by AquaNerd | Dec 4, 2013 | Equipment, Science
When it comes to aquarium equipment, it’s hard to demand instant gratification and not be disappointed. Certain items have a break-in period that can last days or even weeks in length, while others never live up to expectations and are doomed to fail on many levels. We’re happy to report, however, that neither of these is the case for the Vertex Aquaristik Titanium Ground Pole, which we recently got to spend a lot of time with. We were experiencing a great deal of stray voltage in one our systems, and the ground pole took care of them instantly. Not a few days down the road, not after a week of breaking in, but instantly. And for that reason alone, we are happy to sing its praises. For those of you who have been in the aquarium hobby for any real length of time, you are probably quite familiar with stray voltage. It comes from all types of equipment, both submerged and external, and can wreak havoc on all sorts of marine organisms. While it may be easy to pinpoint which equipment is throwing off the voltage, usually by process of elimination, it’s not always easy to just remove that item from operation. by AquaNerd | Dec 2, 2013 | Fish, Science
Aquarium monitoring systems are becoming increasingly popular for hobbyists who are tired of testing water parameters manually with various test kits, but who are also not quite ready, or just don’t intend, to make the leap into the market of full blown aquarium control. Aquarium monitors do all of the water testing for you, but avoid all of the complex programming required to automate some of the simplest aquarium related tasks. Instead, they relay information so that the hobbyist can take care of the issues themselves. That’s where devices like the Seneye come into play. We recently got the opportunity to perform an extremely in-depth review of the Seneye monitor, and after more than a month on our nano aquarium, we’re happy to report that the monitoring device told us plenty of useful information about our aquarium and it was really simple to use. The Seneye monitor is an interesting device, to say the least. It measures pH, temperature, and ammonia, while at the same time doubling as a light meter that can measure PAR, LUX, and Kelvin. It fixes to the side of the aquarium with a suction cup, and for measuring light it can be manually turned on its side for taking measurements at various depths. LED lights indicate when the power to the unit is on, as well as any alarms for the water parameters and when the Slide, which is the disposable portion of the device that makes ammonia and pH monitoring possible, needs to be replaced. The Seneye connects to a computer and/or a power source via USB. by AquaNerd | Dec 1, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Science
Since Thanksgiving has morphed from a day of family and togetherness into one of almost pure shopping frenzy, we figured we would try to do a good rounding up of all the sweet deals from the aquarium equpiment and livestock retailers. There seems to be a lot more people involved in the sale festivities, and for the first time on a Black Friday/Cyber Monday, aquarist can enjoy some rather generous discounts on products from EcoTech Marine (via online rebate), Neptune Systems, and Reef Octopus…all of which normally have strict pricing guidelines that forces most vendors to keep their prices the same all year round. Below is our list of retailers and each of their deals spelled out in the best way we could. We tried to cover a wide array of retailers, but unfortunately there are just too many to list. List of retailer specials, in alphabetical order. AquaCave Sitewide discount to a very generous 15% this year with coupon code “BF15″. The sale excludes products from Kessil, EcoTech Marine, ProfiLux, Neptune Systems, Digital Aquatics, CoralVue, Reef Octopus, Maxspect, AquaIllumination, Vertex, Korallen Zucht, Speedwave, Sweetwater, Atlantic, and JBJ Commercial Chillers, and AquaCave gift certificates. In addition to the sitewide discounts, AquaCave also has several deeply discounted doorbusters. by AquaNerd | Nov 26, 2013 | Equipment, Science
The Hydra FiftyTwo, AquaIllumination’s new flagship LED fixture that was announced at MACNA this year, is officially available to purchase from your favorite aquarium equipment retailer. Priced at $599, the FiftyTwo is AI’s biggest and beefiest LED module to date. It sports 52 individual LEDs that are spread across four different clusters, delivering tons of power and color to your reef. The LEDs come in the same colors that are found on the original Hydra, but there are simply a lot more of them. In fact, the original Hydra only had a total of 20 LEDs (five per cluster) where the FiftyTwo ups that number way up 13 per cluster. Like the rest of the fixtures in the AI lineup, the Hydra FiftyTwo uses a variety of Cree diodes, each designed to deliver the perfect amount of light and color. While there are almost three times the LEDs in the FifityTwo than in the original fixture, this beefier version will only draw around 135 watts by AquaNerd | Nov 25, 2013 | Science
Another Neptune Systems accessory is hitting the marketplace this week with the official release of the AquaIllumination LED Wireless Control Module (AWM). Announced at MACNA earlier this year, the AWM works with the AI Vega, Hydra, and Hydra FiftyTwo and can wirelessly control up to 12 indepedent LED fixtures. The module can dim every channel of each light, as well as create progressive sunrise and sunset, cloud cover, lightning, and even location based and day-of-year lighting. According to Neptune Systems’ press release, the realease of the AWM officially makes the AI Vega, Hydra, and Hydra FiftyTwo are all Apex Ready+ devices and it can be purchased immediately from any one of the worldwide retailers that carry the Neptune Systems line. The retail price is set at $124.95.
