From Left to Right: Unibody 36, Unibody 54, and Unibody 108.

Late last year, JBJ made their big splash onto the LED lighting scene with their all new Unibody LED fixture. Originally only shown off in one size, the 54watt Unibody, we’ve recently come to discover, via the JBJ USA Facebook Page, that there are actually three completely different models in the lineup. We assume that this trio of sizes is meant to mirror the three different sizes of the rimless JBJ Nano-Cube aquariums that were also just released, but obviously these small yet powerful LED fixtures can target a whole range of other nano to mid-sized aquariums. The three models being offered are the Unibody 36, Unibody 54 (the original model), and Unibody 108. And from what we can tell, the major features are shared universally by all three models, with the only differences being the number of emitters in each model and obviously the size.

The Unibody 54, which was the first model to hit the market, has three rows of six LEDs and the total power consumption is 54watts (hence the name Unibody 54). We assume the two other models, the Unibody 36 and 108, share this naming structure, but we are unsure of how the LEDs will actually be laid out on the CNC machined aluminum block. Regardless of how things are actually laid out, we’re sure each fixture is designed to provide maximum coverage.

The two new Unibody models aren’t quite available on the aquarium equipment market as of yet, but given the fact that pre-production models are already being tested and inspected, we expect the new models to be hitting store shelves in no time. Prices also haven’t been revealed as of yet, but going off the price of the Unibody 54 ($350), the Unibody 36 will probably come in at in the mid-$200′s and the Unibody 108 most likely flirting with $500. Again, these are all speculative points on our part, but we’re confident these will be in the same ballpark as their actual prices.

A little more about these lights: The JBJ Unibody LED fixtures are both sleek and stylish, being made from a solid block of machined aluminum, not unlike the very snazzy Apple Macbook laptops. Each fixture sports multiple rows of blue and white triple spectrum diodes, with both colors being on separate channels and both being completely controllable. The controller can dial in the color spectrum anywhere between 6500K and 20000K, giving users a great deal of control over how blue or white their aquariums look.

Ecoxotic is tweaking their RGB arsenal a little bit with a bigger and better LED remote control for their Panorama Pro RGB modules. This new controller offers up the same great features seen in the original, but now includes several more that allow the end user even more control and functionality. These features include a built-in memory to store up to six do-it-yourself custom colors, the ability to produce up to 20 present colors (up from 16), a quick and slow fading of the intensity, the option to save the “last color profile”, and the ability to not only control the intensity of the light but the amount of specific colors.

This new remote is currently available on the Ecoxotic Website for $50.

From the Ecoxotic Newsletter:

Our new Panorama Pro RGB controller provides new features and flexibility to dial in almost any color spectrum. Now you can:

Create your own custom colors and store up to 6 in memory
20 preset colors
Fade between colors quickly or slowly
Increased memory for storing last color profile
Vary intensity and brightness
Turn lights on and off

Create your own custom color or instantly choose one of 20 different color spectrums with the simple touch of a button. Whether you want to add a little fuschia to your reef tank, create an aqua-blue angelfish tank, or gently fade through all the color spectrums in your jellyfish exhibit, the Panorama Pro RGB Module completely changes what you can do with aquarium lighting.

From Ecoxotic’s Website:

Control the color spectrum of your aquarium lighting with just one click. That’s the big advantage of RGB LED technology. You can instantly change the color, vary intensity and brightness, turn your lights on or off, or set your light on fade mode to slowly rotate through the entire color spectrum. The handheld remote works from up to 30 feet away and is super simple to install. You can even add more punch by snapping on a polished reflector, effectively doubling the amount of light focused into your tank.

In a time of LED domination, we’re still happy to find companies developing new products for T5 users. ATI is releasing a new T5HO bulb onto the market in the form of their Coral Plus. Building off the spectrum of other bulbs in their lineup, the Coral Plus will be a healthy blend of the Blue Plus, Aquablue Special, and Purple Plus. The resulting light output is white with a strong hint of blue, and still manages to squeeze in some rays from the red and green portions of the spectrum. The color is roughly 15000K, and by blending the colors, ATI is giving T5 users the ability to enjoy all of the spectra found in the rest of their fluorescent bulbs in their lineup in a single bulb.

Thanks George from ReefGeek for contacting us with the info.

Since 2011 is quickly drawing to a close, we’ve decided to compile a list of our most popular stories from the past twelve months. The AquaNerd Top 11 of 2011 features five articles on LED lighting, three stories on newly released and expanded aquarium lines, an amazing underwater hotel room, a new television show about aquariums, and even a reef aquarium wedding cake.

We’re a little surprised to see a few of the articles that made it to the top of our most popular list. Not that these weren’t important, but we expected to see a few others that didn’t quite make it. We aren’t at all surprised to see so many LED themed articles in the list, as they also dominated our Top 10 of 2010.

Continue reading below for pictures from each of the stories on the AquaNerd Top 11 of 2011 List.

