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Hands On with the Vertex Omega 150 Cone Skimmer

by | Sep 30, 2013 | Equipment, Tanks

Have you ever had a piece of equipment that you thought just looked too darned pretty to be in that nasty saltwater with fish poop and gross algae? Well, such is the case for the Omega 150 protein skimmer, which Vertex so kindly sent our way. Unfortunately for the skimmer, we don’t plan on letting it stay eye candy for long, as we’ll put it through the ringer as we review it in an everyday aquarium environment. To start our review, we’ll first dive into a little product history. The Omega line of skimmers was first introduced at MACNA 2012 in Dallas, and we were told that it was meant to completely replace the Vertex IN skimmers. To keep its price down around that of the IN series and to better distinguish itself from the Vertex Alpha skimmers, the Omega used a Sicce pump instead of the Red Dragon. Additionally, the straight cone shape was ditched for the more elegant “whine glass” cone body.

Vertex Cleaner Mags Look So Clean While Getting Dirty

by | Aug 16, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion, Tanks

Vertex Aquaristik recently loaded us up with a whole bunch of their products for review, and in an attempt to work methodically and at a sufficient pace to properly cover each item leading up to MACNA later this month, we are going to take things slowly and start off with a preliminary review of the Cleaner-Mag lineup. Like the rest of the Vertex product line, the visual experience (e.g. style and simplicity) are held right up there with function. Simply put, these magnets are probably the best looking ones around and they work like a charm. Currently, the Cleaner-Mags consist of four models, the Simplex, Duplex, Triplex, and Hexaplex, all of which range in size and shape from a quarter to an index card. All of them share many of the same features, which include a clear plastic housing that allows hobbyists to see the stylishly powerful magnets.

Video Review of the Maxspect R420R Razor LED Fixture

by | Aug 7, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion

embedded content After several weeks of hands on time, here is our video review of the Maxspect R420R “Razor” LED fixture in the 120w model. We liked this particular light fixture for several reasons, and we tried to do our best to show the step-by-step setup through the on-board controller. Of course, having the very easy to read instruction manual always helps, and there are a few details that we couldn’t capture in the video without bogging it down with tons of text. Still, the controls are so intuitive and easy to use that you probably wouldn’t need more than a glance at the instructions to be fully up and running. Upon plugging in the fixture and turning on the power supply switch, the Razor goes to the default Manual Mode, designated with the letter “M”. In this mode, you can independently adjust both the white and blue channels from 0-100% intensity. After the desired intensities are selected, both channels can be turned off and on simultaneously. All you have to do to navigate through the settings in Manual Mode is push the lone adjusting knob until you’ve cycled through the channels and made your adjustments. From the Manual Mode, users can access the other two modes by holding down the settings knob for approximately two seconds. Users are taken to the Preset Mode and the Automatic Mode. To set the time for the Razor’s on-board clock, you have to go to the Automatic Mode. Simply highlight the clock, click once, change the time with the dial, then click to get back out. From there, you can either stay in Automatic Mode or continue on to Present Mode. While in Automatic Mode, users can create a 6-point lighting schedule based on whatever times they want. The first point starts the day, so a low intensity should be used. Assuming you go a traditional sunrise/sunset route, the first time point will slowly ramp up in intensity until the fixture peaks, then it will ramp back down for the evening schedule. The sixth time point should start the lights out schedule, and should be set to 0% across the board. A dim moonlight can be implemented with this leg of the cycle if it is desired, in which case either the blue or white channels could be set to a low percentage. Needless to say, the Razor’s Automatic Mode provides one heck of a sunrise and sunset cycle for your aquarium that goes way above and beyond what a comparable two channel LED or T5HO fixture could accomplish. The last mode to discuss is the Preset Mode, which is exactly as it sounds. After moving through the menu, the fixture will go into one of two preset lighting modes, which differ only in the specific time points. These two modes are factory set lighting programs that force the fixture to automatically run throughout the day and shut off at night. The times for the various points cannot be changed, hence the term “preset”. For those who go to work early in the day and don’t get home until late, this may not be the most ideal mode to run your Razor in. The Preset Mode has an early lighting schedule that will likely be turned off by the time you get to enjoy it. For that reason, we really prefer the Automatic Mode. As for our overall impression, we really enjoyed working with the Maxspect R420R. It responds well to our adjusting of the controller, it’s color output looks great, and the fixture puts out virtually no heat. After hours of being on, the entire body is still around room temperature, as are the plastic covers over the diodes. Every person who has seen this light during our review has expressed that they were also really impressed. That all said, we did find the built-in mounting arms to  be a bit troublesome from time to time. They do their job well, but can be a little difficult to adjust. This might be specific to individual fixtures and may not be the case for everyone, but definitely worth mentioning. Fortunately, the Razor comes with a healthy assortment of moutning options. Our favorite was the adjustable hanging kit, which we used for a majority of our review. By hanging the fixture above the aquarium, we eliminated any spotlighting that occurred when using the mounting brackets, giving us an even distribution of the light. All in all, the Razor gets a big thumbs up from the AquaNerd Blog. A big thanks goes out to Chris and the rest of the gang at CoralVue for giving us this opportunity. We also wanted to thank Daniel Leija for letting us use his tank, as well as Keith Hatch who brought every piece of aquarium gear in the greater Houston area to help us get this video review done.

