Dive Bar mermaids lit with elektraLite
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After the massive Titanic themed aquarium was built and installed by Carmel Valley based Tenji, Inc., Dive Bar’s management called upon Jay Ingram of local aquarium maintenance and design firm Aquaticbox to maintain it. “The aquarium was amazing, but its original lighting system was flat and felt like fluorescent office lighting,” Ingram recalls. “It didn’t have character or depth to what a possible underwater scene should look like.”
Ingram initially tried remedying the situation by adding PAR38 LED lights (22k, 12k and 6500k) to create sunlight shimmers, darker spots, and blue areas in the tank for a bit of change and drama. However, he felt that it was still missing the right extra “something” to make this delightfully kitschy vintage spectacle truly mesmerizing. “Seeing that this aquarium is essentially an underwater performance stage, I suggested to Dive Bar that we put in some proper theatrical lights that could actually change colours,” he says.
The management team agreed, and Aquaticbox turned to Jeff LaPell at Jacksonville, Florida based Stage Lighting Store, who shipped out half a dozen IP65-rated elektraLite eyeBall Outdoor fixtures for the task. Ingram then spent a couple of evenings mounting the water-resistant Quad (RGBW) fixtures above the front of the tank at various angles based on the scenery and show action within. A laptop was also added to control the lighting fixtures, which are programmed via DMX.
The end result was stunning. “Previously, there was depth and character to the scene, but now it’s absolutely living and breathing,” Ingram enthuses. “We haven’t even really geeked out with the programming yet, but one side of the tank can be white while the other end fades to blue - then the blue slowly turns red, while the white fades to black, and so on. The lighting can work with the music playing during performances, whereas before the lighting was just static. It’s all very dramatic now and a huge overall improvement.”
With the new elektraLite fixtures being remotely controllable, one of the other benefits is that the venue no longer has to manually swap out bulbs for various occasions. “In the past, when my client has wanted to implement a bit of color for holidays or special shows, I’ve had to crawl over the tank and beams to access 11 separate fixtures,” he shares.
“Now, with the eyeBalls, we can easily programme the colours from the main floor for Christmas, New Year’s, Fourth of July, and other holidays. When the Sacramento Kings win, the lights can be purple for the rest of the night. When Halloween is here, we’ll be able to do some really dramatic effects, such as make parts of the tank be totally dark, and have the lights brighten and fade as the mermaid swims by. It will look fantastic, and best of all, no one will have to climb up there to change anything.”
(Jim Evans)
