by AquaNerd | Jul 28, 2014 | Equipment, Events, Industry, Science
Reef-A-Palooza, one of the most attended aquarium trade show in the US, is looking to conquer another state. The show originated in California, headed east to sunny Florida, and now makes the trek north to New York. There is absolutely zero info about the show at this point, besides a date and an address, but we are sure that this event will be just as massive and successful as the other two Reef-A-Palooza events. If the other shows are any indication of how the New York version will be, then we can expect the same $15 admission fee (kids 12 and under are free), tons of aquarium equipment and livestock vendors, a boatload of family friendly activities, and a bevy of industry hardened guest speakers. Again, none of this has been released, and what little info we could find came from the show’s Facebook page. We will keep updating the blog, however, as those finer details emerge. Update: We did find a location for RAP New York. It will be held at the Meadowlands Exposition Center located at 355 Plaza Dr in Secaucus, New Jersey by AquaNerd | Jun 13, 2014 | Corals, Fish, Science, Tanks
Reef tanks and Legos. It’s an aquarium nerd’s match made in heaven. At this year’s Interzoo, there have been a lot of interesting and amazing reef aquariums, but this one takes the cake for originality. Tropical Marine Centre, like most companies in attendence, have a booth with a reef display. But they didn’t confine their love of reef fish and corals to just a glass box. Instead, they let their creativity take over and assembled an awesome looking Lego reef, copmlete with Lego fish, Lego corals, and Lego live rock. To top if off, they even have a Lego fish assembly area for anyone willing to test their building skills. As for the Lego reef, it is full of pure awesomeness by AquaNerd | Jun 9, 2014 | Equipment, Science
Raffles are always a big ticket item (see what we did there) at aquarium shows both large and small. Regardless of the speaker lineup, the number of vendors, or the size of the show, there’s nothing that draws a larger crowd than a robust raffle full of awesome prizes. MACNA falls right in line with the rest of the aquarium hobbyist shows when it comes to raffles, usually having a massive amount of items available to the thousands of guests in attendance. But this year they are stepping their game way up. In addition to equipment, frags, and gift cards that are commonplace, the show will also feature a free trip to Fiji. But that’s not all. The all expense paid trip will be hosted by the legendary Walt Smith and his wife Deborah. The trip is 10 days long and features round trip airfare for two from LAX to Fiji, as well as hotel and meal accommodations, free diving on the Walt Smith International (WSI) coral farm, a trip to the WSI export facility, a poolside dinner with Walt and Deborah, and free passes to several local attractions (zipline, waterfalls, and a safari). This raffle giveaway is only available to attendees of the MACNA 2014 banquet dinner, with the drawing most likely happening sometime between the opening speeches and the keynote by AquaNerd | Jun 2, 2014 | Corals, Science, Tanks
Interzoo has only barely begun, but we’ve already determined that De Jone Marinelife has the best display reef tank at the show. We don’t even need to look at any of the other tanks to make that decision either. This tank is just way too stunning to be second to any other. It is full of amazing corals and an elaborate rock structure that don’t look like they were just thrown together for one show. Instead, this looks like a mature, full-blown reef tank. We don’t know the size of this aquarium, but given the massive array of AquaIllumination fixtures, we’d say this tank is well over 300-gallons and probably closer to a 500. Besides this tank, Interzoo is playing host to hundreds of amazing display reefs and planted aquariums. We are deeply jealous that we can’t actually be there in the flesh, but in this case we will settle for living vicariously through the Facebook posts of others. by AquaNerd | Jun 2, 2014 | Science
We’ve already made mention of the interesting new Riptide Gyre Generator that is on the way from Maxspect, but given its unique design and flow patterns, we figured this video shot at Interzoo would help visualize just how different and potentially better the pump is from other water moving devices. As demoed, the gyre generator mounts to a wall of the aquarium and can be positioned a whole bunch of different ways depending on the aquarium’s needs (for the sake of simple conversation, we’ll discuss it as if it were in the horizontal orientation). It draws in water from below and expels it perpendicularly, effectively creating both horizontal and vertical water movement. As the water circulates, it creates a swirling gyre, which moves large volumes of water but in a very gentle way. The ping pong balls in the display aquarium can be seen in this rotational flow, and it appears that all of the water in the tank is moving, meaning there are few dead spots in the corners and other places where they typically occur. Various surface whirlpools are created on the opposite end of the aquarium as the water starts its downward movement, and there plenty of surface agitation to facilitate gas exchange. The Maxspect Riptide is set to officially launch to the public sometime in August, and all of the product literature indicates there will be at least four models
