Fishneedit.com combo fixutre review

[kookie_guy]

I ordered the 36" light system from fishneedit.com. It comes with 2 x 150watt MH modules, and 2 x 2 bulb T5HO strips. The total cost was $370 plus about $20 to ship to my US shipping address (I pick up from there as shipping to Canada is stupid money). Price wise, you can't go wrong. Comparable systems are way more money.

 

 

 

So my biggest worry was going to pick em up, and they are busted during shipping. Thankfully, this was not the case. These things are VERY well packed. Wrapped in small and big bubble wrap, with more bubble wrap lining the box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unwrapping it all was very exciting. The quality and finish of the modules is pretty nice. All hardware/mounting/assembly stuff is included. The light output from the T5HOs is awesome. It's actually hard to look at them because of the brightness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the MH modules unwrapped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came the assembly. Which was NOT fun. The brackets used to attach the T5 strips to the MH modules are hard as hell to slide into the MH module. Once they are in, they slide easy, but to get them in is a huge PITA. Once I had the clips in the MH modules, I went to install the T5 strips. The clips are tight, and sliding them on easily scratches the aluminum housing. Found out the hard way on the first one, then put paper under it for the others, and it was ok. Here's a pic of the final assembly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now came the mouting it on the tank. There are 3 mounting systems supplied. Ones that hook into the MH modules, ones that slide onto the T5HO strips, and a hanging kit. The MH module mounts are nice and beefy, but you can't use them with the T5 strips. They are supposed to slide into the same slot as the clips for attaching the T5 strips, so using them is not possible. The brackets for the T5 strips are nice, as they can tilt. However, if you have a brace on top of your tank, they are not wide enough to slip over it, so again, also useless. The hanging kit is really the only thing that would work.

 

 

 

One other point is that some of the strain reliefs that the wire runs through into the housings are loose, which reqires opening the module up to tighten it.

 

 

 

Big picture, I'm pleased with the light. I'll be doing a custom mount in my canopy anyhow, so the mounting issues do not affect me. Price is great, can't go wrong.

 

 

 

Pros:

 

- Price

 

- Quality

 

- Looks great

 

 

 

Cons:

 

- Assembly is a PITA

 

- Mounting needs some attention