by AquaNerd | Oct 27, 2013 | Equipment, Industry
We’ve all experienced power outages and blips in service, so we can all related to just how much of a problem they create for our aquariums. Lights power off, protein skimmers stop functioning, and water pumps go into a clicking frenzy once power has been restored. Protein skimmers can be particularly troublesome after a power outage, as they have a tendency to overflow and dump all of their contents back into the aquarium. Fortunately for these situations, Reef Octopus has a very helpful new product. When the power goes out, return pumps obviously quit pushing water into the display tank, often flooding the sump with a significant amount of water. If the protein skimmer were to fire up right away, it would operate in a water depth that falls way outside the manufacturer’s suggested depth, which will likely cause the skimmer to behave erratically and overflow. by AquaNerd | Oct 24, 2013 | Equipment, Tanks
Innovative Marine has really been rounding out their Auqa Gadget lineup with some very useful products this year, and one of their most anticpated pieces of equipment has been the HydroFill auto top off system. We’ve been covering their entire lineup rather extensively, and we recently had the opportunity to get some significant one-on-one time with this ATO. While we haven’t finished up all of our routine testing, we wanted to just take a minute to share our initial overview and unboxing of the HydroFill, as well as discuss all of the product’s potential uses. Perfect for tanks of any size, the HydroFill system is composed of two independent components, the HydroFill controller and the HydroFill ATO diaphragm pump. Both products are packaged separately and can be used independent of each other, allowing aquarists a little more freedom with pump selection and use. The controller has a single power outlet that has a 1000W, 8Amp/120V capacity. That’s a ton of power, which may seem a bit excessive, but it allows hobbyists to use virtually whatever pump they want to top off their aquariums. by AquaNerd | Sep 12, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, MACNA
After a few years of development, the Hydor Smart Level Controller is finally ready to hit the aquarium equipment marketplace. The automatic top-off unit uses the same form factor as their popular Koralia Wave Controller, but instead of controlling pulsing powerheads, it monitors the water level of a sump or aquarium and starts a top-off pump when necessary. The Smart Level controller can handle pumps up to 50 watts, though for top-off situations, that is a bit excessive. The Smart Level probe has three ports that indicate a maximum and minimum water level, as well as an alarm level, all of which have indicator LEDs. It operates on temperature changes that occur when water fills the probe chamber, causing it to turn the top-off pump on or off as needed. The probe has a magnet/suction cup hybrid mounting system, with additional cable clamps to keep the probe horizontally positioned. The magnet can handle a wall thickness of 10mm or less. The Smart Level controller will see a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $105.95, with minimum advertise prices falling somewhere in the mid-$80 range. by AquaNerd | Sep 10, 2013 | Equipment, Fish, Industry
Neptune Systems had quite the busy MACNA weekend. Besides their day one user workshop and the announcement of wireless Radion support, AI wireless support (more on that later), and Apex Fusion, they also released their new Automatic Feeding System (AFS). The AFS is the first controllable automatic fish feeder to make it to the aquarium industry, and with all of the safeguards and control functions built into the Apex controller, it will likely be the easiest and safest to use. On top of that, the feeder can be programmed to add food to the tank not only on a frequency interval, but also based on various water parameters, really eliminating the possibilities of feeding at the wrong time. The Neptune Systems AFS can handle various types of dry foods, including pellets or flakes, which can be dosed in varying amounts and frequency. You can feed as little as zero times up to as many as you’d like. Additionally, because the feeder is controlled, it can be programmed to skip a feeding if a certain water parameter is out of whack, and water pumps and skimmers can automatically be shut off during the feeding time if necessary. It truly is one of the last pieces to full aquarium automation, and a welcome site for hobbyists who vacation frequently or just want to set up a fully controlled system. The AFS connects via the Apex AquaBus-mini Cable and is compatible with the Apex, Apex Lite, and Apex Jr. by Leonard Ho | Jul 23, 2013 | Advanced Aquarist
On August 1, 2013, Innnovative Marine will release the latest products in their AUQA Gadgets line – the HydroFill automatic top-off controller and pump. The HydroFill controller uses low voltage circuits to detect water levels to control the HydroFill "air lift" pump. The complete ATO system was designed with reliability and ease-of-use in mind.
