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The Importance of Light Spectrum
Lug . 11 / 2018

Many hobbyists understand the importance of lighting in their aquarium, but the science of light is a very complicated subject and so understandably there are many misconceptions surrounding this subject. Over 10 years ago, TMC entered the high power LED aquaria lighting market, with its AquaRay range of lights. In fact the Company was amongst the first to bring an affordable LED product to aquarists, and since then TMC has never looked back. TMC is often criticised for not evolving that range significantly - whilst other brands were introducing very high power units with multiple channel colour control, TMC did not, for very good reasons...

Tropical Marine Centre is a livestock company first and foremost. Ever since its inception in 1970, livestock has been the Company's passion, and so when TMC decided to design its own LED lighting system, it wanted to be certain that it would do the job whilst also delivering all of the benefits that the technology can offer. This of course goes for any product that TMC makes, but in the case of lighting, this meant doing everything to understand the complex interactions of light with tanks and their inhabitants. 

Measurements of light that are now part of the average aquarist's common vernacular; lumens, lux, Einsteins, Kelvin, CRI, were all fairly new to TMC, but the Company worked hard to understand the science behind all of it, both in a physical and biological sense. In its quest, TMC has been industry partners to research institutes; most notably the Coral Reef Lab at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. TMC has also performed countless tests in its own aquariums and livestock facilities to enable it to offer the best possible lighting for your aquaria. TMC applies this extensive knowledge to all of its lighting products. Even in cases where TMC is not manufacturing the hardware, the Company will be involved in the design process and ensure that the light provided is correct for the application before putting the TMC name to it.

So, to get to the point of this article, spectrum (the colours that your lights emit), is one of the most important aspects of your tank lighting. Applying the right spectrum in terms of both biological and display needs is paramount. As an aquarist your objective is for your aquarium to look its best and its inhabitants to be both comfortable and healthy. The AquaRay range offers the best spectra for various applications, proven by many years of research. On top of that it is extremely robust, with no need for cooling fans, and very efficient, with no wasted power or money on LEDs that are not used. The range may not yet have all the bells and whistles in terms of app control or the ability to change the tank's colour from afar, but TMC contests that the serious aquarist does not need this functionality. This is why TMC sticks by the AquaRay range as it stands.

Thanks to this understanding of light and its biological importance,TMC is now enjoying further success with AquaRay lighting in commercial fields such as public aquaria, aquaculture, research and even agriculture and horticulture under the brand "BioLumen Lighting Solutions". There are many more years to come for the AquaRay brand, and therefore many more opportunities for aquarists to make the most of all of its advantages. 

To learn more please head over to the AquaRay mini-site and also the BioLumen Lighting Solutions site.