# anyone know anything about this lighting set up?



## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

Trying to find some cheap lightning that isnt complete junk. lol! going to be doing mainly fish with softies. yes no maybe?? any suggestions?? trying to keep it under $300 or so.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/T5-Quad-48-T...LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43bd0d5d2c&_uhb=1


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Great lights unless your doing plants then that's the wrong version of bulbs, I have 3 of them plant versions though

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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## TorontoPlantMan (Aug 16, 2013)

I once bought a pair of limited edition shoes from the states and ending up paying over $100 in duties and taxes. If I were you i'd find out what you're going to be paying in duties because it's probably going to end up jacking up the price ridiculously as a quad T5 fixture isn't something small.


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## sooley19 (Jan 7, 2009)

exactly what the problem is ordering something from the states.. its always the duty payment that is rough and unexpected when it gets to your door.. you should inquire about before making the step of buying it.. does it come with the plexi glass to save your bulbs and sockets from corrosion?


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## Jesurex (Oct 6, 2011)

You might want 6 bulbs on a 48" long tank

What's the depth of your tank?

You need to invest on good lighting


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## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

I have a US mailing address in buffalo that Id get it mailed too, and then smuggle it over lol. I hate duties and customs, the term free trade doesn't make awhole lot of sense. lol. I do this with car parts quite often.

and the tank is 21" deep. dont think 4 bulbs will be enough??

and i'll have to look into the plexi to protect the bulbs.


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## mmatt (Feb 12, 2012)

what about this one??

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/MH-ADV-48-Me...276?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item460fbe8a94


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## wildexpressions (May 3, 2010)

Lights are tough one to evaluate as there are lots of things that are hard to qualify until you have owned it for a while. With Ebay product it is tough even if I have owned what appears to be the same fixture because many of the Chinese manufactures use different bulbs, ballasts, screws, tombstones from run to run. It is all about sourcing the cheapest parts for them because they know they don't have to worry about warranty claims.

You need to assume that the bulbs will be useless regardless of which ebay light you go for. The price difference for crap bulbs and good ones is huge and it is one of the tricks that Ebay sellers use to make their stuff look like a better deal than it is. Best bet is buy one with out the bulbs. 

Other things I've seen pretty consistently with Ebay fixtures is the screws are all just regular screws and corrode and become impossible to remove and of course the ballasts are rarely up to spec resulting in lower light output and often shorter functional bulb life.

Also bulbs have a proper operating temperature range. Too hot and their functional life can be cut down to a few months, too cold and they never produce the color output you paid for.

I've been an Ebayer since they launched and it has always been a gamble to buy certain things on Ebay. Personally I prefer to buy quality used light fixtures.


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