1. Reef Aquarium Wedding Cake
2. AquaIlluminations Sol Now Offered in Black, Sees Price Drop and New Mounting Hardware
3. The New Skimz Ibox Nano Aquarium
4. Innovative Marine’s Nuvo Aquarium Line
5. Red Sea’s New MAX-S Series All-in-One Aquariums
6. The New Kessil A150W LED Aquarium Light
7. Ecoxotic Proves LEDs Grow Corals
8. Underwater Suite at the Maldives Hilton
9. Current USA TrueLumen Pro PAR Numbers
10. The New Maxspect Mazarra P Series LED Fixtures
11. “Tanked”, a New TV Show for Aquarium Enthusiasts

At MACNA earlier this year, AquaIlluminations unveiled a new module under the codename “Phoenix”. This module is the bigger brother of the popular AI Sol, and it has finally received its official name…the AquaIlluminations Vega. What makes this module differen than the Sol is that it offers up a few new features that really push the entire line forward by leaps and bounds. Besides the single row of four LED clusters with five emitters each, the Vega also offers wireless controllability built right in. Users can adjust the intesity of the modules via computer, and even create interesting effects like robust sunrise and sunsets, along with lightning strikes.

As for the name itself, we can’t say that we’re in love with it. The “Phoenix” codename actually seems so much more fitting, not to mention it already had all of the market recognition for that name. Regardless, the light has a lot to offer and at the end of the day the name doesn’t detract from that.

Aquatronica, an aquarium controller system distributed by Hydor, has released a new Moonlight LED, model ACQ510-120, that will give aquarium keepers the ability to illuminate their reef at night. The light comes in at 120cm, or just under four feet, and is housed within an anodized aluminum shell. The light was designed with low power consumption in mind, and the blue glow is focused into the aquarium with the help of a methacrylate reflection lens. This LED light can be installed as a stand-alone fixture and independent from the Aquatronica aquarium controller system, and can be controlled with a simple timer for turning it off and on at specific times. Despite this, Aquatronica is also releasing a Moonlight Dimming Module that allows their controller t dim the intensity of the LEDs to create a variety of moon effects. In terms of mounting options, the Moonlight can be installed into a canopy or onto an existing light fixture with the help of screws that utilize the built-in mounts or an included “plastic velcro fixing system”. Currently, this moonlight is only available in Italy, but it should soon see worldwide distribution.

A little more information can be seen below.

UPDATE: We initially thought this light was only available in a four foot model, which left us scratching our heads. Fortunately, that information has been cleared up for us. The Aquatronica Moonlight will be available in three lengths of 2-feet, 3-feet, and 4-feet. Their power consumption is 2w, 3w and 4w respectively. The moonlights will be available Europe by mid-February and the US will get them a month or two after that.

From Aquatronica:

TECHNICAL DATA:

Lenght : 120cm

Led number: 60

Color : Blue (470mn)

power consumption: 4W

Voltage: 12V

Thanks for the update Mike.

Innovative Marine has been flooding the aquarium hobby with some interesting products as of late. These include equipment such as the sleek Nuvo rimless nano aquariums and Skkye Light LEDs, and they obviously aren’t stopping anytime soon. Their latest release is the new Skkye Light Utility LED light, which is a small but powerful and versatile LED fixture that is ideal for many different applications. The Utility light features six 1-watt LEDs that put out 120 lumens per watt and are available in variety of color spectrums such as 6500K, 10000K, 14000K, and 456nm. Each diode is wrapped in an individual optic lens that focuses the light into the tank, giving each good depth penetration and making them ideal to illuminate your nano aquarium or refugium and possibly serve as accent lighting on a larger system.

Here’s a little more info from Innovative Marine’s Facebook page:

The dimensions of the light are 4.1″ x 7.24″ x 16″, and all of that hardware sits atop a flexible goose neck arm that attaches to the side of an aquarium with a locking lever suction cup mount. This arm and suction cup combination allow the light to be positioned precisely where it is needed, providing light to specific areas of the aquarium.

Prices and release dates haven’t been revealed at this point, but we’ll update when those are known.

NEW: SKKYELIGHT UTILITY LED
www.innovative-marine.com
FEATURES:
* 6 Watt LED Utility Light
* Flexible Goose Neck Arm
* Locking Lever Suction Cup Mount
*Fits on:
Glass Aquariums
Acrylic Aquariums
Refugiums
AIO Aquariums

- SiIZE: 4.1″ x 7.24″ x 16″
- LED WATTAGE: 6 x 1W
- COLORS: 65k, 10k, 14k, 456 nm
- CURRENT: 350 mA

