The Gavita Pro UV LED Rail is an interesting strip light that was not designed for reef aquarium use, instead it was intended as a UV booster for indoor and hydroponic culture of cannabis plants. You might be surprised to learn that it’s not just corals that are sensitive to ultraviolet radiation exposure because it’s common practice to stimulate cannabis to produce more THC with doses of UV light towards the end of the blooming period.
Just as some corals will develop brighter colors as a kind of natural sunscreen to protect themselves from the UV exposure, cannabis plants produce extra resin to do the same, with the resin being one part of the plant with high levels of THC, the psychoactive substance which makes cannabis valuable for medical or recreational purposes. Gavita makes a wide range of lighting products targeted at horticulture but they used to make some aquarium focused products under the Euroquatics brand.
Ultraviolet LEDs used to be rare in the aquarium hobby but nowadays most LED fixtures and striplights include some degree of ultraviolet diodes but we can’t think of any light which is just ultraviolet spectrum. This is where the Gavita Pro UV LED Rail makes for a unique lighting option particularly for light hungry SPS corals and especially Acropora corals since many species are naturally exposed to very high levels of UV in their shallow water environments.
The Gavita Pro UV LED Rail is 43 inches long and emits 30 watts of pure ultraviolet light peaking at around 385 nanometers for around $130. We definitely don’t recommend this light for most reef tanks but for the more curious and adventurous stick head reefers who grow their SPS under very high light, the Gavita Pro UV LED Rail could be an interesting addition to spice up their colors with a spike in this exotic part of the aquarium lighting spectrum. [Gavita]
