# Fluval Ebi light



## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

Came back today, found that my Fluval Ebi 13W light was burnt out, it has only been a few months though with normal 8 hours per day use.... I don't think that's normal to burn out that fast... 

Where do I get replacement bulbs? Anyone?


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm not sure where to get the bulbs, either. My new Ebi's light started to strobe. I took it in to Aquariums West (where I got it) and they just gave me a whole new light fixture on the spot.


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## Petah (Dec 19, 2010)

Same for me, except i have to wait abit (Pet Boutique) until they get some more in. The box states a 2 year warranty. but at Island Pets Coquitlam, one of the worker said the regular 13w bulb will work... according to her research. I guess you would have to unscrew it to find out?


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

I was at Pj's pets in richmond today , and i saw their line of stuff for the fluval ebi,flora,spec,chi and they have bulbs in.I guess any LFS that carries the Hagen line should have the parts your looking for.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

one of my ebi's lights just died too, hasnt even been 2 months
im not very impressed with the quality of these tanks tbh
i dont want a new garbage fixture thats going to cut out again in 2 months i want the one i have to not be garbage


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Hmmm...I was just looking at the Ebi yesterday, but I guess I'll hold off.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Hmmm...I was just looking at the Ebi yesterday, but I guess I'll hold off.


did you see what happened with Maureen's background?
If i could get all my money back for this thing right now i'd do it in a heartbeat

btw mystical did you end up finding a replacement bulb? where and how much? i wonder if you can get one by a different manufacturer that will fit?


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

hm, i just gave the light a really frustrated smack and it came back on


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Mferko said:


> did you see what happened with Maureen's background?
> /QUOTE]
> 
> I did. But the background is a no brainer to fix. Lights are a different matter. I've gone through 3 mini lights for an Eclipse 3 gallon and now use a desk lamp, so I am not going through that with the Ebi.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

yeh, i bought a second one of the ebi lights from pets and ponds, i have a feeling il be struggling with both of them eventually


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I think that cinches it. I'm going to look into the IQ3 from Big Al's.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

2wheelsx2, I used to have the IQ3 and now I have the Ebi. I wouldn't trade the Ebi for the IQ3. In fact, I gave the IW3 away for free less than a month after I got it.

The IQ3 is less than 2 gallons. I think that if you don't count the filter area, it's quite a bit less than 2. Very tiny space for fish, although I did have a fun time planting it.

The Ebi is close to 8 gallons. It's just a different tank.

I did have a problem with the background shooting up, but that's easy to prevent if you know that it's a possibility. I'm sure that Hagen will tweak that on future models.

The light is a more serious problem, but from what I hear, Hagen is replacing them with new lights. I took my light back to Aquariums West when it broke, and they gave me a new one on the spot. I haven't tried taking back the replacement (which also broke) but I have heard that there's a new, better model of light now.

Even if I had to replace this light with another one (I'd probably go with a 15watt JBJ Macro-Glo), I'd still like this tank better than the IQ3 because of the size difference. Many people who buy the IQ3 end up buying 1 or 2 extra lights, too, which adds $30 per light to the cost of that tiny tank.

The IQ3 is beautiful and I'm not recommending against it. It's just that it's not at all similar to the Ebi, which is big enough for a small community of fish or a large community of shrimp. The IQ3 is very similar to the Fluval Spec, although as it's acrylic rather than glass it has no seams.

Both tanks are really nice. I just want to clarify that I didn't intend my caution about the Ebi's background to scare anyone away from the Ebi. I like my Ebi better without the background, in fact!



2wheelsx2 said:


> I think that cinches it. I'm going to look into the IQ3 from Big Al's.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Thank Maureen. I'm not going to put any fish into it, so the concern isn't size. I was looking at the Spec and Flora to see what my options were. I've had a lot of those nano lights (not sure if it was a JBJ) and found most of them unreliable at best. I got one at King Ed's and 2 at Rainforest after my father's 3 gallon Eclipse had a failure and the replacement was going to be $40. I wasn't impressed with any of them and was hoping that the IQ3, being LED, would be more reliable.