CoralVue dropped a teaser image on us yesterday, showing off a yet to be released 8-bulb T5HO and LED hybrid light fixture. And in being a teaser, no additional information was given. Fortunately, CoralVue has other models that share many of the same characteristics, which allows us to get a good gauge on what this larger fixture will offer. These features include parabolic spider bent T5 reflectors with 95% reflective Germany mirror finish aluminum for each T5HO bulb, a microprocessor controlled ballast that allows for 40% more T5 bulb life, and 1 watt blue LEDs to cause corals to fluoresce or to serve as a moonlight. The light is enclosed in an extruded aluminum housing that is treated with an automotive grade high gloss painted finish. For mounting hardware, this hybrid fixture is provided a free hanging system and an on-tank mounting system with height adjustable legs. A single power cable runs from the fixture to a junction box, which then splits off into six power cords. This may take up a lot of room in the power strips, but it also provides users with the ability to operate many different parts of the fixture at different times, which allows for robust dawn-to-dusk control. The fixture should be available in early January 2012 and an expected price tag hasn’t been revealed.

LED lighting is in full swing in the aquarium industry, and several brands have already climbed to the top of the hill by implementing a wide array of features that include brand name emitters, multiple and independently controlled channels, dimmability, and wireless controllability among many more. With all of these brands vying for the top spot, most manufactures are constantly trying to 1-up each other by offering even more over the top features, which is always a good thing for the consumers involved. One of the latest fixtures to offer a plethora of features is the Metis Hyperion from Pacific Sun. Improving on the groundwork laid out by other LED fixtures on the market, this 8-channel beast sports six different Cree emitters as well as a couple of different UV-A diodes. Each of the eight channels can be controlled independently through various methods of built-in control that include Bluetooth, WIFI, Ethernet, and even a built-in web server. In terms of external control, the Metis Hyperion is compatible with GHL Profilux, Neptune Apex, and the Pacific Sun X-Screen controller tablet. And to help give us a visual of this control, Pacific Sun has released several screen shots and a video demonstration of the software, which can all be seen after the page break.

As can be seen in the multiple screen shots, the software controlling the Metis Hyperion is rather robust. The program consists of many different tabs that control everything from independent channel intensity, to moonlights, to an advanced start-up and shutdown of the light during daily use.

Here’s a brief walkthrough of the software courtesy of the video. To start the control process users have to connect to the fixture by simply clicking on the “Connection” tab and determine how they want to communicate with the light. Once connected, there’s a huge number of things the user can tweak and adjust to their liking. In the video, the disembodied user adjusts a couple of time settings, which elicits an immediate response from the light that are set to mimic a certain time of the day. Following that, the moon light program is tinkered with, and we have to say this program alone is extremely thorough. Metis Hyperion users can simulate all phases of the moon, which cause the aquarium to glow more or less at night depending on the phase that the software is in. Once set, the phases will follow the natural waxing and waning progressions of the moon.

The next feature explored is the simple adjustment of the eight independent channels of the fixture. By moving the sliders up and down in the program, the intensity of each color can be adjusted until the ideal color spectrum is achieved. This type of intensity control is not new to the hobby, as EcoTech and AquaIlluminations both have something very similar to this in their own modules. Following the intensity adjustment demo, the “PAR Table” is then explored and it’s an area where we think the software really flexes its muscles. Up to ten time intervals can be independently programmed, with each one starting at a different time and with a different color output of the fixture. This portion of the software provides the most advanced dawn-to-dusk effects seen in the hobby today and does a much better job of mimicking the intensity changes that occur naturally through the day. And of course, if you tinker with too many settings and realize you don’t like the look or the effect, you can always hop on over the next tab to restore the software to the default settings.

And here are the remainder of the images (click to enlarge).

A couple of months ago, we first came across the brand new Panorama Pro LED fixture while cruising around the vendor hall at MACNA, and we’re happy to say that Ecoxotic has made this new light available to the masses. At 24″ in length, this fixture comes powered by a mixture of five Panorama Pro LED modules that consist of three 12K White/445nm Blue and two 445nm Blue modules. With this out-of-the box combination, the color of the resulting light should be white with a very rich blue undertone that makes your coral colors pop. But if those colors aren’t to your liking, the fixture is completely upgradeable. With the fixture’s modular design, several more modules and multiple Stunner Strips can be incorporated into the layout, which also allows users to also customize the color spectrum being emitted. Heck, even the RGB Panorama Pro modules can be put into the fixture and we all know how many colors that thing is capable of rendering.

More information and a video can be seen below.

Besides the new array of LEDs, the Panorama Pro fixture also sports a black aluminum housing and an adjustable mounting bracket that can be locked in an “open” position to allow the aquarium keeper into the tank without having to wrestle with power cords and lights. The fixture has a total of four mounting options, which consists of a tank mount, stand mount, wall mount, and hanging kit. Each of the mounting options give aquarists more choices depending on the look they want, and each is sold separately. The features packaged with this new Panorama Pro fixture include two inline on/off switch with adjustable dimmer control, two power supplies, five polished reflectors, two 3-way splitters, and an EcoCham cleaning cloth.