JBL LED Solar Effect RGB Aquarium Light

JBL LED Solar Effect RGB Aquarium Light is JBL's RGB effect light, a second luminaire that adds colour and weather to a tank that is already lit.

Key Features

• A second light, not a main one: The Effect adds colour and movement to a tank that already has a white light over it. On its own it will not light an aquarium properly and it will not grow plants, so it runs alongside an LED Solar Natur rather than in place of one.
• RGB colour and weather: Red, green and blue and the mixes between them, plus simulated sunrise, sunset, cloud, lightning and the dry and wet seasons when it is driven by the Smart Controller.
• Drops into a T5 or T8 socket: JBL supply holding brackets and end caps for T5 and T8 fittings, so it can go into an older hood that was built for fluorescent tubes rather than needing a new one.
• IP67 rated: Sealed against splashes and against the condensation that collects under an aquarium hood. That is protection from water getting in, not permission to submerge it.
• Switched on the cable: A cable switch is supplied, so the effect light can be turned off independently of the main light.

How The LED Solar System Fits Together

• LED Solar Natur is the main light. It is the white luminaire that lights the tank and grows the plants, and it is the one part of the range you cannot do without.
• LED Solar Effect is a second, slimmer light that adds RGB colour and weather effects. It runs alongside a Natur rather than instead of one, because on its own it will not light a tank properly or grow plants.
• Control is either the IR remote handset or the Smart Controller, not both. The Smart Controller takes the place of the luminaire's infrared receiver, so fitting one puts the handset out of use.
• The Y-cable runs two luminaires from one supply, and the hanging kit suspends either light from the ceiling instead of resting it on the tank.
• Despite the name, nothing in the range is solar powered. LED Solar is simply what JBL call their aquarium luminaire line, and these are mains powered lights for an indoor tank.

How Long To Run It

• Light duration drives algae more than light intensity does. Six to eight hours a day suits a new tank; an established planted tank running CO2 and fertiliser will take eight to ten.
• Put it on a timer from the first day. A light switched by hand runs a different length every day, and plants and algae both respond to consistency.
• More light on its own is not more plant growth. Light, CO2 and nutrients work as a set, and raising one without the other two simply hands the surplus to the algae.
• If algae appear, shorten the photoperiod before you change anything else. It is the quickest and cheapest variable you have.
• One unbroken period is simpler than splitting it. A midday break is sometimes used to hold algae back, but for most tanks a single clean on and off works.
• Fish need a real dark night. Do not leave a blue or coloured effect light running into the small hours.

Wiring It Safely Near Water

• Leave a drip loop, so the cable hangs below the socket and water cannot track along it into the plug.
• Keep the driver and every connector dry, ventilated and up off the cabinet floor where spills collect.
• Switch off at the wall before connecting or disconnecting anything.
• Do not use a unit with a damaged cable, a cracked connector or bent pins.
• An RCD on the aquarium's supply is a sensible precaution on any tank with electrical equipment above it.

Good To Know

• Four lengths: 438, 549 to 590, 1047 and 1149 to 1200 mm. The Natur range runs to seven lengths, so check that an Effect exists to match your luminaire before you plan on a pair, and ask us if it does not.
• The weather and biotope programmes need the Smart Controller. With the IR handset alone you get colour selection and dimming rather than the full simulations.
• Keep the coloured effects off overnight. A tank lit blue until two in the morning is not giving its fish a dark period.
• Used sparingly, the colour channels show off reds and blues on fish and plants. Run at full saturation all day it looks artificial and tells you nothing about whether a fish is actually healthy.
• The LED Solar range has run through several generations with different connectors and drivers. Send us your model and we will confirm what matches before you order.
• Indoor aquarium use. It is not weatherproof and is not a pond or garden light.