mattyc
Member
I have been looking for a lighting unit for a long time because of my tight budget I have recently purchased a light unit (after my Mrs going mad at the arcadia T5 unit that was a little too big for the tank).
I have decided to write down a sort of review of this lighting unit.
THIS IS MY OPINION AND DOSENT NESACERELY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THIS FORUM. (just incase some one dosent like it )
The Light unit is a ‘’Hagen Glow T5HO Linear Light Unit’’
The unit turned up today and I opened up all the rapping and had a look at the box, the packaging looks good and shows the product inside very well there is a reasonable amount of information on the box also.
Opening up the box the light units packing is quite minimal but it has arrived safely so it must have done its job.
I like the use of minimal packing or products I think it helps the environment and natural habitats of the fish we know and love.
Removing the light from the box the main thing I noticed was its simplicity, there was only the light unit and its wire in the box!! The instructions are simple and clear and easy to follow making this simple light unit easy to use.
The next thing I noticed was there were no bulbs in this system, the advertising for this unit doesn’t say it doesn't come with tubes it also doesn’t say it does. I think this should be a bit clearer to save the customer time and money. I don’t see why manufactures don’t include tubes as standard with their light units for the cost of a few pounds. The reflector looks to be of a high quality but not one for the individual tubes. I also noticed there is no power switch on the light.
I then set about fitting the light to the tank and seeing how it illuminates the tank. To fit this light unit you need a screw driver to remove the covers to reveal the clamps. This was a bit of a pain when you have a tank fitted into quite a small space like I and most others have.
The light unit is nice and compact its self it is only the brackets that mount it onto the tank that are excessively bulky and complicated. The light unit is held very stable and securely on the tank by these brackets eliminating any chance of the light falling into the tank.
I found it very hard to refit the covers back onto the light units mounting brackets because of the positioning of the screws.
The light unit fitted to the tank looks modern and stylish the bulkiness of the mounting brackets again stands out this also leaves a gap either side of the tank needed for the brackets to fit.
The light produced by this unit and its reflector, I plugged the light in after fitting two light tubes and found this to be very good the reflector directs the light into the tank very well. All the plants are pearling and producing lots of oxygen bubbles, the tank looks like it is snowing in reverse!! The tank looks much nicer in this light showing off the greens of the plants very well.
The units size allows quite a lot of space around the tank for pruning and maintance which is quite good because it cant be easily removed from the tank.
To sum up,
Good points.
• Good reflector
• Cheap price
• Modern and compact light
• Simple and easy to use
• Fits a range of sized tanks
• Slim to allow access for tank maintance
• the light can be rotated for access to the bulbs and the tank
• The bulbs are sealed with rubber compression fittings
Bad points.
• Bulky mounting brackets
• Tools are needed to fit the unit
• Large overhang on the side of the tank
• Space is needed on both sided of the tank to allow for brackets
Thannks for looking,
I have decided to write down a sort of review of this lighting unit.
THIS IS MY OPINION AND DOSENT NESACERELY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THIS FORUM. (just incase some one dosent like it )
The Light unit is a ‘’Hagen Glow T5HO Linear Light Unit’’
The unit turned up today and I opened up all the rapping and had a look at the box, the packaging looks good and shows the product inside very well there is a reasonable amount of information on the box also.
Opening up the box the light units packing is quite minimal but it has arrived safely so it must have done its job.
I like the use of minimal packing or products I think it helps the environment and natural habitats of the fish we know and love.
Removing the light from the box the main thing I noticed was its simplicity, there was only the light unit and its wire in the box!! The instructions are simple and clear and easy to follow making this simple light unit easy to use.
The next thing I noticed was there were no bulbs in this system, the advertising for this unit doesn’t say it doesn't come with tubes it also doesn’t say it does. I think this should be a bit clearer to save the customer time and money. I don’t see why manufactures don’t include tubes as standard with their light units for the cost of a few pounds. The reflector looks to be of a high quality but not one for the individual tubes. I also noticed there is no power switch on the light.
I then set about fitting the light to the tank and seeing how it illuminates the tank. To fit this light unit you need a screw driver to remove the covers to reveal the clamps. This was a bit of a pain when you have a tank fitted into quite a small space like I and most others have.
The light unit is nice and compact its self it is only the brackets that mount it onto the tank that are excessively bulky and complicated. The light unit is held very stable and securely on the tank by these brackets eliminating any chance of the light falling into the tank.
I found it very hard to refit the covers back onto the light units mounting brackets because of the positioning of the screws.
The light unit fitted to the tank looks modern and stylish the bulkiness of the mounting brackets again stands out this also leaves a gap either side of the tank needed for the brackets to fit.
The light produced by this unit and its reflector, I plugged the light in after fitting two light tubes and found this to be very good the reflector directs the light into the tank very well. All the plants are pearling and producing lots of oxygen bubbles, the tank looks like it is snowing in reverse!! The tank looks much nicer in this light showing off the greens of the plants very well.
The units size allows quite a lot of space around the tank for pruning and maintance which is quite good because it cant be easily removed from the tank.
To sum up,
Good points.
• Good reflector
• Cheap price
• Modern and compact light
• Simple and easy to use
• Fits a range of sized tanks
• Slim to allow access for tank maintance
• the light can be rotated for access to the bulbs and the tank
• The bulbs are sealed with rubber compression fittings
Bad points.
• Bulky mounting brackets
• Tools are needed to fit the unit
• Large overhang on the side of the tank
• Space is needed on both sided of the tank to allow for brackets
Thannks for looking,