by AquaNerd | Aug 20, 2013 | Equipment, Events, Industry
It would appear that JBJ USA just couldn’t wait until MACNA to officially debut their latest string of aquarium products. Instead, they showed off item after item at SuperZoo in Las Vegas, which is a trade show geared more toward pet product vendors than hobbyists. We have already covered their new LED pendants and rimless frag tank, and now we turn our attention to the big new Pacifica DX multi-chip LED fixture. Like the smaller version of the Pacifica, the DX model will sport a healthy array of diodes all packed into a super thin housing. The big difference with this new model is mostly that of size, as it measures 17.75”L x 9.5”W with an effective coverage area of 36″ x 24″. A total of 150 watts of Edison LEDs make up the business end of the Pacifica DX, each of which has its own set of optics. The LED colors are broken down into 24 watts of morning/moonlighting at 420nm, 63 watts of 10k and 63 watts of 20k lighting. A trio of cooling fans keep the fixture’s internals operating at optimum temperatures. by AquaNerd | Aug 19, 2013 | Corals, Eye Candy, Industry
You would be hard pressed to find a more visually appealing soft coral in all of the aquarium hobby than the new ORA Vargas Cespitularia, whose commercial availability has only just been announced. This latest addition to the vast library of ORA aquacultured corals was donated by the world famous Tony Vargas, who gave them a couple of frags two years ago. The coral has thrived in ORA’s systems, demonstrating a level of hardiness that is much appreciated in the captive world, but nobody was sure about the coral’s identity, at least up until the experts were brought in. Because identifying corals isn’t always a walk in the park, ORA sent samples of the Vargas Cespitularia and a few others to coral expert Michael James of AquaTouch in Arizona. Michael took a very thorough approach to properly identifying the coral, using various microcsopic techniques to measure sclerites and other morphological features. He eventually landed on the species Cespitularia erecta while at the same time highlighting the difficulty in identifying corals, especially when it comes to factors like coral coloration and geographical distribution. If you would like to read Michael’s paper, here is the PDF found on the ORA website. There are plenty of images detailing the morphological features that Michael viewed during the ID process. by AquaNerd | Aug 16, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion, Tanks
Vertex Aquaristik recently loaded us up with a whole bunch of their products for review, and in an attempt to work methodically and at a sufficient pace to properly cover each item leading up to MACNA later this month, we are going to take things slowly and start off with a preliminary review of the Cleaner-Mag lineup. Like the rest of the Vertex product line, the visual experience (e.g. style and simplicity) are held right up there with function. Simply put, these magnets are probably the best looking ones around and they work like a charm. Currently, the Cleaner-Mags consist of four models, the Simplex, Duplex, Triplex, and Hexaplex, all of which range in size and shape from a quarter to an index card. All of them share many of the same features, which include a clear plastic housing that allows hobbyists to see the stylishly powerful magnets. by AquaNerd | Aug 7, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion
embedded content After several weeks of hands on time, here is our video review of the Maxspect R420R “Razor” LED fixture in the 120w model. We liked this particular light fixture for several reasons, and we tried to do our best to show the step-by-step setup through the on-board controller. Of course, having the very easy to read instruction manual always helps, and there are a few details that we couldn’t capture in the video without bogging it down with tons of text. Still, the controls are so intuitive and easy to use that you probably wouldn’t need more than a glance at the instructions to be fully up and running. Upon plugging in the fixture and turning on the power supply switch, the Razor goes to the default Manual Mode, designated with the letter “M”. In this mode, you can independently adjust both the white and blue channels from 0-100% intensity. After the desired intensities are selected, both channels can be turned off and on simultaneously. All you have to do to navigate through the settings in Manual Mode is push the lone adjusting knob until you’ve cycled through the channels and made your adjustments. From the Manual Mode, users can access the other two modes by holding down the settings knob for approximately two seconds. Users are taken to the Preset Mode and the Automatic Mode. To set the time for the Razor’s on-board clock, you have to go to the Automatic Mode. Simply highlight the clock, click