[APD] Odyssea Lights: Are they a P.o.S,?

[Steve B <habubak at yahoo_com>]

Good evening (or morning) everyone!
   
  I have a question for those of you who consider yourselves "lighting buffs."
   
  I set up my first planted tank over 3 weeks ago with an Odyssea 260w (65 x 4 PC) power compact fluorescent light which sits on 2 legs over the 55-gallon aquarium.  The lights are 48 inches long.  There is one cord which controls 3 switches: one switch for some LED moonlights (I dont use these often), one switch for one bank of lights, and the other switch for the last bank of lights.
   
  I purchased the lights (supposedly new) from EBay.  They came with 2 actinic bulbs, which I replaced with 2 Sunpaq Current 65w bulbs.
   
  Observations:
  1) Within the first week-and-a-half one of the odyssea bulbs which came with the unit burned out.  However, it "came back to life."  Sometimes half of the bulb burns out, sometimes the whole thing is out, but most times its on.
   
  2)  Today I came home from classes for lunch.  One entire row of bulbs (the Sunpaq replacements for the actinics) were burned out.  But the Odyssea bulb I had been having problems with and its "mate" in the same row was on.  All day long they have not "come back to life."
   
  OK, so what does everyone think?
  What's wrong with my lights?  Are they overheating, and why?
   
  Are they just a cheap piece of $H1T?  :-)
   
  Please advise, I'm about to bash these lights against the wall!  ;-)
   
  Cheers & Gig'Em,
  Steve

 			
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