TMC Ocean Blue NP Ultima Reef LED Light

Last Revised 1/8/2019

The “TMC Ocean Blue NP Ultima” is one of the newer offerings from Tropic Marine Centre of the UK.
See Authorized Product Link: TMC Ocean Blue NP 1500
This is the retailer in North America I recommend to purchase this product from, with the most experience in selling this product, along with the best customer service and free information to back up the product (beware of a parasite retailer selling clearance product out of a home with an official looking name & website)!

This new LED features the newest patented Cree XT-E emitters in the Ocean White, Fiji Blue as well as the incredible Osram Oslon (patent pending) “NP Blue” emitter.

This is a non-lensed LED fixture and therefore even with the deep blue “Fiji Blue” emitters, I would not recommend it for aquarium depth penetration beyond 22 inches of water.

What is incredible about this new LED fixture, and what sets it apart, is that it includes the new NP Blue emitters from Osram Oslon. I should note that Osram Oslon is a lesser known company located in Sunnyvale California, but also has German designers in their location in Regensburg, Germany.

Back to the NP Blue, AKA the “Nature Blue” emitter, it is a very unique blue WITH A FULL SPECTRUM PAR that also includes some red and other colors besides the complete 410-500 nanometer blue range.
The appearance is somewhat of a “sky blue” because of this, the light “Color” may fool some who are not familiar with the science of photosynthetic reef life lighting who only go by what they see.
But more what is important, despite the popularity of many deep blue emitters, this is a very natural PAR/PUR light that is exactly what photosynthetic marine life needs, not what appeals to our senses.

The picture below shows how the four NP Blue emitters actually produce a full spectrum Reef PUR light, not the more blue that may appear to our eyes!!

I expect, if only for this emitter, that this LED becomes one of the most popular LED fixtures on the market. Even if only among my professional aquarium design and maintenance friends!!

Another aspect of the fixture and the NP Blue emitter that I really like is the fact that one channel has a mix of only NP & Fiji Blues and this make a MUCH more accurate channel to dim for moon lighting effects due to the fact that moon light is not actually blue, and with the NP blues, one can obtain a more accurate moon light spectrum while still maintaining a nice blue light that is more pleasing to us as humans for our moon lighting.

Below is a graph showing the wave length output of this new Osram Oslon emitter.
It would be misleading to give a peak wavelength for this product as it is not a narrow bandwidth. This LED has a little phosphor on there to enable it to emit light across the whole visible spectrum. It’s spectrum actually looks like the below (the dotted line is the human eye response curve).
What this means is that the effect of the LED is not only a more natural looking moonlight, but also a more natural overall spectrum.

Here are a few specifics for the “TMC Ocean Light NP Ultima Reef LED Light”:

• Contains these emitters;
  • 2 x Cree Patented XT-E Fiji Blue
  • 4 x Cree Patented XT-E Ocean White
  • 4 x Osram Oslon NP Blue
• Beam Angle 120 degrees
• Overall Color Temperature 20000 K
• PAR @ 400 mm in Air 142 µEinsteins/sec/m2
• Total Luminous Flux 1965 lumens
• Total Power Consumption 30 watts @ 700 mA
• Efficiency 66 lm/W

Keep in mind that this LED fixture uses the same exact emitters as the TMC Reef White NP 2000, YET has a lower PAR rating at 400mm.
WHY is this?
This is why comparing PAR between different lights, even from the same manufacturer is like comparing apples to oranges.
The TMC Reef White NP 2000 as very focused emitters that allow very high PAR ratings much deeper, BUT this does not necessarily make this the better LED light for all applications.
For instance a standard 70 gallon that is 48 inches long by 18 wide, by 18 deep (high) is would be better served by the TMC Ocean Blue with its wide foot print, but less depth penetration since this i not a deep tank.

Please reference my other article:
TMC AquaBeam 2000 HD Ultima NP Review

VIDEO

TMC Ocean Blue NP Ultima Premium LED Fixture

In Summary;

As more hard core use of Ocean Blue NP Ultima Reef LED Light comes forward, I will add to this article, as I do with the majority of my articles.

Based on my tests as well as feedback from many I trust who maintain aquariums and sell reef inhabitants for a living, what I can say is are these points:

• This is an excellent Reef LED for ANY Reef or even Marine Fish only aquarium under 22 inches of depth penetration.
• Generally not for freshwater use
• The foot print is approximately 24 x 24 inches
• For deeper tanks, this awesome LED light can still be practical, however with tanks in the 24-32 inch depth range I would suggest a mix of 50/50 with the TMC Reef White NP 2000 Ultima.
  Another suggestion for deeper tanks is mix of 2 Reef White 2000s with 1 Ocean Blue Ultima, and 1 Reef Blue 600.

Please Read this excellent article too, I find it is updated often to keep current with very accurate Aquarium Lighting Information:
Complete Aquarium Light Information

Another Recommended Read:
PUR, PAS, PAR in Aquarium Reef/Planted Lighting

Copyright 2019
By Steve Allen