once, change the time with the dial, then click to get back out. From there, you can either stay in Automatic Mode or continue on to Present Mode. While in Automatic Mode, users can create a 6-point lighting schedule based on whatever times they want. The first point starts the day, so a low intensity should be used. Assuming you go a traditional sunrise/sunset route, the first time point will slowly ramp up in intensity until the fixture peaks, then it will ramp back down for the evening schedule. The sixth time point should start the lights out schedule, and should be set to 0% across the board. A dim moonlight can be implemented with this leg of the cycle if it is desired, in which case either the blue or white channels could be set to a low percentage. Needless to say, the Razor’s Automatic Mode provides one heck of a sunrise and sunset cycle for your aquarium that goes way above and beyond what a comparable two channel LED or T5HO fixture could accomplish. The last mode to discuss is the Preset Mode, which is exactly as it sounds. After moving through the menu, the fixture will go into one of two preset lighting modes, which differ only in the specific time points. These two modes are factory set lighting programs that force the fixture to automatically run throughout the day and shut off at night. The times for the various points cannot be changed, hence the term “preset”. For those who go to work early in the day and don’t get home until late, this may not be the most ideal mode to run your Razor in. The Preset Mode has an early lighting schedule that will likely be turned off by the time you get to enjoy it. For that reason, we really prefer the Automatic Mode. As for our overall impression, we really enjoyed working with the Maxspect R420R. It responds well to our adjusting of the controller, it’s color output looks great, and the fixture puts out virtually no heat. After hours of being on, the entire body is still around room temperature, as are the plastic covers over the diodes. Every person who has seen this light during our review has expressed that they were also really impressed. That all said, we did find the built-in mounting arms to be a bit troublesome from time to time. They do their job well, but can be a little difficult to adjust. This might be specific to individual fixtures and may not be the case for everyone, but definitely worth mentioning. Fortunately, the Razor comes with a healthy assortment of moutning options. Our favorite was the adjustable hanging kit, which we used for a majority of our review. By hanging the fixture above the aquarium, we eliminated any spotlighting that occurred when using the mounting brackets, giving us an even distribution of the light. All in all, the Razor gets a big thumbs up from the AquaNerd Blog. A big thanks goes out to Chris and the rest of the gang at CoralVue for giving us this opportunity. We also wanted to thank Daniel Leija for letting us use his tank, as well as Keith Hatch who brought every piece of aquarium gear in the greater Houston area to help us get this video review done. by AquaNerd | Aug 1, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Tanks
JBJ USA is making the most of their booth space at SuperZoo in Las Vegas by introducing a whole slew of new products. They’ve already shown off their new RL-20 Frag Tank, we’ve been told about a new feeder (more to come on that later), we’ve spied a large rimless aquarium (again, more on that later), and now they’re teasing us with a brand new pendant style LED fixture. This powerful LED comes in two different sizes, a 150 and 50 watt model, and will have a color temperature range of 16000 to 20000 Kelvin. Each fixture will include a lens and diode arrangement that has been designed by the folks at Edison-Opto specifically for aquarium use, though you won’t see many of these lights over your average mixed reef aquarium. Instead, the focus for this light will be on aquaculture facilities, public aquarium exhibits, and the largest of private reef aquariums. The standard lens on the new JBJ LED is 100 degrees, but is focused down to 60 degrees when the optional reflector is used. The light can penetrate water depths up to 12 feet, while providing a sufficient amount of light for corals down to about 4 feet. PAR readings taken at various depths seem quite promising, with the 50w fixture hitting a reading 110 PPFD at three feet and the 150w model hitting 270 at the same depth. JBJ promises more technical specs to come soon, and it’s likely that the light will become available in the next 2-3 months. by Heidi dM | Jul 30, 2013 | Corals, Industry, Science
Echinophyllia tara lives in protected reef habitats and was observed in the remote Gambier Islands of French Polynesia between 5 and 20 metres depth. It’s a zooxanthellate species which commonly grows on dead coral fragments, contributing to the formation of coral...
