Ecoxotics definitely is sending a message to the traditional lighting as we know it with their funeral motif at Reef-A-Palooza. The display is timely with Halloween right around the corner but their message is definitely a bit beyond just a spooky, seasonal booth design. For years metal halide, compact fluorescent and tubular fluorescent lighting has served us well but with the rise of efficient LED lighting in and outside the aquarium industry — it’s just a matter of time before these traditional forms of lighting take a back seat.
We are already seeing the influx of LEDs into the aquarium market and a lot of skepticism plagues the hobby on this form of light. Just as what happened over the years as new types of lighting entered the market, there is an education process from the manufacturers to the hobbyists on finding the best way to incorporate the lights usefully in a hobby application.
Over our time exploring LED lighting we can tell you that LEDs are an extremely efficient, practical and cost-effective way to light your reefing aquarium. The benefits of LEDs are huge over traditional forms of lighting — highly efficient, less heat added to the system and no worry about mercury and other harmful byproducts that we are finding with other forms of lighting.
There will definitely be a time and a place for the traditional types of lighting and we’re not advocating their demise completely but the innovation within the LED market is worth noting and paying attention to and the future of LED lighting is bright.
