Tag Archives: PAR

TMC AquaRay NUV 410nm LED

Revised 1/6/19

1380542_595504497173285_1626878484_n TMC AquaRay has finally granted the AquaBeam NUV 410nm LED to be released to the US market. The LED was released to Europe back in 2013 and only to the UK, for quantity control issues. The LED has the same design as the rest of the Solid State AquaRay line, with 5 SemiLED x 410nm near-ultra violet (NUV) didoes, 120 beam angle. It has the waterproof rating of IP67, no fan, shimmer, low carbon output/watts, PWM dimming, and the 5 year full replacement warranty.

20160106_122637

At this point of 2016, American Aquarium Products is the only full service authorized supplier of these LED to the Western hobbyist. The point of a emitter in this range is to enhance the colors of corals, fish, and plants.

TMC States:

“This 410nm wavelength will make corals fluoresce (as well as some other critters and fish) and has been shown to improve the red pigment ratio of certain deep water coral species such as Lobophyllia and Trachyphyllia“.

“The addition of this wavelength makes LED lighting look even closer to natural sunlight, truly the true to nature lighting solution you can buy!”

Resource: AAP AquaRay NUV LED

AquaRayNUV

Since this lighting spectrum is in the far side of the lighting spectrum, which also dips into the UVB range, limited quantity/amounts of the light is suggested.

TMC rates on strip of 5 emitters to light up to 170gals/650 litres, and is best seen when the tank is extra dark, say at night, when daytime lighting is off. The LEDs can be used during day lighting hours, just the recommendations of one strip per 170gals has to be considered for true coloration and amounts of UVB provided.

There are other Ultra Violet LEDs out in other commercial fixtures to date, but nothing up to TMC standards of quality of build, and also as a stand alone fixture. Some marine fixtures do have a couple NUV emitters in their fixtures, but separate controllability is not an option, which is why a separate fixture is preferred.

TMC does not give a rating on how long to run the fixture, say all the way threw the night, so caution is advised for health in mind. Start slow and work your way up and also know, limit amounts of this lighting type (more to the UVB range) actually reach the Earth surface.

TMC NUV with Reef White Combo

Watch your eyes, as it can be quick to try and blind you. UVB is harmful, so consider safety.

The fixture could be considered for reptile use, but keep in mind, it has a purple/blue look and since this is a new technology, reptiles would really need to be watched as far as health, as no reptile UVB LEDs are on the market as of yet.

Standard UVB Fluorescent

NUV Spectrum

Considering the amount of energy used by both fixtures, the NUV could be used as a supplement UVB light, to be ran all day during normal daylight hours for reptiles. For reef tanks, volume of water needs to be considered. The supplement light can be ran all day on 170 gals of water.

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Posted in Aquarium Lighting, Uncategorized

Tagged AAP, American Aqaurium Products, AquaBeam, AquaRay, Aquarium Lighting, corals, freshwater, LED, near ultra violet, NUV, PAR, PUR, Reptile, review, saltwater, spectrum, tank, TMC, ultima, UVB

Helpful Aquarium & Pond Keeping Acronyms, Abbreviations

Posted on May, 5 | 4 comments

While not a complete list, these are acronyms I have found useful and many of my professional aquarium keeping friends have “thrown around”

A:
AAP- An online aquarium & pond supply company, well known for their vast experience and research based information library.
AMP – Ampere; is the SI unit of electric current.
Reference: Ampere; Wikipedia
AA – Amino Acid
AC – Activated Carbon, a chemical filtration media.
AC – Alternating Current
Acan – Acanthastrea, a genus of large stony coral.
Acro – Acropora, a genus of small stony coral.
Reference: Acropora Coral Information and Care; Lighting, Amino Acids, more
AEFW – Acropora (Acro) Eating Flat Worms
ALK – Alkalinity, the measure of the alkaline buffering capacity of water.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry
ATC – Automatic Temperature Control

B:
BA – Bubble Algae
BB – Beneficial Bacteria
BBA – Black Beard Algae.
Reference: Aquarium Algae Control
BBS – Baby Brine Shrimp
BGA – Blue-Green Algae.
Reference: Blue Grean Algae; Cyanobacteria
BN – Bristle Nose Pleco, Ancistrus sp, a genus of plecos.
BOD – Biological Oxygen Demand
BPS – Bubbles Per Second, used as a measure of the CO2 rate entering an aquarium by advanced planted aquarium keepers.
BTA – Bubble Tip Anemone
BTU – British Thermal Unit

