by AquaNerd | Jul 22, 2014 | Science
EcoTech Marine is generously giving away one of their brand new, just released Radion XR15w Pro LED fixtures to one lucky hobbyist in a Facebook promotional contest. To enter, all you have to do is click like, make a comment, and share the original contest announcement posted on their Facebook page. This will net you three entries ink the contest, and hopefully a brand new light fixture. The contest is open now until August 15th at midnight. Besides the light, the winner will also receive a free t-shirt and a bottle of EcoTech Elements Coral Glue. Continue below for the full announcement. In celebration of the release of the new Radion XR15w Pro LED fixture, we’re having a Radion Giveaway right here on Facebook! One lucky winner will receive an EcoTech Marine Radion XR15w Pro! That’s not all, either… the winner of the contest will also receive a complimentary bottle of Elements Coral Glue and T-Shirt by AquaNerd | Jun 30, 2014 | Science
We’ve been dying to make this announcement for almost three weeks now, and the cat is finally out of the bag. EcoTech Marine is releasing their all new XR15w Pro, and as the lingo suggests, this version of the Radion is smaller than its XR30w brethren, offering up a single LED cluster but all of the same awesome features. A total of 21 LEDs fill out the lone cluster, and it features a full spectrum output with a touch of UV that has been optimized for coral growth. In terms of size, the new XR15 measures just 7″ x 7″ with an expected light spread of roughly 20″ x 20″. This spread is achieved by the standard issue 80 degree TIR lens, though a 120 degree TIR lens will also be available for those needing just a bit more. The wider lenses give the XR15 a 24″ x 24″ light spread. The maximum PAR levels are around 825 with a peak power consumption of 85 watts. In typical EcoTech fashion, the XR15w Pro will be equipped with the same wireless technology that is found in other products of the brand. The on-board RF Module makes compatibility and communication seamless, letting the light work with other lighting and flow products via the ReefLink and EcoSmart Live software. by AquaNerd | Jun 24, 2014 | Science
It’s unboxing time once again, with our newest toy to play with being the Atlatik Compact WiFi LED fixture from Orphek. This compact light is essentially a shorter version of the popular Orphek Atlantik, offering the same spectrum and efficience but packaged in a smaller light. It sports a whopping 42 emitters broken down into 8 different colors and spread across four channels of control. It has wireless capabilities built-in, allowing users to control each of those color channels via any Android powered device running the Orphek app. As for the colors offered in the fixture, Orphek uses 18000K white, 450nm blue, 470nm blue, 420nm – 6000K dual chip, 410nm – 18000K dual chip, 395nm – 6000K dual chip, and wide spectrum red. Of this offering a total of twelve LEDs are of the dual chip variety, a not too common feature of aquaruim LED lighting but one that opens up all sorts of color blending possibilites. Speaking of all the possibilities, with the use of the Orphek app and an Android device (tablet or phone), each of the channels on the Atlantik Compact can be individually controlled. The light features eight pre-installed programs, full dimmin capacity on all channels, the ability to create and store custom lighting programs, elaborate dawn-to-dusk programs, cloud simulator programs, and the ability to control up to 252 Atlantik fixtures simultaneously. Other benefits associated with the fixture and its software are the face that each light fixture is assigned its own IP address, aquariums can be located in different areas as long as they are in the range of the wireless router, and a built-in calendar lets users store up to eight programs per month by AquaNerd | Jun 9, 2014 | Science
ATI Aquaristik is no stranger to aquarium illumination. For many years, their Powermodule T5HO fixtures have topped the wishlists of many a hobbyist. But over the last few years, T5HO lighting has waned in popularity, giving way to LEDs. ATI seemed to have reisted the trend, as they slowly adopted LEDs into their lineup and only initially as supplemental lighting in their Powermodule hybrids. But, the times seem to be a changin’ and it appears that ATI is finally coming fully on board with LED technology as their latest light fixture sports nothing but tiny little emitter goodness. The ATI Sirius X LED fixtures sport an array of LED clusters, with each pulling about 75watts. The clusters are composed of 13 LEDs each, with the embedded colors being six Cree XPE Blue, two Luxeon M Royal Blue 450nm, two Luxeon M Cool White, two Cree XPE Red 620nm, and one Semileds Violet 420nm. This grouping of LEDs is further broken down into four independently controllable color channels, and to further play to our contol freak needs, the individual clusters themselves are independently programmable from others in the fixture by AquaNerd | May 28, 2014 | Science
Maxspect is set to have a really busy year in 2014. Besides the new Ethereal LED fixture, which boasts some mouthwatering wireless capabilities, Maxspect has also announced their new Glaive fixture. This LED striplight will be available in two varieties, one for freshwater setups and the other for marine aquariums, with both sporting a single row of 4-core 7watt MultiChip LEDs and four individual channels of control. Speaking on control, the Glaive will utilize a handheld infrared remote to adjust the color and intensity of the fixture, as well as lighting schedules for sunrise and sunset. The Glaive will be offered four different lengths, with models being 16″, 24″, 32″, and 40″ in length. The marine fixture, called the Glaive G4-M, uses a 3000K white channel, 460nm royal blue channel, 500nm cyan channel, and 420nm super actinic. As expected, the freshwater version (G4-F) utilizes more green and red LEDs instead of being so heavy on the blues
