Photo credit : Marcin Smok

A few days ago, I received a surprise present from my friend Louie at Eshopps. He had seen me eyeing this piece at previous shows that we attended together and decided to send me a care package. I was particularly interested in this model because I believe that everyone should have an acclimation box for their new acquisitions, where the new animals can stay for few days and get used to their tank mates, (or in my case, to let my trigger know that it’s not his snack), give the owner additional observation time, and make sure it eats well in the presence of other tank mates. I have always used my versatile fish trap for this purpose, but this product seemed so practical, and it makes so much sense. How so? Read on and find out.

Why didn’t I buy one at the show? 

I didn’t buy this unit because I was told that maximum thickness for the magnet was 1/2″ glass or acrylic and I didn’t want to waste my money on something that I can’t use. Well, now that I have my hands on one, I will test it to my heart’s content and report back to you.

This came at a perfect time, as I was wrapping up my tank transfer method on newly acquired fish from ACI Aquaculture. Let’s see how this baby looks out of the box.

Everything came pretty assembled; I liked that because (as I repeatedly tell people) I have handiness of tree stump, this practically eliminated the chance of me messing things up.

How it looks without the plastic – slick and nice… but what are those pegs? Let’s see how this beauty works and why I thought so highly of this unit.

Removable dividers. 

You can acclimate multiple s/m fish with this unit with the dividers. Have a larger fish? Take out the dividers and now you have the whole area to offer to the larger specimen. It slides in and out very easily and was very well thought out. I personally haven’t seen any acclimation boxes offer this feature, and I think this is a wonderful option.

Magnets 

Those of you that know me in person, know that I am very cautious of magnets in general and to my surprise, I saw that this magnet from eshopps was sealed and then attached directly to the acrylic from the factory to form another layer of protection for the magnet from the saltwater in our aquariums. This touch was a HUGE plus for me and should be a huge deal for you as well.

Flexibility of this unit. 

So, what are those pegs? This versatile unit serves another purpose. It can also hold your coral frags, helpful for those of you that do not have a quarantine tank. This is a place where you can keep your freshly acquired, dipped corals to observe them for few days to see if there are any missed parasites before you place them in your aquarium.

Attention to detail. 

When you place a lid on top of an acclimation chamber, you often have to worry about the lid popping off, due to powerful waves on the surface. (or is that just me?) I really liked the fact that they included a rubber gasket so that the lid stays tightly shut until you open it. I also liked the mindful design where all the leftover food and waste can escape from the sides and the bottom.

you can see my newly acquired fish are nicely acclimating in the display tank in their divided space. They will learn to adapt to the tank mate and the food that I feed in my system.

Conclusion. 

I think Eshopps hit a homerun with this unit. With practicality in mind, they went above and beyond for functions, safety and beauty.
If you are in the market to look for a unit or if you don’t have one already, I strongly recommend that you check this unit out.

Happy reefing!