H2O Systems Inc., the Canadian company behind the Reef Life Support Systems (RLSS), makes reef keeping equipment, including protein skimmers, calcium and other media reactors, and the Waveline DC return pumps, showed their latest skimmers and pumps at this year’s MACNA, including a very interesting new cone-shaped skimmer powered by their DC pump. For those of you puzzled by the DC symbol, thee main differences between a DC powered pump and a regular 110V AC one are power consumption and control-ability. DC motors consume less power, last longer (at least in theory), and offer various flow rates through an external controller capable of adjusting the impeller’s rotation speed. I personally believe that it could be the next big thing in the aquarium industry.

The H2O Systems booth had several Waveline pumps on display, as well as some of their skimmers. The little controller is a nice looking device that controls the pump’s speed and can be easily adjusted for the consumer’s flow needs in a given system, eliminating the need for ball valves restricting flow as in a standard AC powered pump. The company’s representative was happy to show me their latest invention, a conical shaped in-sump skimmer (model DB10i) that incorporates a few very smart ideas. First of all, in the heart of it lays the earlier mentioned DC pump hooked up to a controller. That combo takes the skimmer’s adjustment rate to the next level- not only you can fine tune the foam neck using an air intake valve, but also by changing the pump’s flow rate. It could be an ideal feature for those of you struggling to maintain a stable foam neck in the skimmer. Another interesting fact is that the pump is placed in the skimmer’s body in a way that the intake is at the very bottom of it.

According to the company’s representative, this innovation extends the overall skimming ability of their product by providing more skimming volume without making it too big to fit under the stand. The skimmer’s parts are removable for easy cleaning and within modular build lays one more smart engineering solution- the skimmer’s outer acrylic shell can be unscrewed just below where the cone starts as well as at the very bottom, where the pump sits. What for? Well, The new RLSS skimmer will have optional 6″ neck extensions.

If you need more skimming power, just buy one or more extensions -the skimmer pump can handle them just fine. I am eager to see this skimmer in action later this year, if the inventions incorporated in its body match H2O Systems’ claims, it could be a game changer in the world of nasty skimmate.