1 guppy1

[gypsy3]

hi... has anyone bought stuff from this ebay seller? they seem to have some good deals on t5 lighting and globes....actually some of the deals seem too good.just wondering if anyone has bought from them and what the quality was like

[Baxter123]

You might want to check with the seller if the lights comply with Australian Electrical standards.Mine did not.
The light i bought only lasted a couple of months before the light failed.Sending it back would have cost more that the light was worth so i binned it.
These lights being so cheap is really a case of "you get what you pay for".

Cheers

[ILLUSN]

I've bought lights of this seller, you'll need a surge cube as the ballasts $h!t themselves with any kind or surge. Housing is good, tubes are useless (mine shipped with 14000k tubes, good for reefs, useless for plants) get some sylvania tubes for it.
Individual reflecters would be better as the single flat reflecter that these unit use only increases the light hitting the tank by about 50% (individual increase it by 300%). Otherwise I'm very happy with my 4x39w 1200mm unit for the price i cant complain.

[gypsy3]

cool...thanks for the info guys. I'll have to have a think about it, although for the price if it's just a matter of surge protector and changing the tubes it still seems pretty reasonable price, given i can't afford the gee whiz ones.illusn if you don't mind me asking. did you somehow make up individual reflectors and if so, how?

[ILLUSN]

illusn if you don't mind me asking. did you somehow make up individual reflectors and if so, how?

i tried, i just couldn't get them to fit, the tubes are about 6mm too close together.

I bought pre fabricated oreflecters online. these are now used on my hagen t5, they work great! (too good, hard to keep the algae under control LOL).

IMO we should all have some kind of surge protection on all our expensive equipment, i could just see my wifes face if i told her "Honey, i need $5000 to replace my eheims and lights cause of that power surge".
seriously i got a surge protected powerboard for my PC which wouldn't be worth half that.

[gypsy3]

can you remember where you bought them online?

[samir]

You might want to check with the seller if the lights comply with Australian Electrical standards.

they have to be approved first before they can be imported. most of 1guppy's stuff is made by Sunsun but packaged under a different name to bypass the Aussie sole agent.

[theonetruepath]

I bought the 6-foot unit with 4 4-foot fluoro tubes and 3 250W MH lights and 4 LED moonlights.

One MH tube failed after a week, and I replaced that and one more with 6500K tubes. It was supplied with 10000K tubes.

So far it's working fine, but beware if using the supplied cables to hang it. The metal hooks at the top will straighten under the weight of the light, replace them.

I expect it to fail sooner than an equivalent ~$6000 name brand light fitting, but I can replace it 8 times before I'm out of pocket, so if it lasts 6 months or more I'm probably ahead.

[mich]

Hi there

I bought a 3 ft .4x 39w T5 unit from this seller for my reef tank, yes it comes with 14000k tubes but even if you have to change them, It still works out better. Ive had 2 power cuts in my house since i had this fitting and its still working fine, had no dramas at all since June, fingers crossed

Dont know if it has anything to do with it but they do claim to now have the latest ballast 's on the T5 units?

Im looking at getting a 4 or 5 footer for my 2.5ft deep Discus tank very soon.

Cheers :D

[Proteus]

If you want to take a risk, maybe have a small fire from a faulty ballast, then by all means, go ahead with this brand.

By the time you have an issue they will be sold under yet another name anyway, and dealing through e-bay offers you no protection either.

First there was Pro-Aqua, then Aqua-Pro, then Sun Sun, now Supreme, etc etc

Not one of the Sun Sun products I have ever seen has had Australian approval hence why many sellers no longer deal with this brand, or its spin offs.

Latest ballasts, electronic ballasts, yeah right, they are magnetic and very poor quality as well, talk about a con job.


they have to be approved first before they can be imported. most of 1guppy's stuff is made by Sunsun but packaged under a different name to bypass the Aussie sole agent.

AVK, aka 1guppy1 is the importer of this brand, and the other clones that change names every few years. They are not approved, just contact the QLD or NSW Dept of Fair Trading and ask them, they both have nice little files on this brand and importer.

There are too many loopholes which get around the approval process, which IMO stinks

(disclaimer: there are a few other dealers and importers of Supreme aquarium products which are reputable, it is just this one dealer that has little or no business ethics)

[Palpatine]

Search the MASA forums for a lot more info on the seller and his products.
If you are considering buying these lights I suggest you factor in the cost of a new ballast and ignitor set as well as the cost of having a licensed electrician install them.

Not worth the risk.

[Proteus]

In the interest of being fair, I will state that some of the products that 1guppy1 sells are fine, however given the track record of the lighting systems he sells, I would not touch them with a 10 foot pole.

[gypsy3]

well i guess that answers my question then! :)