by AquaNerd | Sep 25, 2013 | Corals, Equipment, Industry
One of the coolest, simplest, and most inexpensive products we saw at MACNA was the Coral Holder from Aqua Medic. This straightforward device does exactly as its namesake suggests, holds corals, but it’s not your typical frag rack or ugly piece of PVC. Instead, it is a clean looking holder that can be adjusted to accomodate corals of various shapes and sizes. The Coral Holder isn’t new to the industry by any means, it isn’t exactly a device that you would find in the typical home aquarium. This is mostly due to the fact that hobbyists don’t display corals like retail and wholesale facilities do. That said, the holder could be a great tool for those hobbyists looking to keep bulky Euphylids or top-heavy Caulastrea colonies from toppling over, espeically in a frag tank. The Coral Holder opens and closes along a pair of long pegs on one side that fit into a slots on the opposite side. The two halves can be pulled completely apart from each other if need be, and pushed together to tighten around a particular coral.
by AquaNerd | Sep 23, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, MACNA
MACNA is always a playground for new products, and the high end aquarium equipment manufacturers from Elos didn’t disappoint. Although their typical vehicle for new product releases has traditionally been the internationally renowned aquarium show, Interzoo, they treated MACNA attendees to their latest developments in the LED world. Elos unveiled their Plant PRO while shacking up with CoralVue in one sprawling booth. CoralVue recently took over exclusive distributorship of the entire Elos line for North America, hence the announcement at this year’s show, but I digress. The new Planet PRO is absolutely packed with features, including impressive modularity of the LED components, programmable NFC tags (a first for the aquarium industry as far as we are aware), an on-board timer, WiFi connectivity, and Bluetooth. It’s basically got all of the most popular methods of wireless control, and the fixture looks oh so sexy to boot. The new Elos Planet PRO comes packed with 24 LEDs, but that number can be tripled (up to 72 LEDs total) by swapping out the LED strips. With this option, users can not only customize the intensity of the fixture, but they can also pick and choose which colors to use to give you the most control over how the aquarium looks. The color options include white, red, blue, green and UV. The fixture comes stock with 120 degree lenses, but they can be easily exchanged with a variety of available lenses that include 15, 25, or 80 degree optics
by AquaNerd | Sep 22, 2013 | Conservation, Corals, Fish, Industry
Here is some troubling news. According to a recent article on KeysNet, a news organization that focuses on the Florida Keys, the owner of Tropicorium Inc. and one of his employees have been indicted on felony charges of illegally taking livestock from Florida waters. The article states that the owner, Richard Perrin, and an employee, Joseph Franko, made two separate trips to the Florida Keys back in 2011. On these trips, they brought a customized van and a boat to collect saltwater fish and corals. Where the two men tripped up is that they did not have the proper permits to collect in Florida and they collected a slew of protected species.
by AquaNerd | Sep 11, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Technology
The Radion has been one of the most popular LED fixtures on the market, just as the Apex has been one of the most popular aquarium controllers. But for the first two years of coexistence in the aquarium equipment marketplace, the two weren’t exactly a match made in heaven, despite the fact that Neptune Systems has heavily supported EcoTech Marine products. The Apex controller worked relatively well with the Radion from the onset, but the lack of wireless control was always a big issue for aquarium keepers. Fortunately, through continued development of wireless communications in the aquarium industry and the release of the new Apex Fusion dashboard, the Radion and the Apex can now work hand in hand without requiring the use of unsightly wires. Announced at MACNA 2013 just a week ago, Neptune Systems has finally broken through the previously mentioned wireless barrier for the Radion, and for users of VorTech wireless pumps, it may not cost them any extra. The WXM module, which has been around almost as long as the pumps with the wireless drivers, can now communicate with the Radion and allow users to implement all sorts of LED control with the Apex Fusion dashboard and the associated lighting wizards.
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.
