Southwestmarines are now stocking Vertex lights. We’ve set up a unit for demonstration over our equipment display tank in our dry goods room, for anyone who would like to see the lights in operation. They are very impressive!
The makers of Vertex released the following press release:
“Illumina is the only available product on the market that allows the user to add new types/ colors of LED without having to remove any already existing LEDs on board. This is done through Auxiliary module concept/design. This means the user is no longer limited to what the manufacturer has chosen for fixture’s nomenclature of diodes and can decide what ratio they prefer for their own individual setup and application.
In essence, the user is provided with a building block, as explained above, and through different AUX. Modules, the aquarist can chose any mix of LEDs they wish to create the appearance(s) they desire. Furthermore, any increase in intensity or change of color composition can be achieved in a considerably more cost effective manner, since there will be no need to change the primary boards, which represent the main production
costs of the fixture (in some cases up to 70% of the total fixture’s cost) and can be extremely expensive to replace .
Having said that, we are happy to announce the following Auxiliary module releases:
1- Royal-Blue: Cree XPE/ 4 Diodes per pad/ 450nm
Using this module you can achieve different mixes of bluewhite, to your personal requirements. You are no longer limited to a 1:1, 2:1 or … ratio, as chosen by others based on their preference. Royal-Blue modules are ready to ship and can be installed
using the same upgrade kit used for any other AUX module.
2- UV/Violet: Seoul semi UV/ 3 diodes per pad/ Peeks @ 410nm
This Module will add that missing glow to your system, as well as increased agitation of fluorescent pigments resulting in increased luminescence of the corals!
In most cases, the final color-mix composition is a personal choice of the Aquarist, rather than a science. This result in conflicting user feedback on the different color LED nomenclature found in different makes. However, with the addition of UV-Violet modules, instead of noticing a huge difference in the color composed by the fixture utilizing
these modules, what can be immediately observed is how the corals and other tank inhabitants take on a different glow, when exposed to these wavelengths.
This additional coloration is due to the increased agitation of the fluorescent pigments, rather than the visible color of some LEDs creating an unnatural chromatographic output, due to the use of unnatural colors used by some designers. As before mentioned, there are personal visual preferences involved, however we strongly recommend these Violet-
UV supplements to all Illumina users, based on our experience of how this added spectrum has positively affected specimens in our system!
The most noticeable effect is the reduction of the so called “washed out” appearance due to the narrow band out-put of LEDs. Emitters used in aquarium fixtures are dominated by , Cool white, Blue and Royal-Blue which lack this special glow caused by UV/ Violet specially in Shallow waters or tidal area species.While the use of other colors is becoming rapidly fashionable, we simply see no benefit in certain colors, as they do not exist in a natural underwater environment in amounts that warrant their supplementation. This is due to the filtering effect of seawater. We will only release what we believe to help us reach our goal, which is to get as close as possible to that which nature is providing for marine animals in their own natural habitats.
There will be other modules released in the future to further diversify the chromatographic output possibilities of the Illumina, which will be useful in maintaining aquatic animals and not just a marketing gimmick! As we do not need to change the primary PCB to get a new LED on-board, in essence we can release ANY color module we wish with no limitations. However this is not our direction and as explained above, we will not release items that
will not benefit your system.
Another exciting news is the release of Illumina Mounting Brackets. This will allow the user to place the fixture over the aquarium without having to use hanging kits or large, unappealing railing systems.
Last but not least is the release of firmware 1851, which can be downloaded from our site and will allow the user to sync multiples of units in master/ slave mode…another addition to all the existing programming features already available. We have, also, added a lamp temperature feature to the Desk-Top software 1845, which shows you the actual running temperature of the lamp. Be sure to upgrade your fixture to take advantage of these great, new features.”