Lighting questions

[Smiley1]

55 Gallon Aquarium
24" Coralife 65w fixture x2 = 130w total

I want to upgrade to bigger lights and have some questions.

1. What are the benefits and differences between T-5 and PC?

2. Thoughts on Odyssea lights?


I have been looking at e-bay for some new lights and I see Odyssea lighting for a cheap price. I have been told that Odyssea is JBJ but under a different name. Will the Odyssea lights catch my house on fire? How long will they last? will I have to buy new lights in the next 2 years?


Here is a link to the ones I have been looking at.
48" Reef Odyssea 260w PC LED


I want to keep price low as my wife only allows me to have a limited budget per month for my tank. If you have any other ideas for lighting, let me know... I am also a HD DIY type of guy.

 

[cbrownfish]

Generally, PC's and T5's are very similar light sources. PC's are simply "bent" or made with multiple connected tubes. T5's provide more light because you can add an individual reflector to each bulb. As a result, you get more of the usable light. PC bulbs and fixtures are not as efficient for 2 reasons.......Bulb design as stated above and poor/small reflectors.

 

[faust]

honestly if i had not been given the coralife fixtures i would change to to t-5's but free is free and you work with what you got. the reason i added another 65pc to the front of the bow front, aside from more light. is that i couldn't find a single t-5 retro to work in my app

 

[Octoman]

The individual reflectors make a HUGE difference, T5s with good reflectors are the best bet. Also, T5s seem to have more choices in bulb colors, you have more flexibility to mix and match to make it look exactly the way you want.