C:
Ca – Calcium, an alkaline earth metal. Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
Ca(OH)2 – Calcium Hydroxide, used to make Kalkwasser.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
CaCl2 – Calcium Chloride
CaCO3 – Calcium Carbonate. Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
CAE – Chinese Algae Eater
CBB – Copper Banded Butterfly
CBS – Coral Banded Shrimp
CC – Cubic Centimeter
CC – Crushed Coral, sized #2 through #5.
Reference: Aquarium Substrate
CFL – Compact Fluorescent Lamp
CFM – Cubic Feet per Minute
Cl – Chlorine
CL – Closed Loop
CMS – Cubic Meters per Second
CO2 – Carbon Dioxide, a colorless gas of one carbon and two oxygen atoms.
CO3 – Carbonate
CRS – Crystal Red Shrimp, Caridina cantonensis
Cu – Copper, a reddish metallic element.
CUC – Clean Up Crew, critters that remove algae and detritus.
CWC – Continuous Water Change. Reference: Aquarium Cleaning
Cyano – Cyanobacteria, commonly referred to as slime algae.
Reference: Blue Grean Algae; Cyanobacteria

D:
DC – Direct Current
DD – DownDraft, a type of protein skimmer.
DI – De-ionized water, also known as distilled water depending upon method used to achieve the same results which is completely mieral and ion free water.
Reference: Do Fish Drink? Use of RO/DI, Soft Water for Aquarium; Osmoregulation in Fish

E:
None at this time

F:
FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions, acronym of speech
Fe – Iron
FO – Fish Only, a type of marine aquarium
FOWLR – Fish Only With Live Rock, reef aquaria with no corals but with “live rock”
Frag – Fragment of coral, usually acropora, that grows into a new piece of coral
Fragging – Similar to above, this is the act of growing new corals using pieces of other corals
Fuge – Refugium
FW – Fresh Water

G:
GAL – Gallon
GBR – German Blue Rams, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
GBR – Great Barrier Reef
GBTA – Green Bubble Tip Anemone
GFCI – Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, an AC plug designed to prevent electrical shock.
GFI – Ground Fault Interrupter
GFO – Granular Ferric Oxide, a chemical filtration media generally used for phosphate & silicate removal.
Reference: Aquarium/Pond Filter Media

GH – General Hardness, a measure of calcium and magnesium.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
GHA – Green Hair Algae.
Reference: Aquarium Algae Control
GPD – Gallons Per Day, a measurement of flow.
GPH – Gallons Per Hour, a measurement of flow.
GPM – Gallons Per Minute, a measurement of flow.
GSA – Green Spot Algae.
Reference: Aquarium Algae Control
GSP – Green Star Polyps

H:
H2S – Hydrogen Sulfide
HCO3 – Hydrogen Carbonate
HID – High Intensity Discharge lighting, metal halide and mercury vapor.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete
HITH – Hole in the Head, a fish ailment, common with cichlids.
Reference: Hole in the Head, HITH Disease in Fish
HLLE – Head and Line Lateral Erosion, a fish ailment, more common in marine species.
Reference: What is a lateral line in fish? The functions and diseases of the lateral line
HO – High Output fluorescent light
HOB – Hang On Back filter, also a term for a type of skimmer.
Reference: Aquarium Filtration
HQI – Mercury (Hg) Quartz Iodide, a type of metal halide lamp.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete

I:
I – Iodide
IO3 – Iodate
IR – Infrared, a type of light with a longer wave length than visible light.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete

J:
None at this time

K:
K – Kelvin rating, color temperature of the light source.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete
K – Potassium
KALK or KW- Kalkwasser, German for calcium hydroxide solution or limewater.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
kg/L – kilograms per liter
KH – Carbonate Hardness, a measure of carbonates.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
KI – Potassium Iodide
KMnO4 – Chemical formula for potassium permanganate.
Reference: Aquarium Medications Part 3; Potassium Permanganate
kWh – KiloWatt-Hour

