I posted this earlier but in the wrong area sorry for double...

I was looking at some T5HO lighting and was wondering if anyone had used Odyssea T5 or maybe had feedback. They have a pretty nice deal right now for a nice lamp with4 free bulbs and 4 LED. Check it out and tell me what you think Odyssea T5 High Output Lighting

Worried about the "get what you pay for"

Well I ended up reading horror stories about Odyssea. That their lights catch fire. There was a post that dissected that set up and went through all the parts and pointed out that it could be a fire hazard. I decided to keep my 2 CFL 50/50 lights but purchased an Truelumen LED strip TrueLumen LED Strips | Current-USA to add to my fixture. It had nice reviews and was the same price as the other fixture. Apparently it's flat and can be added to most hoods. I don't have any coral yet but will start with soft coral once I get this LED strip put in. Wish me luck!

I've been looking at those for awhile...you'll have to tell me how it goes.

I'll post some before and after pics. I am certain they will enhance my lighting. I was just looking to supplement my current lighting which is 2 cfl 6500k 50/50. This strip promises 12000k lol. I bought my first coral plug today. Hopefully not in vain...

You should see some coral growth with that much lighting. good luck with the new coral. .what kind did you get?

I got a neon candy cane. Small one but figured a good tester lol.

ahh good! I have the less neon version. lol. Watch to make sure it opens a lot but it proably wont open all the way. at night, it may extend its feeder tenticals, that looks cool. if it stays shut for a long period of time, try moving it to higher and lower light. also, since its grows a skeleton, be sure your calcium levels are always above 400.

It was open when I bought it, then the guy stuck it in a bag and it's been closed ever since.

I don't have a calcium test yet. I paid 40 bucks for a "master tester" test kit and it seems pretty limited... it has like 4 tests. Some master lol

I will try to find one tomorrow since the world shuts down at 6pm Sundays.

It will take a few days for it to calm down. They need the same acclimation and stress treatment as fish (minus the chemicals). So keep an eye one it and make sure it doesnt start to dwindle. API's reef master should be used AS WELL as their other master kit. The reef master has calcium, phosphate, nitrate, and carbonate tests which are all very important for the reef. You may want to see if you can get a magnesium test kit too. Its essential as well.

I have a candycane, and when I put it in my tank it took it almost a week to start opening up all the way. It is probably just a little stressed from the move, acclimation, etc. its normal.

my snail knocked it out of it's crevice last night. Add one more week of stress lol...

get some of that putty to help hold it in. I dont have a single frag i dont have glued or puttied in somewhere.

I tried posting this yesterday but the site was down for some reason.

Well I got the Truelumen LED strip. I'm not impressed personally. They do make a slight difference but not worth the 50 bucks plus 11 for the power adapter...

Before pic


After pic


Just LED


Like I said they do make a slight difference. I will just keep the strip and use it in my sump with chaeto and live rocks. It would be a pain to return.

Does give a nice shimmer lol it might do wonders for the coralline but it's only been 2 days with this strip.

I am going with Reefbrite I think for my new 30 gallon. LFS here sells them and they look nice. Better than T5 HO is the claim and from what I've seen it's close enough to not deal with T5 heat.

Yea, you'll need more than one strip to bring out some blue and color when adding to what you have already. A lot of people dont realize that. Do at least a 50/50 mix of white and blue on your next purchase (if you do straight LEDs).

lol these are 50/50. turned it on this morning and it started sizzeling and smoking and 2 of the leds are dim... im returning them

Did they get wet?

no but they're supposed to be water resistant anyway.

i wonder if the power source sent more current than the LEDs can take. Did the strip come with a power source or was it yours?

I had to buy one but I got the truelumen one made for it.

interesting.