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The quality control of the TC420 digital LED controller has been slipping ever since 2020; it's to the point now where changes to my approach and product offerings must be made. One of the main selling points of this controller was its ability to have a full menu of preprogrammed cycle and intensity level options, giving you, the end user the ability to follow a seasonally adjusted approach which could mimic the natural cycles of any tropical or temperate biome.  I normally ship each TC420 with 4 different light cycles (11, 12, 13 and 14 hours) with 4 different intensity...

There are several types of unusually shaped aquariums that make really nice vivariums (half moons, pentagons, hexagons, etc.) but finding lighting that looks like it was made for these tanks (that grows plants even "ok") is a big challenge.  That's where custom made light panels come into their own. Here's some examples that show how challenging a good lighting solution can be: To fit this tank with a top that includes vents, misters and then effective lighting can challenge any vivarium designer.  So a very unique lighting layout was just designed for this type of aquarium which looks like this ...

I think everyone with a "glass box" knows what it's like to have inferior lighting at some point, usually when you first get into the hobby.  The most obvious symptom of this is having colorful bromeliads that "green out" once they've been under inadequate lighting for long enough. I had this problem for a number of years when running stock, off the shelf lights from the local Big Box pet store.  Those were all based on under powered T8 and T5 florescent tubes.  I switched to the store bought LED lighting when it first became available in those same stores,...

Thanks to everyone who dropped by my table to chat and purchase both lights, animals and art this past weekend. Thanks to Noah and Jeff for putting on a great show and making a smooth transition from The Bean Farm who did a great job all these years running a first class show. What I definitely learned is that there's a lot of people who either now run, or want, a night light option for their vivariums.  Since most of my animals are diurnal, it's not something that really crossed my mind, but it's on my radar now.  The good...