LED lighting technology has been around for some time and while most of us do not use LED lighting on our tanks, our interest in the subject is always high. Aqua Illumination has been working with a solid state plasma lighting system in which they hope to have ready by September of this year at the latest. With AI’s initial testing they have found that a “single emitter appears to produce equivalent output as metal halide systems with the longevity of LED based systems.” The final operating color is said to look like the above picture when fully powered on which takes a few minutes. Plasma light is sure a huge step with aquarium lighting and you will want to read down below for all the other juicy details.
Aqua Illumination is using a solid state light source from Luxim the STA-40 Series. With the graph to the left you can see just how much potential this new type of lighting has. The STA-40 Series is rated at 120 lumens/watt. Additionally this solid state light is said to be dimmable up to 20% which it might not make it into the final product is still exciting in the minds of reefers. Down below is an official letter from Chris Clough who is president of C2 Development, Inc. master parent company to Aqua Illumination.
2 years ago AI brought to the reefing community an LED system unlike any other. This system utilized the LED latest technology and years of product development experience. Today, AI continues to bring cutting edge technology to the hobby with the development of the first LiFi by Luxim based solid-state plasma lighting system. The outlook of this technology is promising, however at this time pricing, features and availability are unknown due to the products early stage of development. From our initial testing we have found this single emitter appears to produce equivalent output as metal halide systems with the longevity of LED based systems. The light easily lends its self to a wide color spectrum range and intensity control.
While this technology is still in development AI is planning to release its modular T5 lighting system at the beginning of the 3rd quarter of this year. This system will feature parabolic reflectors utilizing MIRO Silver material, active cooling, and AIs innovative modular concept allowing the user to upgrade or change its configuration as your tank changes without any loss in investment. The system will come in a multiple configurations: a basic version controllable by switched outlets, a controllable version using AI’s time tested controller allowing multiple configurations with minimal wires, a dimmable version also utilizing AI’s controller, and a version with supplemental LED’s for supplemental shimmer and moonlighting effects. Like our LED system it will also be controllable using the GHL ProfiLux and the Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Elite.
AI is excited to bring the latest lighting technology to the reefing community. We pride ourselves on leveraging the latest technologies; keep an eye out for our new developments, beyond lighting systems.
Chris Clough President
C2 Development, Inc.
AquaIllumination