L:
L – Liters
LED – Light Emitting Diodes. Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete
LFS – Local Fish Store (or Shop)
lm – Lumen, the unit for amount of light from a light source.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete
LPD – Liter Per Day, a measurement of flow (metric).
LPH – Litre Per Hour, a measurement of flow (metric).
LPM – Liters Per Minute, a measurement of flow (metric).
LPS – Large Polyped Scleractinian, a stony coral, has large and soft polyps.
Reference: Acropora Coral Information and Care; Lighting, Amino Acids, more
LPS – Local Pet Store
LR – Live Rock, rock with living organisms including nitrifying and de-nitrifying bacteria within it.
Reference:

LS – Live Sand, sand with living organisms including nitrifying and de-nitrifying bacteria within it.
LTA – Long Tentacle Anemone
Lx or Lux – the amount of light per square meter (lm/m2).
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete

M:
Ma- MiliAmps
MACNA – Marine Aquaria Conference of North America, held annually
MASNA – Marine Aquarium Societies of North America
MCF – Midwest Coral Farms, a well known coral farm in the Chicago area.
MEQ/L – Milli-Equivalents per Liter, a measure of alkalinity.
Mg – Magnesium, a trace mineral.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
mg/L – Milligrams Per Liter, 1 mg/L = 1 ppm (parts per million).
MH – Metal Halide light.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete
MTS – Multiple Tank Syndrome
Mv – MilliVolts
MW – Microworms

N:
N – Nitrogen
Na – Sodium
NaCO3 – Sodium Carbonate
NaOH – Sodium Hydroxide
NH3 – Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.
Reference: Aquarium/Pond Nitrogen Cycle
NH4 – Ammonium, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen.
nm – NanoMeter, commonly used as a unit for wavelength(color) of light.
Reference:

NO2 – Nitrite, a product of ammonia oxidation.
NO3 – Nitrate, a result of nitrites converted by Nitrobacter bacteria.
Reference: Aquarium/Pond Nitrogen Cycle
NTS – New Tank Syndrome

O:
O2 – Oxygen, a colorless, tasteless, odorless gaseous element OEBT – Orange Eye Blue/Black Tiger shrimp
ORP – Oxidation Reduction Potential, more correctly now known as Redox balance which is the blance of both Oxidation AND Reduction, both proven to be essential for life, including aquatic.
Reference: Aquarium Redox

P:
P – Phosphorus
PAS – photosynthetic action spectrum, another term for PUR.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete & PUR vs PAR in Aquarium Reef/Planted Lighting; LED Wavelengths
P04 – Phosphate
PAMR – Professional Aquarium Maintenance & Research. An abbreviation or credential applied to persons with years of experience in professional aquarium/pond keeping and research, as opposed to the many posers lurking in Facebook groups and Yahoo Answers.
PAR – Photosynthetically Active Radiation.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete & PUR vs PAR in Aquarium Reef/Planted Lighting; LED Wavelengths
PC Power Compact fluorescent light
pH – Potential Hydrogen, a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a solution.
Reference: Aquarium Chemistry Complete
PNWMAS – Pacific Northwest Aquarium Society
PO4 – Phosphate
pods – A popular term for Copepods
PP – Potassium Permanganate, a chemical used in fish baths & swab as well as used to kill snails, snail eggs, and some parasites.
Reference: Aquarium Medications Part 3; Potassium Permanganate
PPM – Parts Per Million, 1 ppm = 1 mg/L
PPT – Parts Per Thousand
PSI – Pounds per Square Inch
PVC – Poly Vinyl Chloride, used for piping and plumbing.
PWC – Partial Water Change
PUR – Photosynthetically Usable Radiation, another term for photosynthetic action spectrum.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete & PUR vs PAR in Aquarium Reef/Planted Lighting; LED Wavelengths

Q:
QT – Quarantine Tank.
Reference: Aquarium Disease Prevention
QT – Quart of liquid
QM – Quality Marine USA, generally regarded as the premier seller of wholesale marine livestock, and now freshwater too.