The background thing is easily cured with Aquaglue, or silicone or clamps. That's not my concern. But if the light doesn't work, the fanciest tank in the world is just a fish bowl, which I can get much cheaper. 

Edit: I was going to ask some more questions, but I don't want to hijack Ashley's thread, so I'll start another with my own poll. Sorry for the 'jack.


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Found this thread at the Plantedtank concerning the new lights...

Fluval Ebi light


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## DR1V3N (Apr 22, 2010)

Atom said:


> Found this thread at the Plantedtank concerning the new lights...
> 
> Fluval Ebi light


lol.. that would be the one and the same thread poster (mysticalnet).

I'm glad I read this. Was thinking about grabbing an ebi too and still am but will probably hold off until the newer, improved light fixtures are in the box.

On a side note, my fluval edge is still running strong! The stock halogen lights (all be them weak enough to not sustain needier plants) seem to be as bright as when I bought the unit a year ago .


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

martialid10t said:


> lol.. that would be the one and the same thread poster (mysticalnet).


lol, never noticed that.


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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

If you guys are talking about the light bulb itself, they are innexpensive to replace about $6 or 7ea plus tax. I can probally get them for $7 taxes in.

as for the fixture I know nothing about them lasting or durability...Ive only had mine for 1 month!


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## mysticalnet (Apr 22, 2010)

haha... sorry guys I forgot about this thread, and wow you found my thread on plantednet forum too... lol

Anyways, I got my fluval ebi at Roger's and Antonella told me that the manufacturer told them that the lights are faulty and are coming up with improved ones, just don't know when. Meanwhile I can bring my whole light fixture back to Roger's and they will replace one for me, which might burn again, but that's how it is gonna be until Fluval makes a better one.

I still have not gone to Roger's yet though to exchange the light, already 2 weeks, have been a little busy.

2wheelsx2, it is ok to hijack the thread, I don't mind 



Mferko said:


> did you see what happened with Maureen's background?
> If i could get all my money back for this thing right now i'd do it in a heartbeat
> 
> btw mystical did you end up finding a replacement bulb? where and how much? i wonder if you can get one by a different manufacturer that will fit?





2wheelsx2 said:


> Thank Maureen. I'm not going to put any fish into it, so the concern isn't size. I was looking at the Spec and Flora to see what my options were. I've had a lot of those nano lights (not sure if it was a JBJ) and found most of them unreliable at best. I got one at King Ed's and 2 at Rainforest after my father's 3 gallon Eclipse had a failure and the replacement was going to be $40. I wasn't impressed with any of them and was hoping that the IQ3, being LED, would be more reliable.
> 
> The background thing is easily cured with Aquaglue, or silicone or clamps. That's not my concern. But if the light doesn't work, the fanciest tank in the world is just a fish bowl, which I can get much cheaper.
> 
> Edit: I was going to ask some more questions, but I don't want to hijack Ashley's thread, so I'll start another with my own poll. Sorry for the 'jack.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Guess it's good that you can get the replacement, but then my time is $ too and I don't want to have to get a replacement every month until they fix the problem.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

same thing happened with creative's zen mp3 players, i had a total of 6 replacements during my warranty period


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

so, beating the bulb like a red headed stepchild bought it a couple more days of life but now its dead for good, i went to take that fixture off the ebi and slide the working one over to the center and found out the hard way the lights are what was holding my background down... up it came, the substrate got underneath, now it wont go back down... i think i might just pull the background out instead of tearing the thing apart...

FML

Ebi's SUCK


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

guess now i need to get some orca glue so i can fix this POS without having to drain it


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

Not another one! Mferko did you get a chance to silicone your background before this happened? At least you were there and it wasn't a nasty surprise.

I would pull the background out too if I was in your situation...which I hope I never am.


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

no it was on my "to do" list


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