Are eBay power compact bulbs any good?

[corrado007]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but not new to reefkeeping. I actually belong to a number of forums but just now found your fourm and it looks pretty nice. I have a question for you all. I'm in need of 4 new power compact 65W bulbs as it's been almost a year since I replaced them last. Has anyone had any experiences, good or bad, that they could share on the purchase of these bulbs from eBay vendors? I realize it is ultimately best to buy name brand bulbs such as Current or Coralife but if I were looking to save a few dollars would these be a reasonable option or is this one are where compromise is not worth it?
Thanks,
Justin

[charlie]

Hey Justin,



I myself have absolutely no experience buying things on ebay. Maybe it is just me, but everytime I try to save a few bucks in lighting in this hobby, I have spent the money twice. Bad luck?????? JMHO

[corrado007]

I see where you're coming from. I only ask becasue I found a great deal on PC bulbs at CatalinaAquarium.com for $40 for any four 65W bulbs they carry. That's way less than any place else I've found and I happen to live 15 minutes from the place so I would be able to skip the shipping fee by picking them up. That's where the problem comes in. They're so inexpensive I'm tempted to see if they'll work out but your experience of ending up spending the money twice could likely become my unfortunate reality. Decisions, decisions.
Thanks for the reply,
Justin

[charlie]

$40 for 4 bulbs??????????????

[corrado007]

Yep, $40 for four bulbs. Here it is, they're on special right now. What do you think, is it worth a try? Catalina Aquarium

[charlie]

If you want to try them, go ahead. Realistically, I can't make a choice for you. I just want to make sure that you report to us what your findings are if you do try them, OK?

[corrado007]

Of course I realize you can't make a decision for me, I was simply looking for a second opinion. I do intend to try them at that price, it seems a worthwhile experiment. The only problem will be that I have no way of objectively determining the quality of the bulbs. Unless there is a dramatic difference visually, the only difference would be seen longitudinally and even then there would be many variables. The owner of one LFS out here made the claim that Current, Catalina Aquarium, and two others I can't remember are all made by the same manufacturer and simply have different names on them. I'm skeptical about that one.

[jsmi2024]

hey i think i know the light dealer on ebay your talking about fishguy911 is his name and i got a great deal from him. I got a 260watt power compact system with moonlights for only $100 and it works fantastic any questions just ask.

[corrado007]

Hey, thanks a lot for the feedback, I appreciate it. I have actually ended up buying the bulbs for my pc fixture but then decided to go with a new MH set-up. The ballasts are in the mail. I'll be selling my PC set-up and the new bulbs once the MH are installed.
Thanks again,
Justin

[charlie]

Hey, thanks a lot for the feedback, I appreciate it. I have actually ended up buying the bulbs for my pc fixture but then decided to go with a new MH set-up. The ballasts are in the mail. I'll be selling my PC set-up and the new bulbs once the MH are installed.
Thanks again,
Justin

All that for this!!!!!!!!

No really, what changed your mind? What halide setup did you get?

[corrado007]

I actually ended up buying the bulbs for my PC lights but never installed them because while searching around for info on the best PC lights I found a number of people who had changed to other lighting and their systems benefited greatly from it so I started looking into halides and many people swear by the improvement in coral growth and health from higher PAR lighting. I simply deided after doing more research that it was the only big weakness left in my tank since I've recently upgraded most everything else. I've ordered two of the new 250W icecap ballasts from marine depot and I'm ordering a pair of spider reflectors and 10k reeflux mogul bulbs on the 26th. Any way, I'll be selling the pc fixture and the new bulbs to cover some of the cost of the new fixture. Thanks for the discussion on the PC bulbs to those of you who participated. If I remember, I'll give my opinion on the benefit of the MH set-up when it's up and running.
Thanks again,
Justin

[charlie]

I will just bet that you are gonna like it!!!!! Good luck, my friend.

[corrado007]

Thank You! I hope so.