The AquaRay Horizon LED light from Tropical Marine Centre is the first light “fixture” to take LEDs to their inevitable built-in conclusion. There will always be a place for standalone high powered LED lights with tons of functionality and features but for 99% of the aquarium market, there is a simple need for a decent light to illuminate corals, plants and fish without using too much energy or heating up the aquarium.
The AquaRay Horizon is the epitome of what a new or first tank buyer should be looking for in a simple yet complete aquarium, stand and hood setup. Funny thing is, the “hood” which used to include both the light and the glass top, now with the AquaRay Horizon is simply a glass top, with waterproof LEDs mounted right to it. With medium output SMD LEDs the thick glass cover-top of the AquaRay Horizon LED has plenty of thermal absorption capacity. Furthermore, by using “un-lensed” LEDs the color mixing is practically perfect with no disco-ball effect.
For now the newly announced AquaRay Horizon LEDs will conceivably be sold primarily alongside TMC’s line of glass tanks like the Signature Optiwhite Aquarium line. While TMC may be one of the first major name-brand aquarium supplier/manufacturers to release a combination glass cover/top/LED light, there actually was a myriad of other companies at InterZoo offering just this form factor of solid state LED lighting.
The reason we’re writing about TMC’s glass-cover-LED light is that these medium output LEDs are not regarded as the highest efficiency or longevity but with a brand name to back them up, we would feel comfortable recommending this set-up to our extended reef and aquarium family. It is inevitable that we will eventually see this form factor of LED lighting become available from Aqueon and/or Marineland in the future but for now, the Brits and the Europeans will be the first to enjoy the classy look of a distraction-free aquarium lit with the TMC AquaRay Horizon LED light.
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