by AquaNerd | Apr 16, 2014 | Equipment, Industry, Technology
Giesemann is one of the few companies out there that isn’t abandoning the tried and true T5HO technology, and in fact, they are still making groundbreaking strides that keep it totally relevant in a time dominated by LED light fixtures. Around a year ago, Giesemann revamped the look of their Matrixx T5HO fixtures to bring their aesthetics in line with their gorgeous Teszla and Futura LED products, and just a week ago they announced even more upgrades. The brand new Matrixx-II DIMTEC will share the same sleek look as its predecessor, but will also incorporate full Bluetooth connectivity that allows it to communicate with a variety of devices including personal computer, Macs, and Android powered devices. The user interface is provided by Giesemann’s own software package, which is very similar to the one used on the Futura LED system. The key selling features of the software include: Point to point multi-plot light cycle programming allowing smooth transitional lighting phases across an available 920 set points. Fully independent channel control over 2 – 4 channels dependent on light unit connected. Transitional color shift dependent on the mix of tubes across each channel. Fully adjustable cloud and weather simulations Fully adjustable lunar phases. Creation of dedicated user profiles by AquaNerd | Apr 11, 2014 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion
Many marine aquarists illuminate their refugia with the most basic of lighting systems. These usually consist of an aluminum shop light and a compact fluorescent bulb, which isn’t exactly the most visually appealing arrangement. Eshopps is looking to change all that, however, with the upcoming release of their yet to be named LED refugium light. This sleek little fixture sports a razor thin design that sports the signature blue coloration that permeates thought the entire Eshopps lineup. It has a footprint of 5″ x 4″, with a thickness of just 5/16th of an inch. Helping the light to jut out over the water is a mounting bracket that blends right into the fixture and can affix to acrylic or glass of varying thickness thanks to nylon thumbscrews. Getting back to the fact that the refugium light is without a name, Eshopps is looking for a little help in the creativity department. by Reef To Rainforest | Jan 15, 2014 | Equipment, Events, Fish, Industry, Science
via AquaXplorer Newsletter: Puratek is committed to introducing new and innovative products to the aquarium industry. With the latest release of our Aquarium Management software, AquaXplorer Live, you’ll see for yourself how our feature-rich platform will help you simplify and enhance your aquarium maintenance. New Aquarium Dashboard Comprehensive and intuitive overview on a single page for simple monitoring and control New Extended Feature Set Calendar – Synchronize Insight Controller events and alarms to calendar or link calendar events to your personal Google Calendar and set schedules. Manual Chemistry Tracking – Configure any chemistry parameter you want to measure and trend. Set valid threshold limits and perform graphical trending to see history. Scheduler – Set up schedules to perform maintenance on daily, weekly, monthly or yearly intervals. Equipment Tracking – Keep an accurate list of all equipment in your system including manufacture, serial and model numbers, warranty period, attach receipts and user guides for safe keeping and more. Expense Tracking – Customize exactly how you want to track your expenses by setting up categories to log where and when you purchased things. by AquaNerd | Dec 24, 2013 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Science
This year is quickly becoming a thing of the past, and as we creep forward to 2014, we couldn’t help but stop and reflect on all of the stories that made 2013 so memorable. While we have a handful of recap articles on the way, we wanted to first take a look at the top 10 most visited articles that hit your computer screens and mobile devices from the AquaNerd Blog. The list has a few shockers on it, at least from our standpoint, and they weren’t all good news for the aquarium hobby. So, check out the list and let us know what aquarium related stories had the biggest impact on you and your hobby. Continue below for the full list… Mindstream Aquarium Monitoring System Measures Twelve Parameters with One UnitThe Mindstream aquarium monitor came out of nowhere and news of its abilities took the hobby by storm. Able to monitor twelve different water paraters using fluorescent technology, this tiny device looked like it would be the perfect solution for hobbyists looking to get away from test kits. The Mindstream is set to debut sometime next year, as beta testing is still underway, and we can’t wait to see how well it performs. There is a ton of excitement around this product, so it’s no surprise to see it on our list…we just didn’t expect it to shoot to the top only because it wasn’t published until November. Newer, Bigger Maxspect R420R 200W Displayed at MACNAAlso making its debut in 2013 was a much larger version of the R420r from Maxspect. by AquaNerd | Dec 23, 2013 | Equipment, Science
When they’re not dabbling in LED and T5HO lighting, apparently the guys from Pacific Sun also spend their spare time tinkering with other high end aquarium equipment…namely this 5-channel “intelligent” dosing pump. In February 2014, Pacific Sun will unleash this beast onto the aquarium marketplace, making it the largest dosing pump on the market as far as we know. Most dosing pumps come in three and four channel flavors, with the four pump systems usually being a slave unit with no on-board controller. Pacific Sun’s dosing pump, on the other hand, sports five independent channels AND a built-in controller. According to the teaser info, this new dosing system is said to be “super-accurate” with dosages ranging from 0.1ml to 1500ml and the unit cranking out up to 24 doses per day per channel. The Pacific Sun intelligent doser up the bar even further by incorporating a built-in top off with water level sensors and a computer controlled DC pump for topping off up to 300 liters per hour. Stepping up the game even further, the on-board controller allows the unit to be controlled wirelessly using an iOS or Android app, along with both PC and Mac versions of the software. Available in version with silicone tube / Viton tube – provides great accuracy and configure using the wireless controller – using an application on the PC / Mac / Android