Getting a Bit More Familiar with the Maxspect R420R ‘Razor’ LED Fixture

by | Jun 27, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion

Thanks to the fine folks at CoralVue, we recently got our hands on a Maxspect R420R 120w-16000k LED fixture for a product review. Despite not having a ton of time to run this fixture over our various reef setups, we have had plenty of time thumbing through the manual, tinkering with the on-board controller, and playing around with the rest of the features that make this light a true competitor in a crowded LED lighting market. The R420R, which also goes by the name Razor because of its ultra thin appearance, sports six differently colored LEDs spread across two large clusters. These emitters are also separated into two channels. Channel A is broken down into six each of Cree XT-E 8000K, Cree XT-E Royal Blue, and Cree XT-E Warm White LEDs. The bluer of the two channels, called Channel B, consists of nine Cree XP-E Blue, six Cree XT-E Royal Blue, and six Cree XT-E Super Actinic emitters. Each of the channels is independently adjustable via the onboard controller, which uses one push-button dial to navigate through the very simple and intuitive menu. As far as the controller goes, as soon as you turn the fixture on, you’re taken to the light’s “Manual” mode. In this mode, you can adjust the intensity of each channel from 0-100% simply by turning the dial. While in the manual mode, if you hold down the dial for a few seconds, you’re taken to another mode that allows for a six-point lighting schedule. In this schedule, users can set the intensity of each channel at six different points of time within the day, basically giving you an elaborate sunrise and sunset. Of course, an on-board clock keeps the lights turning on and off at the desired times. Moving on to the other features, the Razor comes standard with a good variety of mounting options. Adjustable legs allow for easy installation over aquariums up to 36″ long for this model, and an adjustable hanging kit allows the light to be suspended over just about any setup. As for the build quality, the fixture is really lightweight, but accomplishes this without sacrificing rigidity or quality. The large, flat body is made from coated aluminum, with plastic accent pieces surrounding the fan and LED banks, as well as capping off the ends. The metal body serves as a big heatsink, allowing heat to be passively removed from the fixture. Also aiding in the cooling process is an under-mount fan, which rests between the LED clusters. This fan is extremely silent in its operation, being almost inaudible even when you’re sitting in a quiet room with no gurgling tank noises in the background. All in all, we’re very happy with the Razor, and have actually been a big fan of the fixture since seeing it over various aquariums, whether they be at trade shows or the tank of a local hobbyist. We plan to put it through our usual rounds of testing, and be sure to check back for a detailed step-by-step video for using the Razor’s on-board controller.