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Tag Archives: aquarium lighting
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Kessil Teases New Top Secret Panel Light Fixture
When it comes to aquarium illumination, the guys at Kessil seem to have the Midas touch. Since starting their foray into the aquarium realm back in 1Q 2011, at least in the eye of the public, each of their entries onto the market have been extremely well received. Their first product, the A150 and its variations, debuted with a huge splash, and that’s probably an understatement. Since then, the A350 and A360 have racking up even more fans to the brand, impressing us greatly along the way. To date, each of the Kessil products designed for aquarium use have come in the form of LED pendants, and it would appear that the lighting specialists are toying with the idea of branching out, at least where form factors are concerned. They recently teased all of us aquarium nerds with a couple of digital renderings of a potential Kessil LED panel light fixture over on their Facebook page. And from the looks of it, they’re on the right track. Pendant style lighting is sleek and stylish, but not everyone is a fan, choosing to stick with long fixtures instead. Each style has its pros and cons, and if you polled forum users, we know you would get a thousand different opinions. Regardless, there is a real market out there for light fixtures, so it’s no surprise that companies like Kessil are thinking about adding them to their offering. So, what sort of gear is Kessil looking at? Well, their latest digitally conceptualized fixture, which is just being called a “secret” Kessil panel light, is around two feet long and draws approximately 100w. The renderings show off a sleek, low profile light that can obviously be suspended over an aquarium. The hanging brackets that are attached to the fixture look remarkably like on-tank mounting legs, but again this is all a digital drawing board at this point. A handful of buttons grace the front of the fixture, a large top mounted fan provides activine cooling, and there might be some sort of antenna located on the right hand side of the light, though it’s hard to tell. We’re sure that the fixture, if it ever comes to fruition, will play nice with the Neptune Systems Aquacontroller, and going off Kessil’s track record, we know we won’t be disappointed. We honestly like the look of this fixture, and it’s a huge step up from the first concepts that were being rolled out (see below).… More:
Posted in Opinion, Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, Kessil, led lighting, Opinion
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AquaIllumination Officially Pulls the Curtain Off Their New Hydra
A little more than a week ago, we found ourselves gawking at the new Hydra LED fixture that AquaIllumination snuck onto the market. At the time, we found what little info we could from the product pages of an online vendor who just so happened to put the light up for pre-order. Whether that listing was by accident or by design is still a little bit of a mystery to us, as AI hadn’t even officially released that info on their site or through mailing lists, and no other authorized AI dealers had them listed. Fortunately, that’s all a moot point as the new Hydra went live on AI’s website very recently, and it gives us more info that shines a little more light on what we can expect in terms of performance. As we mentioned in the previous article on the Hydra, the new fixture isn’t much different than its Vega brethren, but AI makes those few differences really count. For starters, the LED color offering has been revamped. Where the AI Vega Color offers six different colors, the Hydra offers seven. In addition to one more color, there are a couple of different emitter brands that have been brought on board. These include the SemiLED 415nm Violet and Edison Opto 400nm UV LEDs, which expand the color spectrum of the Hydra beyond what any of the other AI products use. Glancing at the image of the Hydra above, another difference that jumps out at us is the orientation of the LEDs. The clusters have been rotated slightly, which coupled with the modified lenses, provides for a better color mixing for a more uniform light output. The lenses are 80 degrees and use a TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optical design with a diffuse exit surface. Given the fact that the LEDs are the same wattage as those found in the Vega, we assume that the diffuse surface of the optics will spread the light out at the cost of depth penetration, though its probably only slight. Taking a slight detour back to the similarities, the AI Hydra will sport the same built-in wireless control technology found in the Vega. It is compatible with both the New Controller and the more advanced, web-based Director software. The new AI Hydra is not a replacement for the Sol fixture, but instead another key product to the AI product line. It might cause a slight price drop in the Sol and Nano fixtures, but that’s a guess on our part.… More:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ai hydra, aquaillumination, aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, led lighting
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New Lamp Clamp Fixtures from Coral Compulsion Are Simple, Affordable Solution to Illuminate Your Reef
When it comes to aquarium illumination, hobbyists are often left with a tough choice for mounting their lights. On one hand, you can go the route of style and aesthetics, beig left with a difficult install from the ceiling or some sort of hanging hardware. On the other, you can use unsightly tank brackets that are simple to incorporate, but really detract from the overall look of the setup. Fortunately, lighting hardware producers have started to get smart and make gooseneck brackets, which are both simple and stylish, and the latest Lamp Clamp from Coral Compulsion is no different. The suitably called Lamp Clamp is a very simple, elegant way to illuminate your marine aquarium. It has a power cord, power switch, and socket built right in, giving new life to the Par30 and Par38 form factor LED lamps that have sort of waned in popularity over recent years. The Lamp Clamp has a flexible arm that is coated in vinyl to give added protection against corrosion. It holds up to 2lbs worth of LED goodness and an acrylic mounting clamp with nylon screws holds it securely to aquariums up to 1″ thick. Besides being an incredibly simple light source, the Coral Compulsion Lamp Clamp is also very affordale at only $39.99. It is available in both black and white versions, and comes with a 90-day warranty. MORE: New Lamp Clamp Fixtures from Coral Compulsion Are Simple, Affordable Solution to Illuminate Your Reef… More:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, coral compulsion, lamp clamp, par30, par38
