by AquaNerd | Dec 9, 2013 | Equipment, Fish, Science
After what seems like an eternity since their last new product, Bubble Magus is making their presence felt once again as they dive into the world of DC pump powered gear. Besides a nifty new DC powered protein skimmer line, which we’ll touch on later, the budget friendly aquarium equipment manufacturer is releasing a set of DC Wave Pumps complete with their very own controller. The pumps will come in two models, a mid range W20 that cranks out 6000 liters per hour (around 1578 gph) at 20 watts of juice and a much more powerful W70, with a max flow of 16000 lph (4210 gallons per hour) at 70W. Each pump will be controlled by the new Bubble Magus C1 controller, which has outlets for up to four total pumps spread across two different channels. The pumps themselves are fairly straightforward. They have a typical design that includes a a large propeller sitting behind a plastic shroud. What’s interesting here is that it appears the pumps have two different shrouds, or at the very least an add-on for each pump to allow for a more focused water flow. On a side note, we assume these shrouds are interchangable, as the main portion of the shroud looks different between the same size  pumps…meaning, the two shrouds on the W20 pumps look a little different from each other (besides the tip of course). Either way, the pumps will give plenty of options to aquarists seeking a greater flow variety. by AquaNerd | Dec 5, 2013 | Equipment, Science, Tanks
By: Joe Savoy At the last Reef-a-Palooza show in Costa Mesa, California, I had the absolute pleasure of bringing home the recently debuted Orphek Helix 3000 cone skimmer. If you’re anything like me, you get excited when it comes to brand new equipment, and needless to say, I was excited for this one. When you first lay eyes on the Helix, it looks like your typical cone skimmer but with a few subtle yet significant differences. Everything about it is sleek, from the white DC pump to the collection cup cover and everything in between. Rated at around 400 gallons, this skimmer has the potential of skimming a wide variety of tanks due to the controllable pump. One of first things you see notice on this skimmer is the high RPM controllable DC pump. This 3000 l/h (792gph) needle-wheel pump, at full power, draws 25 watts and has a pause mode with an automatic timer for 10 minutes. The pump basically forces bubble-enriched water through what is called the helix disk, Orphek’s take on the bubble plate. This disk directs the movement of the water in a 360 degree spiral motion up the cone to increase contact time and produce a more efficient skim 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 | 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 13, 2013 | Equipment, Science
BuildMyLED, an Austin-based aquarium equipment manufacturer that specializes in custom LED lighting options for marine and freshwater aquariums, recently announced their latest product, LED refugium lighting. In typical BML fashion, the light fixtures are offered up in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, with several different beam angle options, a couple of different colors, and in three different spectra also being available. While LED refugium lighting isn’t anything new, BuildMyLED is doing something that most others don’t. They really did their homework, and have designed three different versions of their lights to each grow a particular type of algae. Instead of just making a single catch all type fixture, which is one of the options, their refugium lights are designed to specifically grow either red or green macroalgae. The Universal Spectrum refugium LED might seem like the best choice on the surface, but today’s hobbyists are finding that certain types of algae perform better than others in their specific systems. In my personal tank, I’ve found that my Dragon’s Tongue algae does far better than Chaetomorpha or Caulerpa, though in another system that is similarly designed the green macroalgae have done better. So, we definitely see significant value in targeting a specific type of algae. The custom refugium lights come in eight different lengths, with the shortest being 12″ and the longest being six feet
