A single Natura iCon MAX illuminates a beautifully structured SPS and LPS reef, showcasing the broad and even lighting performance of Orphek’s newest large-format reef LED.
Some reef aquariums impress because of their size. Others because of the way the reef itself has been designed. This 111 gallon reef aquarium in Korea stands out for its structure, depth and variety of coral growth.
Measuring 1200 × 500 × 700 mm/ 47.2″ x 19.7″ x 27.6″ (L × H × D), the aquarium is built around a central island of dark, porous rock rather than a wall-to-wall formation.
The rock rises toward the center and right side of the display, creating different levels and a distinctive arch through the middle of the reef.
The left side remains more open, giving the aquascape a sense of space and allowing the reef to be viewed as a complete three-dimensional structure.
Above it, a single Natura iCon MAX is positioned centrally on a built rail.
The result is a carefully structured mixed reef illuminated by one large-format fixture, bringing the MAX’s coverage and lighting distribution directly into focus.
A Reef Built in Layers
The coral arrangement follows the architecture of the rock work.
The upper and middle sections carry the branching SPS colonies.
Purple, blue and green branches create a dense coral canopy across the higher areas of the reef, while the spaces between the branches remain visible.
Moving downward, the coral forms become broader and more substantial.
Green torch corals occupy the lower areas, while a striking yellow bubble coral provides a strong focal point toward the front of the reef.
Orange, pink and blue encrusting and plating colonies add color across the lower rock surfaces, with bright green polyps creating another vivid detail toward the right side.
The result is a distinctive contrast: fine branching SPS create the skyline, while fleshy and large-polyped corals define the lower reef.
The central arch creates one of the more demanding areas of the aquascape from a lighting perspective.
And yet, the view through and beneath the structure remains clearly illuminated, with no pronounced shadowed zone visible around the overhang.
It is this kind of three-dimensional reef structure that puts the MAX’s broad and even light distribution into perspective.
One Fixture. A Large Reef Footprint.
The Natura iCon MAX measures 680 mm in length, while the aquarium itself extends 1200 mm from end to end and 700 mm in depth.
That relationship makes the lighting performance particularly important.
Orphek specifies the Natura iCon MAX for coverage of up to 120 × 76 cm.
Its expanded LED platform and customized 90° reflector technology are designed to distribute light broadly across the aquarium rather than concentrating the lighting field directly beneath the physical body of the fixture.
For a reef with this type of architecture, broad and even distribution is essential.
The coral does not occupy one flat level. SPS branches rise into the upper water column, the arch creates changes in depth, and fleshy LPS and other colonies occupy the lower portions of the reef.
The MAX is designed to illuminate this entire three-dimensional structure, bringing its lighting field across the aquarium rather than limiting illumination to the area immediately below the fixture.
The objective is not simply more light. It is effective light distribution across the full reef.
The Natura iCon MAX
The MAX takes the Natura iCon platform into a larger format with 156 custom 6W Mixed Colors Dual-Chip LEDs, providing 312 individual LED chips across 9 LED types and 13 colors.
Its spectrum extends approximately from 390–740 nm, combining Orphek’s proprietary blue spectrum with the additional wavelengths that form its full-spectrum architecture.
The expanded LED array works together with the customized reflectors to create a larger lighting platform designed for larger reef environments.
This is an important distinction in a reef of this scale.
Producing substantial output is only part of the challenge.
That output also needs to be distributed across the areas where the reef actually exists, from the upper SPS canopy, through the central structure, and down into the lower coral formations.
The MAX is engineered around that requirement.
Full-Spectrum Lighting
The Natura iCon MAX combines 9 LED types and 13 colors across approximately 390–740 nm.
Its proprietary blue spectrum includes:
Ice Blue — 470–480 nm
Blue — 447–470 nm
Violet — 420–430 nm
UV/Violet — 390–415 nm
The broad spectrum is paired with six independently controlled channels through the iCon App, allowing the lighting environment to be adjusted according to the needs and preferences of the reef keeper.
The system includes Helius, Lunar Mode, Advanced Lunar Brightness Control and Sun & Moon Synchronization.
Sun & Moon Synchronization
The Natura iCon MAX brings Orphek’s Sun & Moon Synchronization technology into this larger lighting platform.
Through the iCon App, lighting cycles can follow local sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset timing, with the ability to configure cycles for locations around the world.
Advanced Lunar Brightness Control further allows lunar brightness to be managed independently by channel.
Together, these features give the MAX control that extends beyond the main daylight period and into the complete daily lighting cycle.
The MAX Over a Real Reef
This aquarium presents the Natura iCon MAX with a reef that is deliberately three-dimensional.
The central rock island rises through the water column. The arch creates depth. Branching SPS form the upper canopy, while LPS and other fleshy corals occupy the lower structure.
The 120 × 70 cm aquarium footprint falls within the MAX’s published 120 × 76 cm coverage, while its expanded LED array and optical design are built to provide broad, even illumination across the display.
That is ultimately what makes this installation such an interesting showcase for the new Natura iCon MAX.
One fixture.
A 120 cm mixed reef.
Broad, even lighting across the entire aquarium.
Natura iCon MAX
Double the LEDs • Double the Coverage • Double the Intensity
156 Mixed Colors Dual-Chip LEDs • 312 Individual Chips • 390–740 nm • Up to 120 × 76 cm Coverage • 6-Channel iCon Control • Sun & Moon Synchronization
Thank you note: We would like to thank Na for sending us the photographs of his client’s reef tank.
“Together we protect Nature’s Biodiversity for generations to come”.