This week we got to try out the latest LED light fixture from Polish equipment manufacturer Aquael. The Ultra Slim BT is a modern LED luminaire that is slimline and app-controlled, the BT stands for Bluetooth, and the phone app allows for preset spectrums, timed ramping, moonlight, and custom color control. Aimed at being one light for all, the Ultra Slim BT has a marine 10,000k preset, as well as freshwater Sunny, Daybreak, Plant, and Night modes, and it’s the Marine setting that caught our eye and made us want to find out more.
Flip the 30-watt unit over and there are four LED chip clusters containing red, white, and blue diodes. The app allows for separate control of these three channels from 0-100% intensity, although the power is redistributed and you can’t have all three channels on 100% at the same time. Each cluster contains 38 diodes with a white bias, so Marine Mode is a lot whiter than most reefers will be used to, and to get the separate blue channel and pop, the white and red channels have to be slid right down to zero, affecting overall par. It will of course be fine for fish-only setups, the red channel providing color enhancement, as well as being a good option for macroalgae tanks.
Ultra Slim BT comes in three sizes, a four-cluster 30-watt unit, an eight-cluster 60-watt unit, and a twelve-cluster 90-watt unit for tanks up to over four feet in length. Passively cooled, the light comes with a very impressive IPX7 waterproof rating, meaning it can survive accidental dunking in water for up to 30 minutes. Common in several European light units, we would like to see far more marine lights with this level of safety and waterproofing.
Ultra Slim BT comes supplied with length and height-adjustable legs as well as hanging wires, and Bluetooth makes the connection a doddle. The Aquael factory in Poland is probably the most diverse manufacturing facility we’ve ever visited and Aquael continues to design its products in its own unique way. Although the Marine preset will just be too white for many reefers, it will make an awesome aquascaping light for the planted tank community.
Prices range from £199.99 – £399.99.
