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Pet Supply Liquidator Light -- first impression
(this turned out much longer than I planned)
My light fixture (finally) arrived from Pet Supply
Liquidator's yesterday. I took a ton of pictures and
I will be putting a full review w/ pics on my website
as soon as I get a chance (possibly tonight). I did
want to write my first impression, as I do know
people like Roxanne are following this story with
interest.
Okay, so I first want to say it did take a long time
to receive the light -- they use FedEx ground which
is SUPERSLOW. But, on to substance. The box was in
very shabby condition, probably due to the FedEX
Ground more than anything. I was worried the light
would be damaged, but when I opened the box,
everything was in excellent condition.
My first reaction: "Wow, this light is better than I
expected!" The aluminum shell looks good, and the
unit seemed solid enough. The little plastic legs
are pretty cheesey, and should be free instead of
$10, but do work, albeit with a little elbow grease.
I was told I might need to cut part of the legs off
to fit it onto the tank rim, which I did, but this
wasn't hard.
The main complaint I had was that the unit didn't
come with any directions. I think they usually sell
them with the bulbs, but I wanted 5K and 6K lights
from AHS, so I had to install the bulbs myself.
There aren't bulb sockets -- just 4 wires per bulb
with insulated clips for the pins. It took me a
little trial and error to get the bulbs to fire up.
Also, I had to take off the side panels to slide the
legs into position, which was pretty obvious to me
without directions, but would have been nice
nonetheless. I did managed to cut my hand pretty
good when I removed the side panel though!
Oh, the reflector is also pretty darn good -- same
material as the AHS MIRO reflector -- but the bulb-
clips seems spaced for 55W instead of the 36W bulbs I
am using. Also, the unit doesn't get too hot after a
few hours of running.
Since I just got the unit yesterday, I haven't had
time to really put it to work, but my initial feeling
is good enough to recommend the PSL lights as a
decent alternative to higher-priced ones on the
market. (Insert usual disclaimers here)
Well, that is enough for now. I will try to write up
my complete review with pics tonight, and will post
the URL once I upload it to my site.
-Tony
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