Vertex Illumina is really a do-it-all kind of light, with different modules already being offered with accessory LED
colors like red and RGB LEDs, so that it is capable of very
fine tuning of color inside the aquarium.
A few more boutique LED lights have a “spare no expense” mentality, and they definitely look the part while
also delivering great-looking light. One of the early LED
lights that was available in both Europe and the US was
the Italian Elos E-Lite. The E-Lite is now available in two
shapes with a couple of different color options, in a slab
of metal finished with a great paint job. As its name suggests, Vitrea is one of the few LED aquarium lights made
For local retailer, contact (800) 357-2995 or go to www.cprusa.com
mostly out of glass. Vitrea’s large LED fixtures feature a
large glass panel inset with LED strips that use no secondary optics. The glowing look of the glass Vitrea fixtures can be paired up with a fancy touchscreen controller for lots of controls, simulations, and timer functions.
There are a few more high-tech LED light mak-ers such as Sfiligoi in Italy, Giesemann and SMD in
Germany, and Mame Design of Japan, the latter with
a mostly regional distribution of their handmade LED
lights. Giesemann has a much-anticipated fixture in the
works called the Giesemann Quazar, the company’s first
all-LED light. It is being billed as supercharged, compact,
Perhaps the most exotic of these
lights is the Mame Eco-light, a
highly original-looking 49-watt light
fixture with nearly 150 LEDs of four
different colors. The multiple channels of the Mame Eco-light’s red,
green, blue, and yellow LEDs can be
finely tuned to create innumerable
shades of color. The pricey Mame
Eco-light is a striking-looking light
with a clear acrylic mounting arm
and built-in color shifting throughout the day. It may not be overly
bright, but it has arguably the best
color rendition of corals of any LED
light I’ve yet seen.
RounDup REcap
For the most part, I avoided getting
into great detail about the actual
price and power consumption of
various LED lights in this roundup
because this information is readily
available with a few clicks of your
computer mouse. If you do some
follow-up research on any of the
LED lights discussed here, I urge you
not to look at the raw power or cost
of the light alone. Instead, try to be
critical in your analysis of the quality of the light, given a certain power
rating, and consider the longevity
and robustness of the design of the
LED lights on the aquarium market.
Technology in solid state LED
lighting is moving rapidly, but if you
spend your aquarium dollars wisely
you should be able to get a light that
will deliver on the true promise of
efficient lighting combined with reduced heat and cost over the life of
the fixture.
