This traditional type of E27 LED unit has been around for a very long time and was popularised by a company that manufactured LEDs for general lighting before tailoring it for hydroponic plant
growing. It also made it into the aquatic market in late 2013, appearing in some popular plug and play aquariums.
The New Dawn compact was the first in the range of Reptile Systems plant growing LEDs to be introduced to the market. With its classic styling, it would be easy to confuse with other brands of
lower quality using inferior components. Reptile Systems New Dawn compacts have been engineered for lush plant growth and feature a multitude of upgraded features for reliability and longevity.
With smaller bioactive and planted enclosures becoming more and more popular, this seemed like the perfect place to enter the market and start improving things.
To light these nano and desktop size terrariums we needed a small and compact LED lamp, Reptile Systems looked through many designs and extrusions before they chose the current models. The idea was to provide a high volume of light at the correct levels for small enclosures, taking into consideration how much light the mesh or screen tops would block. They are designed to be mounted horizontally and can be used with Reptile Systems Ceramic Rotating Holder as well as their twin or single compact lamp units. This is the perfect solution for mesh topped vivariums and terrariums.
Having a colour temperature of 6500k has been proven to promote the best vegetive growth for most live plants used in terrariums because plant growth is induced by the ‘bluer’ end of the natural light spectrum. Natural sunlight ranges from 2700 to 7000 Kelvin.
The New Dawn Compact also has a high colour rendering index (CRI), showing your plants’ and inhabitants’ true vibrant colours. This colour temperate, coupled with good levels of the light intensity (lux), makes our compacts scientifically proven to be incredibly pleasing to the human eye.*
The highly transmissive protective lens that covers the light-emitting diodes (LED) serves two important functions and is part of the CE safety requirements. This firstly is to stop you and your animals being at risk from touching any of the diodes. Secondly, it protects the components from being accidentally sprayed with water or receiving any direct mechanical damage.
Repeatedly, Reptile Systems looked for an extrusion profile for the casing to fit their needs and kept returning to the tried and tested one that has been used by aquarists and plant growers. This off the shelf aluminium extrusion offers high thermal performance, transferring heat and allowing it to dissipate safely and efficiently, greatly extending the life of all the electronic components. In testing, carried out at their facility, it provided the greatest heat dissipation, making their working compacts to be the coolest they have tested.
The E27 end cap allows 320° rotation, which means you can angle the light output where it’s required in the vivarium/ terrarium. This rotator has always been a weak point with other brands, snapping and leaving you with an expensive, broken unusable light. Reptile Systems have upgraded this, at no extra cost, with a very strong mechanism that cannot be broken with normal use.
Two compacts are available in the range: 9w and 13w, giving a huge amount of light output for the low wattage, which also means low running costs.
With a beam angle of 120 degrees, it covers a large area with high-quality light, promoting explosive plant growth in your planted set up. Being safe and reliable, Reptile Systems are so confident in this product that it has a 2-year warranty!
If you have a larger environment or require a different type of premium plant lighting, New Dawn comes in a full range of models and sizes to cover all enclosure types, working with a variety of
fittings and fixtures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it last?
It should give you approximately 50,000 running hours and is backed by a 2-year warranty.
How many lumens is it?
This is not really a relevant question, but it is 141 lumens per watt, with the newer ones being upgraded to 151 lumens per watt.
My lamp doesn’t work!
Please go through the standard checks as these lamps are very reliable:
- check the fuse
- check the connection in the ceramic fitting
*This study was conducted by Dutch physicist, Arie Kruithof, to determine the relationship between illuminance (lux) and colour temperature (K) and how pleasant human vision perceives the light to be.
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