Wondering About the Quality of SWC Light Fixtures

[viperfish]

Thanks for sharing Jason. I didn't know the fixture had fans, that's a bonus. Even if they are loud they can be changed out eventually. It's good to hear you like the customer service, that's a huge thing when you are mail ordering equipment. Maybe I can get a look at yours before I order one.

[phi delt reefer]

they look alot like the Catalina Aquarium T5 systems. But the older systems. Catalina's new systems have individual t5's and because they make their own you can request options (ie. individual power cords)

the bulbs in the SWC model are probably the same ones Catalina gives out, blue or white standard. Op - you should consider swapping out those bulbs for some better quality ones though b/c i have not seen them i can not say they are low quality. I am making an assumption based on what others get when they get these "stock company" bulbs.

I really hope SWC takes off in the light industry - it would be good to have a Canadian manufacturer to buy from once in a while

[RedCoralLethbridge]

Hey Rod

If you are looking for a higher end fixture take a look at the TEK Elite fixture we have one in our shop right now and it looks great. It has two fans and is built really well. It also has two cords. It is the 36" fixture.

Let me know what you think.

Craig

[viperfish]

Cool, I'll have to check it out.

[axe_man16]

I have this light fixture 6bulb 48". Picked it up on an ebay auction (super cheap!less than $200) It came with 18 20k bulbs. The big problem for me was the single cord it has, and one of the ballasts died after one week.

I bought a new ballast and rewired the unit. It now runs great (loud fans tho). I have it so I can run the new ballast seperatly and the other lights come on sepeate from the leds.

I also got a few different lights. 2 blue plus and a fiji purple.

[viperfish]

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

they look alot like the Catalina Aquarium T5 systems. But the older systems. Catalina's new systems have individual t5's and because they make their own you can request options (ie. individual power cords)

the bulbs in the SWC model are probably the same ones Catalina gives out, blue or white standard. Op - you should consider swapping out those bulbs for some better quality ones though b/c i have not seen them i can not say they are low quality. I am making an assumption based on what others get when they get these "stock company" bulbs.

I really hope SWC takes off in the light industry - it would be good to have a Canadian manufacturer to buy from once in a while

I checked out the Catalina website and they seem to sell some pretty cheap stuff. That Solana fixture got my attention though, 8 x 54 Watt T5 for $300, LED moonlights included. Looks like a nice fixture.

[phi delt reefer]

Originally Posted by medhatreefguy

I checked out the Catalina website and they seem to sell some pretty cheap stuff. That Solana fixture got my attention though, 8 x 54 Watt T5 for $300, LED moonlights included. Looks like a nice fixture.

they used advanced centium ballasts so the should be just as good as any other fixture. (sunlight supply uses them and so do a bunch of others). They also do all the metal work in their facility including bending their own reflectors. I don't know if they are optimized like Tek/ICECAP/LET/ATI reflectors but for the price i think it makes it worth it.

If you call them they usually give you a better price from what i have been hearing. Give'm a ring and ask em if they have any scratch and dents or display models or any sales coming up.