New Lighting Technology at our Aquaculture Facility

Drs. Foster and Smith’s Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life facility is continually testing new technologies in an effort to reduce our energy consumption, while providing the best possible environment for the animals in the facility to grow and thrive.

We are currently testing a new lighting technology that is showing very promising results. We have employed Ecoxotic Cannon LED Pendant lights on one of our 6’ x 3’ coral grow out raceways, which were installed a few months ago. There are three 50- watt cannon lights mounted on a moving light rail (2- 453 nm Blue “Actinic” and 1- 12K) over a coral raceway containing mostly LPS corals such as several species of Chalice, Blastomussa coral, and Acanthastrea corals.

It’s pretty incredible to see a dramatic change in the coloration of the corals in such as short period of time, as some really “pop” now with glowing red, blue, greens, and pinks! The corals appear to be growing at the same rate as before, which is impressive to see, considering this raceway was illuminated previously with a single 400- watt 20K metal halide unit. We hope to continue testing and utilize LED technology more in the future.

Ecoxotic Cannon LED Pendant lights

Want to know more about our facility in Rhinelander, WI? Take the LiveAquaria tour with our video series.

Also See:

• The Not-So-Cowardly Lionfish
• Octopus Ink Heteroxenia
• Corals Bright As the Sun

Tagged as: Aquaculture, LED Lighting

About the author: Kevin earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Wright State University, and is an avid marine life photographer, lifelong aquarist, and marine fish enthusiast. He has worked in the aquarium industry since 1983. He launched the LiveAquaria.com web site in 2000 and designed and oversaw the installation of the Drs. Foster and Smith Aquaculture Coral and Marine Life Facility, which opened in July of 2005. Kevin is currently the Director of LiveAquaria at Drs. Foster and Smith. See more articles by Kevin Kohen.