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Giesemann Updates Matrixx T5HO with Stylish New Look
When it comes to stylishly functional lighting, there are few that hold a candle to Giesemann. They’ve introduced some of the best looking light fixtures that the aquarium industry has seen, and in recent years they’ve only added to their allure with products like the Teszla and Futura LED. In keeping with the same styling cues that made those too fixtures so darn beautiful to look at, Giesemann has revamped their Matrixx T5HO fixture, giving it a very similar look. Appropriately dubbed the Matrixx-II, this T5HO fixtures has a body made of heavy duty extruded and formed aluminum alloy that comes either coated in an anti-corrosion anodized silver finish or painted in a high gloss white. But the corrosion protection doesn’t stop just there. Each item that makes up the outer body of the light fixture (e.g. all joints, faces, internal faces, etc.) receive the same treatment and are either anodized or painted prior to the production of the fixture. While still on the topic of the fixture’s externals, a rather snazzy looking glass panel adorns the top of the Matrixx-II and, as we sort of mentioned, the bodywork is borrowed directly from Giesemann’s flagship LED fixtures, the Futura LED. Getting into the internals, the Matrixx-II doesn’t MORE: Giesemann Updates Matrixx T5HO with Stylish New Look… More:
Posted in Equipment, Industry, Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, Equipment, giesemann, industry, matrixx ii, t5ho
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GHL Releases Newer, Bluer Mitras LX 6200 HV LED Fixture
When it comes to features and capabilities, there are few LED fixtures that can compare with the GHL Mitras. Even at more than a year old, the sleek looking fixture is still ahead of the game in terms of what all it offers, and it will be years before some of the other LED brands catch up. But GHL isn’t going to sit idly by while the competition closes those gaps. In addition to working on the Mitras LED strip lights, they are also releasing a new model of the Mitras, the LX 6200 HV. Little will change for the new Mitras with regard to the fixture housing or even the overall functionality. Where the changes are coming, however, are the spectra of the LEDs. Due to popular demand, the Mitras LX 6200 HV will shift its color pallet to the bluer side by offering 9 separately dimmable colors. The resulting look has a more intense blue peak, which yields higher PAR values. As for the LEDs, the LX 6200 HV is just oozing with colors. It has12 x Cree XP-E blue, 12 x Cree XT-E cool white, 12 x Cree XT-E royal blue, 6 x Cree XT-E neutral white, 6 x Osram Oslon SSL true green, 6 x Osram Oslon SSL sky white, 6 x Osram Oslon SSL blue white, 6 x Osram Oslon SSL hyperred, and 6 x hyper violet 425 nm emitters. This layout differs from the Mitras LX 6100 HV (aka the original) by ditching the Osram Oslon SSL yellow and red LEDs and replacing them with Osram Oslon SSL sky white and blue white diodes. In terms of pricing, the new Mitras LX 6200 HV will be priced the exact same as its predecessor at $1199. Additionally, upgrade kits can be purchased that will convert your 6100 into a 6200, and those will run $299. MORE: GHL Releases Newer, Bluer Mitras LX 6200 HV LED Fixture… More:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, ghl, led lighting, mitras, mitras lx 6200 hv
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The Pandora Hyperion S is Another New LED/T5HO Fixture from Pacific Sun
April has been a busy month for Pacific Sun, who have recently announced two very capable light fixtures that blend LED and T5HO lighting technologies together into a single fixture. We already introduced the Ariel LED/T5HO hybrid last week, and today we’re focusing on its little brother, the Pandora Hyperion S. Much like the Ariel, the Pandora Hyperion S features LED panels flanked by T5HO fluorescent tubes. The difference between the two fixtures is really just the scaled back firepower and the smaller size. Where the Ariel had four T5HO bulbs and multiple LED panels, the Pandora Hyperion S has just two of the T5 fluorescents and a single 145w LED panel. The “S” in the fixture’s name stands for “shallow water”, meaning this version of the light comes without the powerful white LEDs needed for significant depth penetration. MORE: The Pandora Hyperion S is Another New LED/T5HO Fixture from Pacific Sun… More:
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged aquarium equipment, aquarium lighting, led lighting, pacific sun, pandora hyperion s
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Product Review: RapidLED new solderless LED kits
Despite the falling prices of new LED lights coming out, DIY approach is still the most cost-effective solution along with the highest level of custom-ability and an unmeasurable amount of fun and pride of building something yourself. In one of my previous reviews I wrote about Rapid LED solderless kit (check it here LINK), an interesting solution for people who are eager to go the DIY route but don’t want to hassle with the soldering part of it. Recently, staff at RapidLED made few changes to their solderless kits and I received the redesigned package for review. Let’s see what’s new in this DIY kit…… More:
Posted in DIY, Equipment, Industry
Tagged aquarium lighting, DIY LED, green diode, led light, Rapid LED, rapidled, solderless LED, violet LED
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Product Review: Sunshine Systems AquaUFO LED light
Manufacturers of aquarium LED lights are doing everything to make their product stand out of the crowd an gather a steady customer base. The manufacturer of LED panel that is a subject of today’s review tries yet another approach to attract customers to it’s product. The AquaUFO light from Sunshine Systems (LINK) surely turns heads with it’s unforgettable name and interesting looks. Let’s find out what it offers and how well it performs in the remaining part of this review…… More:
Posted in Equipment, Industry
Tagged aquarium light review, aquarium lighting, AquaUFO, Bridgelux, led light, LED review
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