Fluorescence is an amazing natural phenomenon and one of the main reasons so many of us reef aquarists got hooked into keeping reef aquariums at home. When illuminated with black light, corals transform into these otherworldly creatures, glowing in the dark in a kaleidoscope of colors. There is no [...]
Rossmont cofounder Mattia Montin and I first talked about the company’s upcoming big release, an AC powered, controllable skimmer line, a year ago. So I was pleased to visit their MACNA 2019 booth, and see the two production models with my own eyes- the smaller X250, rated for aquariums [...]
In the last edition of Fluorescence Photography: MACNA Edition, I tried to shine some light on the topic of coral fluorescence- what it is, how does it manifest itself in corals and what’s the difference between this phenomenon and other forms of naturally occurring luminescence. In this [...]
It’s sad to say goodbye to big show picture taking for the year, but I am going to look back at it as one of the best, if not the best, year for the aquarium industry. New people are increasingly interested in owning a reef tank, the knowledge base grew at a logarithmic pace, and the hobby [...]
Planet Aquarium is known for making impressively large custom aquariums and matching filtration systems, but the company also manufactures quite a few standard-sized aquariums, on top of which stands the ultra-premium Crystaline series. I had a chance to see the largest in this line, a [...]
At last year’s MACNA in Las Vegas, I covered Building an Obsession’s TSA approved transport container (HERE), a nifty little jar designed to help reefing folk with live corals get through airport security with no issues. The good people at BAO decided to improve on this clever idea and the end [...]
Xepta Abex (not to be confused with Ibex, my favorite goat of all time) may just be the most important thing that was shown at MACNA 2019 in Orlando. Along with its “mothership”, autoBalance, it’s an automatic measurement and dosing system. “Yeah, like many out there” you may say, but [...]
A new product unveiling from Reef Octopus is always exciting; you can be sure that whatever it is they’ve been working on, it’s going to be interesting. And indeed, it is interesting. The new Octo Blade is a DC powered gyre style propeller pump that looks like a half-gyre, but it’s also [...]