquatic plants in a 18 x 18 x 24 exo terra.


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## brianc

vraev said:


> I just ordered a odyssea fixture as well... couldn't pass up on the great deal... quad 20" T5 with 6500k bulbs at 50$ is insane. Even with shipping that is only like 85$.
> 
> I hope its enough light. I plan on growing aquatic plants in a 18 x 18 x 24 exo terra.


should be more then enough. 4 T5HOs at 24" high.

The only thing about the Odyssea is the reflectors are kind of shit. Swap them out for better reflectors and you have MUCH more light.


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## vraev

brianc said:


> should be more then enough. 4 T5HOs at 24" high.
> 
> The only thing about the Odyssea is the reflectors are kind of shit. Swap them out for better reflectors and you have MUCH more light.


This is the fixture I bought.










review: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=262290

Change reflector eh? hmmm.... what do u suggest I replace it with? The 20" is an atypical size. Will be hard to even get replacement bulbs...let alone reflectors. I guess I have to fabricate one myself. What if I line it with mylar? I guess the most important thing is the angles.


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## Ctp416

Just received this light today with no duties or any extra costs.
(36" 156W (4x 39W) T5 HO Quad Deluxe Light Fixture w/Built-in Digital Timer)


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## randy

Ctp416 said:


> Just received this light today with no duties or any extra costs.
> (36" 156W (4x 39W) T5 HO Quad Deluxe Light Fixture w/Built-in Digital Timer)


Mind giving more details about price (including shipping) and the seller?


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## Ctp416

randy said:


> Mind giving more details about price (including shipping) and the seller?




Was $105 plus shipping worked out to be $140

The light looks great and everything works so far!
Exceeded my expectations for that price!


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## Boogerboy

brianc said:


> What about their c02 equipment? Anyone ever take a stab at those before?


Yep. Got the cheapest kit. Working great thus far. Bubble counter seems to evaporate or push water up the pipe pretty quickly (no leak though) so I'd suggest you go with mineral oil instead.

I have 2 double odyssea 36" fixtures from them too (one for the back and one for the front.) Working great so far also. It has only been a month though


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## xriddler

can anyone compare the odyssea 48inch dual lamp to a hagen glo 48in single lamp? is there much difference? i understand that the odyssea at Aquatraders dual lamp is $90 with shipping included and two bulbs, would i get hit with custom fees for $90? Im looking to get lights thatll last for along time and not need to upgrade after a year. anyone know if these lights will satisfy my conditions?


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## vraev

You won't be hit by customs IMO (I'll find out tomorrow..lol)...becos its USPS...not F***** UPS (I hate that company to the point that I would love to BURY it)... but you won't get free shipping. free shipping is in US only.


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## bigfishy

I am going to order mine tomorrow :O


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## xriddler

which one are you getting bigfishy?


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## bigfishy

xriddler said:


> which one are you getting bigfishy?


48" dual T5HO


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## vraev

I just got my 20" 4 tube fixture. Just as the review said...the ballasts seem cheap...the fixture even though its cheap...works and is nice and light. I might upgrade to the 96watt 24" fixture perhaps in a month or two and use this one on my exo terra. Eitherway...its a nice fixture for the money. Yay USPS...no customs charges. BTw...love the blue LED.


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## JayPetro

I have the same 20" fixture and you'll find out soon enough that the led's don't last long. All mine died by the one month mark. They were very nice to look at but I think if you aren't viewing your tank at night, keep them off, don't just use them as a night light, they will last much longer that way. Other than that, it seems to be an alright setup for a planted tank. Enjoy.
Jay


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## vraev

Hmm....good to know Jay. I guess I should refrain from bothering to put it on a timer.


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## JayPetro

Yeah don't use a timer, unless you set it to go off around the time you usually go to bed, so like on from 8pm-12am...and you'll save a lot of viewing hours


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## vraev

But the T5s run ok? Is ti worth getting a new fixture for another tank? or should I wait and see whether it does well in the long run?


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## JayPetro

Yeah the lamps run fine, I'm trying to test their long term capabilities now too. decent growth, might look into different bulbs, we'll see...


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## vraev

Good to know. Thanks!


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## garwood

*aquatraders*

i got the 72" 4 bulb t5ho with built in timer. it came with two 80w 10000 k and two 80w actinics. i ordered two 6500k to replace the atinics. the light fixture arrived the one day. i set it up to try. works great. the timer goes on and off when its suppose to and it has 8 sets of two moonlights = 16. the next day the bulbs arrived ( in pieces). it looks the customes cut open the box in two places and pulled the lights out the side like they were bendable to make sure that they were indeed lights. i callred aquatraders. they said they would start a claim. been over a month... still waiting. since i need lights for my plants i ended up getting geisemann lights from a j and l aquatics in bc. no borders and no cusyomes. hopefully these arrive in one piece. anyone like these lights and were can i find 80w bulbs in toronto..


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## pat3612

Did you go though paypal or visa you should be able to get you money refunded you can put a claim in


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## garwood

pat3612 said:


> Did you go though paypal or visa you should be able to get you money refunded you can put a claim in


it seems usps is waiting for canada post to get back to them on this so i was goin to give it till this week then phone the cc co and let them know whats goin on. thanks


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