R:
RCS – Red Cherry Shrimp, Neocardinia heteropoda var. ‘red’
RDSB – Remote Deep Sand Bed
RO – Reverse Osmosis, a type of water purification that removes most contaminants & minerals, but leaves some ions.
Reference: Use of RO, DI, Softwater in Aquariums
RO/DI – Reverse Osmosis, followed by De-Ionization, a type of water purification to removal all minerals and mineral ions. The result is 100% neutral water with a pH of 7
RMA – Return Merchandise Authorization. Many larger aquarium/pond supply retailers requires these be filed before returning defective, damaged, or simply unwanted merchandise. This is often a way to lower return numbers in the same way companies know that many rebate offers are not returned. I suggest to look for online businesses that do NOT require RMAs!
RTN – Rapid Tissue Necrosis, protozoal infection of corals; can be rapidly fatal if not treated.
RUGF – Reverse flow UnderGravel Filter

S:
SAE – Siamese Algae Eater, Crossocheilus oblongus
SAL – Salinity
SG – Specific Gravity, a measurement of saltwater density, generally the most simple measurement of the amount of salt in a marine aquarium, although not as accurate as an Aquarium Refractometer.
Si – Silicon
SPS – Small Polyped Scleractinian, stony corals with very small polyps.
Reference: Acropora Coral Information and Care; Lighting, Amino Acids, more
Sr – Strontium, an alkaline earth metal.
STN – Sudden Tissue Necrosis, protozoal infection of corals; can be rapidly fatal if not treated.
SW – Salt Water or Sea Water

T:
T5HO – T5 High Output light bulbs. Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete
TDS – Total Dissolved Solids, the portion of solids in water that can pass through a 2 micron filter.
Reference: Use of RO, DI, Softwater in Aquariums
TFC – Thin Film Composite, a type of RO membrane.

U:
UGF – Under Gravel Filter, a method of aquarium filtration
UV – Ultra Violet, a spectrum of light. Commonly the UVC Spectrum is used for aquarium or pond sterilization and clarification as well as improved Redox balance by better UV Sterilizers generally found at higher end retailers.
Reference: How Aquarium/Pond UV Sterilizers Work
UVC – The effective sterilization spectrum of UV light energy

V:
V – Volt
VHO -Very High Output, a type of fluorescent light.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete

W:
W – Watts, a unit of power
W/D or WD- Wet-dry, a method of aquarium filtration that is excellent at ammonia/nitrite removal, but also often results in high nitrates. Often used in the wrong aquarium applications and is often incorrectly recommended, especially for planted aquariums.
Reference: Aquarium Filtration
W/gal – Watts per Gallon
WC – Water Change
WC/PWC – Water Change/Partial Water Change
WCMM – White Cloud Mountain Minnow
WPG – Watts Per Gallon, a generally outdated method of measuring light requirements, however it is still useful when comparing apples to apples.
Reference: Aquarium Lighting; Complete

X:
None at this time

Y:
None at this time

Z:
ZC – Zoanthid Coral, a family of corals.
Reference: Zoanthid Reef Aquarium Care & Lighting

RECOMMENDED PROFESSIONAL AQUARIUM KEEPING PRODUCTS:

*Aquarium Sponge Filters
These patented AAP Hydro Sponge Filters have as much as 5 times the capacity of comparable sized discount Sponge Filters (including Tetra) and are even higher capacity than the Swiss Tropical Sponge Filters.

*Wonder Shells; Regular & Medicated by AAP
The ONLY authorized online source for these unique water quality (Redox balance) & disease prevention products

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Posted in Aquarium Disease, Aquarium Lighting, Aquarium Maintenance, Pond Disease, Uncategorized

Tagged aquarium abbreviations, aquarium acronyms, aquarium help, Aquarium Information, Facebook Planted aquarium, PAR, pond, pond help, PUR, Yahoo Answers

TMC AquaBeam 2000 HD Ultima NP Review

Posted on July, 2 | 8 comments

Last Revised 1/7/2019

TMC has released their newest high end offering of LED Lighting.

The picture to the left demonstrates the difference between the 2012 Reef White 1000 and the new Reef White 2000.

This Reef White 2000 borrows much from the Ocean Blue NP 1500 in that it uses the same exact emitters with one important difference. These emitters are lensed which make them focused for more depth penetration.
This is kept from the 1000 series tiles which the 2000 series is set to replace.

The 1500 series are meant to have a wider footprint of 24 inches by 24 inches from an 8 x 8 tile. The 2000s project a 18″ x 18″ light footprint from a standard/common mounting height of about 6 to 8 inches above the water.

