T5ho fixture question

[gilamonsterz]

I can't find any information on this brand (Mega), as Googling "mega aquarium light" turns up squat. I realize it's cheap, but for a spare 20g I have for growing plants/quarantine, would it be any good? It's just that everyone like to talk about cheap fixtures catching on fire, etc. $50 for 2x24 T5HO in a nice looking fixture... but will it burn my house down. I just can't find any quality reviews on this company/light.

On that note, if not this, then what? I've been looking at the Nova Extreme ($90 with shipping, with bulbs) and this ZooMed ($57 with shipping, no bulbs). The nova is quite a bit more than I wanted to pay, but I'm open to being convinced as to why I should get it. The ZooMed is about the same cost as the Mega. I figure I'm paying for the brand name. The fixture (legs) on the Mega light is really grabbing my attention because being able to flip up like that would be great during maintenance.

Thoughts/experiences?

 

[KristaM92]

I have no experiences with the Nova fixture but I have a Zoo Med T5HO light fixture on my 55 gallon tank. Prior to getting the light, I couldn't keep a single plant alive for more than a month. Now all of my plants are healthy and everything looks great. As far as maintenance goes, I have no problems. The fixture flips up and stays in place when you need it. It also comes with mounts so that you can hang it from the ceiling. My only reccomendation to you is to not order it from the Petco website. I have heard numerous times (and experienced it myself) that your light will arrive broken. If you're purchasing through them, go buy it at the store and save yourself the hassle. Overall, I love the Zoo med.

 

[gilamonsterz]

Yeah I'm familiar with ZooMed as a brand, I keep snakes, and I figured it would be decent quality. When you say it flips, is it hinged? Or does it just lean backwards convieniently? I just keep picturing it falling into the back opening of the tank, so I figured id pull the whole unit off like I do with my Diy rain gutter T8

Good to hear about the plants! Mine are healthy, but now new growth even with ferts and co2. Next step is to check the lighting as a bottleneck.

 

[KristaM92]

It is hinged. Although, if you mess around with it too much it can come unhinged. But it's a simple fix of just putting it back on. I wouldn't worry about it falling off and into the tank. It takes a lot just for it to become unhinged, so I would imagine it would take some mighty force for it to fall. Does the Nova have the dual switch? The Zoomed does and it's pretty handy at times.

 

[gilamonsterz]

Nah, just the one switch. I wonder how ZooMed manages it with a 2 bulb fixture, can't imagine that they put 2 ballasts in it? As far as I know, breaking the loop on a ballast to turn on individual lights overdrives the one left on. I had issues when building my T8, I tried to have separate switches but the voltage is cranked so high post-ballast that it was causing crazy arcing inside the switch box. Not fun around water. T5 ballasts might be a whole other ball game, though.

A guy on plantedtank said it might be an unbranded Odyssea that's been discontinued. The leg mounts definitely look like the ones on the Odyssea Pros. Heard bad things about the old Odysseas, so unless someone has something different to say on it, I'm probably going to grab the ZooMed in a week or two.

 

[KristaM92]

I havent had any arcing problems so far. I don't remember what ballasts the zoo med uses. They made a point to mention their ballasts on the box but I threw it away. You seem to be more lighting savy than me so I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to figure out. But overall, I think the Zoo med is a great choice and you can't beat the price. Best of luck on your decision.