CoralCare Chronicles, Part 3: Coming to America! The CoralCare Gen2 Boasts a Slimmer Design, Wireless Control

In Part 2 of the CoralCare Chronicles, we saw how Luc Vogels, the mastermind behind the CoralCare project, was able to make some refinements to an already advanced reef lighting system.

The project was very successful and Philips' management was all-in with the idea of bringing high-quality LED technology to reef aquarists around the world. Luc monitored the feedback received from the first generation CoralCare users. Everyone loved the silent fanless cooling design.

The fixtures proved to be very rugged and dependable due to top-quality manufacturing and quality control. During a trade show, a CoralCare fixture was accidentally dropped into an aquarium! There was no damage and the light continued to function flawlessly.

With such a great design, why make any changes?

Luke’s an engineer with a major manufacturer. Continuous improvement is in his DNA! Luc presented his latest ideas and was pleased with the company’s response.

"At the end of 2018, we received the approval to work on an improved and slimmer version of the Philips CoralCare product," Luc said. "Next to the changes in the housing design, we also took into account feedback from our CoralCare Gen1 users in order to improve the Gen2 even further."

Luc and the team wanted the fixture to use the latest technology. The LED array was modified to hold 68 Luxeon LEDs.

You may be asking, "How can fewer LEDs be an improvement?" There is more to good reef lighting than just throwing LEDs into a fixture.

"We wanted to build on the strength of our existing optical design (excellent homogeneous distribution), but also add some additional features such as improved light dynamics," Luc said. "We managed to integrate a color temperature-dependent dynamical light effect to the product which mimics a natural behavior perceived on the ocean floor."

This may sound like sales jargon, but it’s not. Through research and PAR testing in aquariums, Luc was able to come up with an interesting feature based on lighting effects on natural reefs.

"It is a subtle effect achieved by carefully positioned LEDs and patterns in the front glass," Luc said. "By smartly grouping and distributing the LEDs, we also managed to create a larger active source with a smoothened peak intensity in the middle. This allowed us to install the fixture closer to the water surface."

The Philips team kept experimenting until they found the optimal combination of LEDs and optical design. But there’s more! The CoralCare controller was upgraded to work with smart devices through a mobile app. It also has a water-resistant housing so that it can be installed close to the fixtures without fear of splashes and moisture damage.

Luc Vogels is very proud of the work he and the team achieved with the current Gen2 CoralCare system.

"We have performed many experiments," Luc said. "Some were performed on my private tank before choosing the final version."

After spending several months perfecting the manufacturing process, which is key to providing consistent quality and dependability, the second generation of the CoralCare was released in Europe this summer. Reef aquarium hobbyists in the USA will finally be able to purchase a Philips CoralCare of their very own in September 2020.