Multichip LEDs have been available for reef aquarium lighting for some time now but the narrow spectrum and lack of controllability has prevented them from gaining widespread use. If colors and control is what has been holding them back, a new crop of multichannel multichip LEDs with a variety of colors is about to change all of that.
LED Group Buy is the first one out of the gate with an impressive 100 watt array of LEDs in a multichip package with five channels of control. The Lumia 5.1 includes 50 LEDs garnished in neutral white, royal blue, hyper violet, deep red and true violet/cool blue colors to stimulate coral reef animals in growth, color and photosynthesis. LED Group Buy touts the Lumia 5.1 multichannel multicolor multichip (M3) LED as being equipped with exotic colors for LEDs with the bare $98 package being fully compatible with the MakersLED, the leader in DIY LED heatsinks.
On the smaller end of the spectrum, MarineReefLED just tipped us off to their own little darling multichannel multichip package. The 10w LED package is destined for QuadSpec range of LED lighting products with four colors being spread across 9 individual diodes and three channels of control. The MarineReefLED package is also of the “M3” variety (multichip multichannel multicolor) and although you can’t get the bare component, we hope to soon see it arriving to reef tanks in various small fixture and spotlighting forms.
