Late yesterday we received a large package and too much surprise it was TMC’s AquaRay line of aquarium LED lighting. These have been available in the UK for sometime now, but this is the first shipment of TMC LEDs to the US of A, through LAX wholesaler Quality Marine. TMC kindly sent us two AquaBeam [...]
Late yesterday we received a large package and too much surprise it was TMC’s AquaRay line of aquarium LED lighting. These have been available in the UK for sometime now, but this is the first shipment of TMC LEDs to the US of A, through LAX wholesaler Quality Marine.
TMC kindly sent us two AquaBeam 500s in Reef Blue and Marine White, along with the higher density AquaBeam 1000HD in Reef White for a formal review.
Both the AquaBeam 500 and 1000HD use the well respected Cree XR-E for efficient and long lasting lumens. The 500 boasts 5 XR-Es consuming 12w while the 1000HD sports 10 at roughly 30w. Both lights feature a 5 year limited warranty.
I was caught off guard by the build quality of the lights–in a good way. When looking at the initial marketing photos the plastic water resistent cover seemed practical, but to be frank, looked cheap. In reality the material is much thicker and stronger than it appears and joins the resin body that is cast around a well made aluminum heatsink. This heatsink doubles as an attachment to their modular rail mounting system.
Check out all the photos of the TMC Aquabeam 500 and 1000HD below and keep an eye out for a performance analysis on the AquaRay LEDs, along with a handful of other LED lights…
