Philips CoralCare – Controller

Philips CoralCare Controller Gen2
The CoralCare Controller Gen2 allows you to control your CoralCare fixtures wirelessly or with PC. It also includes two 1-10V interfaces for compatibility with 3rd party aquarium controllers.
By intelligently combining various LEDs with different wavelengths, we have simplified the set-up of the lighting controller for the user. As a result, the user only needs to select the desired color point and intensity, without having to worry about the optimal light quality for coral growth and beautification. The CoralCare controller can control up to 4 fixtures of the same generation.
Easy to control
A controller is required to control and dim CoralCare fixtures. The controller is sold separately and includes a USB cable, universal power adapter and regional plug adapters. The USB cable is used for supplying power to the controller (in combination with the power adapter) when it is working as a stand-alone unit, but it can also be used to connect the controller to the PC for programming.
With the new generation, the CoralCare fixtures can also be programmed and controlled wirelessly via the CoralCare app.
The controller can control up to 4 CoralCare fixtures of the same generation.
Modes
The controller supports two modes:
“Program mode” and “0-10V mode”

Program mode

In program mode the reefer can define a 24h light schedule that can be programmed using a PC application or mobile application. The user is able to define 20 individual light settings (color point and intensity) and the controller will automatically calculate a smooth transition between the various light settings. This makes possible fluent sunset and sunrise sceneries.

Fig. 3: Setup of color point. Time, color temperature and light intensity can be set

The software is user-friendly and can be downloaded from the Philips CoralCare website. The CoralCare app is downloadable via the Google Play Store and iOS App Store.One of the unique features of the CoralCare software is that the aquarist does not have to worry about the settings of each individual LED channel. You only need to define the overall color tone and intensity of the light. This drastically simplifies the definition of the light schedule. It also means that you do not have to worry about the “correct” light spectrum. Philips has introduced spectral boundaries to prevent incorrect spectral content from being selected, which could harm the health of the coral.
But the software still includes enough flexibility to allow the light settings to be customized to your own taste.Within the color range we provide excellent color rendering of natural tones as well as fluorescent rendering during bluish “evening” tones.Morning/evening
Enhances phosphorous effects of corals

Morning/evening
Enhances phosphorous effects of corals

Daytime
The natural look of corals and fish

Fig. 4: Two examples of color tones that are commonly used

When the application is started and the controller connected, it displays the active schedule. The user is able to choose one of the predefined schedules (Shallow Reef, Natural Reef, Deep Reef or Overcast Reef):• shallow reef: mimics the natural behavior of sunlight at shallow water depth and maximizes light output• natural reef: mimics the natural behavior of sunlight at average depth. Ideal for a mixed reef.• deep reef: mimics the natural behavior of sunlight at deep ocean depths. Ideal to highlight the fluorescence of LPS corals.

• overcast reef: mimics the natural behavior of sunlight while simulating an overcast sky during noon. Maintains a more constant light output over the day while changing color point.

These schedules can be loaded via the CoralCare application and still allow you to change time, color, intensity to your specific wishes.

The user can also define a new 24-hour light schedule, which can be saved to 1 of the 2 custom schedules and shared with fellow reefers via the app or via a text file on your PC.

0-10V mode

The CoralCare controller can easily be programmed via a Windows PC or wirelessly, but is also compatible with most 0-10V aquarium controller interfaces.

The controller can be set to a 0-10V mode, meaning that it will no longer react to the programmed schedule, but to the two 0-10V input channels on the CoralCare controller. By applying the correct voltages to these input pins, the CoralCare controller can be directly controlled by a 3rd party interface. This can come from an aquarium computer or any other 0‑10V interface compatible devices such as Profilux and Apex (proven by user tests).