by AquaNerd | Sep 24, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, MACNA
The guys from across the pond were out and about at MACNA this year showing off some great new gear from Giesemann. Of course, LED lighting is all the rage, so it was no surprise to see a booth full of gorgeous LED hardware. Included in that bunch was a black version of the sleek looking Teszla, which we really liked, along with a much longer version if the same light, called the Teszla-XT. The Teszla-XT has all of the same features of the standard Teszla model, but just packs in more of it. Instead of a single circuit board full if diodes, it has two, effectively doubling the length of the fixture. This boost in size allows it to cover larger tanks more effectively, and is great for those ultra deep (front to back) tanks. Priced at $799, the Teszla-XT has loads of features, including: 0-100% adjustable intensity on all three color channels Three different color LEDs: white, blue, and royal blue channel Built-in 24hr timer Built-in moonlight cycle Sunrise/sunset feature Computer interface Bluetooth remote control via tablet/PC/Smartphone (requires external kit) Active temperature control system As for the black model, none of the hardware is different from the white, standard sized Teszla, but that black housing sure does look great. It gives users just one more way to make their aquariums look their best, and the choice between iPod white (Giesemann calls it Polar White), anodized silver, and piano black should allow the Teszla to just about fit into any design scheme. Like the white and silver models, the black Teszla will retail for $499. 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 23, 2013 | Equipment, Industry
Flipping and flopping magnetic algae scrapers are all the rage these days, giving hobbyists multiple options when cleaning their aquariums with a single device. The latest scraper to surface in this expansive hobby is this Magnetic Scraper from ZetLight, and it puts a slightly different twist to the otherwise straightforward process. Besides having the typical algae scrubbing pads and bayonet style scraping blade, the ZetLight version of the scraper also has a thick foam pad for finely polishing all those internal aquarium surfaces when heavy duty algae scraping just isn’t needed. Attached with velcro and held in place by the magnetic force, this thick pad helps significantly in the cleaning process. It provides a soft and very acrylic safe cleaning pad that will remove all of the dust-like algae without scratching the tank up, and glass aquariums will certainly benefit just as well. The Magnetic Scraper is quite powerful despite its size, as it is suitable for tanks with a wall thickness up to 18mm (nearly 3/4″). The Magnetic Scraper isn’t listed on the ZetLight sight, and we don’t have a retail price or a release date, but those details will emerge soon enough. by AquaNerd | Sep 20, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, MACNA
The CoralVue booth was full of all sorts of goodies at this year’s MACNA. Besides all of the sweet Maxspect and Elos products (some of which we haven’t even gotten to yet), they are showing off a brand new Sharkman controllable powerhead, which will be Reef Octopus’ flagship powerhead. Like many controllable powerheads on the market, the Sharkman produces a strong stream of water flow at a relavitvely low energy consumption. A two-channel controller allows users to modify the flow rates for a pair of pumps, which includes a pulse mode that can create significant wave action. Only one model was on demo at MACNA, which we believe is an 8,000 LPH (approximately 2100 gph) model, but it won’t be the only one available to this new line of controllable pumps. The Sharkman pumps aren’t wholly dissimilar to other powerheads on the market except in two key areas, their controller and their mounting system. The Sharkman Wave Controller is simple and easy to use, providing a digital readout for the selected speed of the pumps and a countdown timer for the food timer function. Both the speed of the pumps and the frequency of the pulse can be independently adjusted to allow for whatever sort of wave action is desired by AquaNerd | Sep 19, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Industry, MACNA
Back in February, Seachem debuted a brand new line of NutriDiet flake food, and eventually expanded that initial offering a few months later to include a much more tailored variety. Instead of just one marine flake, for example, the NutriDiet flakes grew to three. The expanded lineup included a general marine flake (MarinePlus), a shrimp formula (Shrimp Flakes), and an algae flake (Chlorella Flakes) for fish requiring a heavy diet of algae. We got a real good look at these new foods at MACNA this year, and from what we can tell, they will definitely be a welcomed site. The foods each consist of really nice mixture of large and small flakes, making them an ideal choice for feeding every fish in the aquarium. The NutriDiet flakes are being offered in two sizes, 15 and 30g containers. Additionally, Seachem claims that they supply a nutritionally balanced diet formula that will meet all of the needs of your fish
