by AquaNerd | Nov 6, 2013 | Science, Tanks
A couple of years ago, Royal Exclusiv released a beautiful line of double cone protein skimmers that provided a whole new type of cone shape to their Bubble King brand. Instead of the straight cone or a cylinder topped with a hideous conical transition into the neck, the double cone introduced a wine glass shape whose gentle curves not only looked great, but also provided for better movement of the bubbles through the skimmer. At the time of their introduction, the Bubble King Double Cone skimmers were aimed at the larger tank crowd, with the smallest model being rated for 500 liters (approximately 131 gallons). To address tanks under the 100 gallon mark, Royal Exclusiv has just introduced their Double Cone 150, which is rated for tanks up to 350 liters (around 92 gallons). The Bubble King Double Cone 150 sports a Mini Red Dragon 600 needlewheel pump that draws 625 lph air and 800 lph water. Those numbers are adjustable, as the volute on the pump’s intake can be rotated in or out to dial in the desired performance. The body has a footprint of roughly 7.7″ x 9.6″ (without the pump) and an overall height of 19.7″ by AquaNerd | Nov 6, 2013 | Equipment, Science, Tanks
Good news AquaIllumination fans. The long awaited AI Director controller is now available to pre-order through any one of a number of different aquarium equipment retailers. Priced at $99, the AI Director allows hobbyists to control any of the wirelessly enabled AI modues with any web enabled device from any part of the world. Users will be able to access the controller via AquaIllumination’s cloud-based service, myAI, and native apps for both iOS and Android will also be available soon. A single AI Director can manage up to 10 tanks and up to 30 different AquaIllumination LED modules. Users can also take advantage of all of the features of each light, being able to adjust weather patterns (rolling clouds and lightning) lunar cycles, and coral acclimation cycles. The Director can also control up to 100 time points per LED color per group for a given day by AquaNerd | Nov 5, 2013 | Science
Listen up all of you would-be guinea pigs, Neptune Systems is looking to try out the beta version of their upcoming Apex Fusion software. According to a recent announcement, beta versions of their Apex controller firmware and their highly touted Apex Fusion service will become available later this month. Due to the groundswelling of requests from hobbyists to be beta testers, Neptune is making the system available in a limited supply. To be considered, all you have to do is go to the Neptune Systems website and fill out an application letting them know a little about your system. There is no listed minimum requirements to be a beta tester, and it would appear that Neptune Systems will focus on Apex, Apex Lite, and Apex Jr. users alike. For those of you not familiar with Apex Fusion, it is a new service that will allow Apex users to access and modify the settings of their controllers from the cloud. by AquaNerd | Nov 4, 2013 | Equipment, Fish, Science
According to a patent filing that was published ealier this year, EcoTech Marine may be cooking up a brand new toy that isn’t a light or a water pump. If the patent is seen through to a final product, the Pennsylvania based aquarium equipment company will likely be offering some type of “habitat viewing device”. Perusing through the technical terminology that is laced all throughout the patent, we have come to the conclusion that the device could either be finalized into any one of a variety of different configurations. The most heavily described version includes an interior magnet, lens, and exterior magnet that would allow users to get a closer view of their habitat’s inhabitants. The other configuration includes a top-down view of the animals, and based on the drawings and descriptions, an EcoTech Marine viewing device will likely be able to do both. For the top-down version, several different options are explored. As we mentioned, there is a model that looks to serve as a viewer that attaches to the side of the aquarium that will also have some buoyancy (or at the ver least a magnetic attachment) that will allow it to be convered into a top-down viewer. It’s a best of both world scenario. by AquaNerd | Oct 28, 2013 | Equipment, Industry
Here’s a product we spotted at MACNA back in September that we totally overlooked in our coverage. It’s the Reef Spectrum P47, and instead of wrapping a bunch of LEDs in a plastic housing molded around a gaudy heatsink, ReefLEDLights chose instead to put their chassis under a stylish carbon fiber shell. The fixture comes packed with 47 Cree LEDs, two of which are meant to be a moonlight, and a controller that adjust the intensity of the white, blue, and moonlight channels independently. In addition to the manual controls, this well rounded fixture can also be controlled via Neptune Apex and Reef Angel aquarium controllers. The Reef Spectrum P47 isn’t a small or lightweight fixture. It has a footprint of 18 1/4″ x 9 1/2″, and although the product description didn’t mention weight and we didn’t have a scale with us a MACNA, we assume it tips the scales at probably 25 pounds or more. This is an assumption, and we wouldn’t be surprised if it weighed more than that. Refocusing on the business end of the fixture, Carclo optics are offered in a couple of different varieties to direct the light downward, into the aquarium. Aquarists can choose between Ripple Wide Optics for greater depth penetration or Wide Angle Reflectors for those shallower tanks.
