by AquaNerd | Jul 23, 2014 | Industry, Science
After a brief time away from the aquarium industry, IceCap is officially back in the game and they’re brining their most popular product back with them. The ever popular IceCap 660 ballast is the flagship product making its return to the lighting scene, and it will offer the same great quality and features that made it so popular to begin with. The 660 can fire VHO, PC or high output T5 light bulbs while running cooler than other ballasts while using 40% less electricity and burning 40% brighter. Single 660 ballast can run up to 4 lamps or 440watts and is fully dimmable for T12 style VHO bulbs. On top of that, the ballast is fully repairable and comes with a three year warranty. As for new features of the ballast, most things are unchanged from its predecessors, but will utilize higher quality, non lead “RoHS Compliant” integrated components that allow the ballast to run cooler, reduces the failure rate, and even makes them a little more environmentally friendly. Now, I do realize we stated that the ballast is making its return, but it should be noted that it really never quite went away. IceCap’s former VP Chris Conti went to CoralVue after the company shut it’s doors, and when he left, he took the IceCap 660 and other products with him. The 660 was rebranded under the CoralVue name, but it just wasn’t the same by AquaNerd | Jul 22, 2014 | Science
EcoTech Marine is generously giving away one of their brand new, just released Radion XR15w Pro LED fixtures to one lucky hobbyist in a Facebook promotional contest. To enter, all you have to do is click like, make a comment, and share the original contest announcement posted on their Facebook page. This will net you three entries ink the contest, and hopefully a brand new light fixture. The contest is open now until August 15th at midnight. Besides the light, the winner will also receive a free t-shirt and a bottle of EcoTech Elements Coral Glue. Continue below for the full announcement. In celebration of the release of the new Radion XR15w Pro LED fixture, we’re having a Radion Giveaway right here on Facebook! One lucky winner will receive an EcoTech Marine Radion XR15w Pro! That’s not all, either… the winner of the contest will also receive a complimentary bottle of Elements Coral Glue and T-Shirt by AquaNerd | Jul 15, 2014 | Equipment, Science
There’s a new nano sized protein skimmer hitting the market really soon from JBJ USA called the SK-45. Ideal for tanks up to 45-gallons, this new skimmer was purposefully designed to fit in the rimless JBJ aquariums, specifically the RL-45, RL-30 and the RL-20. It has a total footprint of just 3.75″ x 3″, which also makes it a good candidate for other nano aquariums as well. As far as features go, the SK-45 uses a needle wheel pump with an adjustable venturi valve, a height adjustable outage pipe that controls the internal water level, a large column for microbubble removal, double media sponges, large collection cup, and a mounting bracket for rimless aquariums. On top of those features, JBJ is also offering a limited one year warranty and, more interestingly, a free media sponge replacements for every six months over a two year span. The SK-45 will officially launch in a couple of weeks, but if you can’t wait until then to get a glimpse at it in action, feel free to check out the video below. by AquaNerd | Jul 15, 2014 | Science, Tanks
#3 of 10 in Esquire’s 10 of the World’s Coolest Aquariums The internet is rife with lists. People just love them. Lists featuring the top ten of this or top five of that summarize their points in a very concise, easy to read format that people with short attention spans can actually make it through without getting sidetracked. We can’t say that we dislike lists, in fact we love them just like everyone else, except for those cases where the list isn’t at all researched or just hypes up something normally quite mundane. Recently, we came across a list of “10 of the Word’s Coolest Aquariums” in the UK version of Esquire, and suffice it to say, we were less than impressed with their featured tanks. While we certainly welcome a bit more of the positive spotlight on our hobby, we could easily have thought of ten far better aquariums than those that made the list. So, to help fix their list, we’ve come up with a few notable tanks that should top Esquire’s compilation… 1. Chingchai’s 1000-gallon DSPS Tank Chingchai’s world famous reef aquarium 2. David Saxby’s massive L-shaped aquarium David Saxby’s massive L-shaped reef tank 3. by AquaNerd | Jul 10, 2014 | Equipment
When Innovative Marine launched their NUVO Shallow Reef and Fusion series aquariums, they thought out the designs through eyes of aquarium keepers, adding specific accessories that would yield massive benefits. One of these features was the mesh screen that covered the tops of these aquariums, keeping jumpy fish from doing a little carpet surfing. While this screen comes stock with the two higher end systems, IM has decided to release a line of screens to fit many of their popular NUVO Nano aquariums. This upgrade consists of a lightweight mesh screen with a durable powder coated aluminum frame and will fit nicely over the NUVO Nano16, Micro30, and Mini38 aquariums. There are no tools required for the install, and since the screen comes preassembled, all you have to do is tear open the box and set it on your tank, simple as that. Here is a full model breakdown, which includes dimensions and suggested retail prices. -16 Gallon Screen Dims: 22.85” x 8” x 0.35” ($40 MSRP) -30 Gallon Screen Dims: 19” x 13.25” x 0.35” ($50 MSRP) -38 Gallon Screen Dims: 22.75” x 13.25” x 0.35” ($60 MSRP)
