# Odyssea T5HO 48" Freshwater Light 4 bulb (216 Watts) Review: First Impressions



## arehana (Oct 9, 2013)

My 48" quad-light (216W) Odyssea lighting kit just arrived today and so far, I'm quite pleased with it. I bought this as an upgrade to my 34 Watt stock T8 lighting system that came with my 60 gallon aquarium. I want to grow live plants and I know 34 Watts for my 60 gallon wouldn't suffice.

Pros:

The lights are very bright (especially compared to my old system).
The built-in timer works well and was easy to set up with the instructions that were provided.
I like that the timer can control the rear pair of T5HOs, front pair of T5HOs, and moonlight LEDs independently. My schedule is as follows: I have one pair of T5s on for 12 hours and the other pair of T5s on for 4 hours at the middle of the 12 hour cycle. My moonlight LEDs come on for 2 hours at night after the 12 hour cycle.
Sharp-looking matte-black aluminum body.
Good value for the price.

Cons:

The kit comes with an acrylic panel which acts as a splash guard for the bulbs. IMO this would trap an excessive amount of heat close to the bulbs and LEDs so I decided to remove the acrylic to provide better heat dissipation. I'm not worried about splashes because I have a hinged glass canopy.
The acrylic also adds another barrier to UV light that would otherwise be used by my plants (albeit minimal).
The built-in cooling fans only come on when the rear pair of lights are turned on.
In order to open my glass canopy, I have to slide the entire kit forward so that the front legs of the Odyssea are half-off the front of the aquarium. There is a risk of the light falling off the tank during this procedure, but I have added stoppers on top of the frame of my aquarium in order to restrict the range of motion. This can also prevent the Odyssea from being knocked off the tank accidentally.

This is just my first impression of this Odyssea system. I'll be sure to post an update soon (especially if I experience any mishaps!).


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## Kimchi24 (Mar 22, 2013)

where did you purchase yours and for how much? I want a quad light and this one seemed interesting


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## arehana (Oct 9, 2013)

I bought mine off of aquatraders.com and I paid just under $160 with shipping. I unfortunately couldn't find any Canadian distributors.

Here's the link to the exact light I bought: http://www.aquatraders.com/48-inch-4x54W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52325p.htm

You may be able to find it cheaper on eBay.ca


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I hope you plan to do co2 with that much light


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## aniroc (Aug 23, 2012)

This is a very good deal. I was always a bit afraid to mail order lights but for this price, I'll take the risk.
Pyrrolin is right: you should look into pressurized CO2 or else algae will take over. I will add more plants, just in case not all will thrive. And I'll look into leveling the tank a bit.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

I have 3, 2 ordered to my house. 1 shipped(free) to my USA mailbox for pickup. Quality of fixture aside, price value aside. They have great customer service(aquatraders), they are like Costco doesn't matter who's at fault they will take care of you.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4


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