As before with the 1000 series and this Reef White NP 2000, it’s the better choice for for a deeper aquarium over the Ocean Blue NP 1500.
As a generalization, the Ocean Blue NP 1500 would be the choice for wide light spread or an aquarium under 20 inches. The Reef White NP 2000 would be suggested for any depth where very concentrated light is needed, such as a high light requiring sps coral or in a general reef aquarium from 20 to 30 inches or even much deeper with correct specimen placement.

To the left is the Osram Oslon “Nature Perfect” blue reef emitter spectrograph.

One important feature the 2000 borrows from the 1500 Ocean Blue is the Osram Oslon NP Blue emitters.
These are the first emitters developed specifically for the use in Reef aquariums which provide the best over all PUR for your reef inhabitants. Early results also have shown less undesirable algae growth with the use of the Osram Oslon NP Blue emitters too.

It’s important that I noted PUR and not PAR as PUR is the photosynthetically useful radiation (useful light) versus PAR which can still have plenty of useless light energy, especially if yellow, green, or warm white emitters are used (& to a lessor degree, cool white emitters).
This is common with most aquarium LED fixtures since while they utilize Cree and other quality emitters, these are still from common general emitter bins that are not specifically designed for aquarium use. In fact aquarium use is but a minor use of these emitter bins and why multiple color emitters are required in a shotgun approach to achieve a good color balance. This results in wasted light energy in nanometers that are not of optimum PUR.

This is the case in some of the more popular but often over rated LEDs on the market.
Please reference these articles:

PUR versus PAR in Aquarium Lighting
Aquarium Lighting; Complete Information

QUOTE from the first article:
“Here are three examples using PAR reading directly under the lights:

* SB Reef Light PRO 32. This is rated at 363 watts input energy with a PAR of approximately 881 (100%) at 400mm of air.
This comes to .41 watts of input energy per 1 PAR

* Kessil A150. This is rated at 90 watts input energy with a PAR of approximately 325 (100%) at 400mm of air.
This comes to .27 watts of input energy per 1 PAR

* AquaRay Reef White NP 2000. This is rated at 30 watts input energy with a PAR of 380 at 400mm of air.
This comes to .08 watts of input energy per 1 PAR

* Finnex Planted 24/7 20 inch model. This is rated at 15 watts input energy with a PAR of 61 at 400mm of air.
This comes to .24 watts of input energy per 1 PAR”

What TMC also now doing as far as construction of their LEDs is standardization of lighting types and dropping a few less popular lights such as the Marine White 1000.
TMC’s reason stated by people I know in the industry, is lower prices while still maintaining the quality of the world leader in LED aquarium lights.

As well, TMC is continuing to utilize the best possible drivers and PWM (“pulse width modulation”) technology which is superior to “current reduction” which most all other LED controllers use.
With PWM, there is NO change to the spectral output when changing voltage either up or down (dimming or ramping up your LEDs).

Specifications:

Please note that these specs are preliminary. As of the time of posting this article, I will update this article should there be any more changes.

Utilizes these emitters

(4) x 9,000K extremely high output NEW patented Ocean White XT-E LED
(2) x “Fiji Blue” XT-E LEDS (deep blue),
(4) x NEW “patent pending” NP full spectrum Blue (“Nature Perfect” from Osram Oslon) LED emitters

PAR 380 uEinsteins/sec/m2 @15 inches
Overall Color Temperature 20,000 K
Total Power Consumption 30 watts @ 700 mA

TMC AquaRay Reef White 2000 PAR
Professionals say you only need 150 PAR with high PUR LED lighting. Keep clams, grow sticks, SPS… Grow anything you want! Plug and play right out of the box with no adjustments.

PAR ratings were taken from Pacific Northwest Marine Aquarium Society Forum (PNWMAS) official PAR tool.

The difference from PAR vs. PUR

The ONLY ONLINE FULL SERVICE Seller of this industry leading LED (beware of a clearance seller out of a home with an official sounding name and URL):
Reef White 2000 LED from AAP

Tag Archives: PAR

TMC AquaRay NUV 410nm LED

Helpful Aquarium & Pond Keeping Acronyms, Abbreviations

TMC AquaBeam 2000 HD Ultima NP Review

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