Digital Aquatics has expanded their lineup of accessories to their ReefKeeper aquarium controller with the release of a brand new module, the SL2. This tiny little module features individually isolated pH and salinity ports, along with one temperature port and two switch ports that can be used to regulate an auto-top off or perform some other custom program. The salinity probe is built off a conductivity probe with temperature compensation, which is great if you have multiple aquariums in the vacinity or are gearing up for a water change and want to see how salty the new water is. Salinity is given in parts per thousand (PPT) and the entire module is upgradeable via firmware updates. The asking price for this module is set at $80 and should be hitting store shelves soon.

Found on Reefs.com

Back in September, AquaNerd contributor Keith Hatch stumbled upon a brand new open top aquarium from Deep Sea Aquatics (DSA) called the Neo Storm. The aquarium, which is basically a beefed up version of the Neo Nano, was first spied at the Super Zoo pet show in Las Vegas, and despite looking very similar to its smaller predecessor, the Storm has some fancy new features that allow for better water flow while still keeping the surface virtually ripple-free for optimum look down viewing. When we first laid eyes on the tank and heard a few details about its return plumbing, we weren’t exactly sure how it would all work. We weren’t doubting its abilities, rather we were curious how water was going from the rear chamber to the front two outlets. Fortunately, the guys at DSA have released a “how to” video demonstrating the proper setup of this tank, which clears away all confusion about how it operates.

The back wall of the Neo Storm aquarium, which is significantly taller than the rest of the tank, holds a three chamber drain and return system. The two smaller chambers that flank the much taller middle chamber serve as dual drains into the sump. The tall middle chamber is the return, which is where the Neo Storm stands apart from the Neo Nano. In the older Neo Nano, the water simply fills the chamber and flows over the top like a waterfall. This water was pushed over the chamber slow enough to be dead silent and not create a lot of surface movement, but the tank obviously lacked any real water flow. The Neo Storm, on the other hand, modifies the concept by pushing water both through holes in the chamber (which are submerged) and through two outlets toward the front corners at the bottom tank. As the chamber fills, gravity causes the pressure to build up forcing water through soft plumbing and gently out of the two return fittings. But not wanting to limit flow options for customers, DSA did something rather ingenious. They put multiple holes in the return chamber of the Neo Storm, but also included plastic fittings to fill these holes. The more holes that are plugged, the greater the pressure is within the chamber and the more water will be pushed out of the two returns at the front of the tank.

The aquarium industry has seen its fair share of high end controllable powerheads over the years, and it seems like this technology is finding its way into our return pumps more and more these days. For the longest time, aquarium keepers have had to rely on constant speed pumps to serve as the primary source of water movement between the display tank and its associated plumbing, or even closed-loop setups. These pumps came in a variety of shapes and sizes, but were very limited in functionality. And in a world of constantly changing technology, relying on single function products is quickly starting to lose ground to using equipment that can adapt and change to better suit the hobbyist’s needs. Because of this increasing demand for more control, companies are designing new products to meet the need and the latest offering to aquarium keepers in the world of controllable water pumps is a fancy new set of high flow, high pressure controllable sine wave pumps from Deltec. Already well regarded for their protein skimmer line, Deltec surprisingly has few products designed to just move water. But that hasn’t stopped them from going over the top with their new E-flow water pumps.

Being offered in three different models, the Deltec E-flow pumps use a brushless DC motor that allows them to run almost completely silently. On top of that, they are protected by an overload circuit that shuts the pump off if the impellers becomes blocked off. Once the blockage has been removed, the pump will turn back on automatically. In terms of controlability, the E-flow pumps come stock with a control panel that can be used to adjust water flow speeds. And once that flow is dialed in, there’s no need to fear about power outages causing the pump to revert back to a factory setting as the control panel will start back up in the last saved setting. But the fun doesn’t stop there.

Later this year, a separate multifunction controller will be available to control up to four pumps at once. This controller will operate much like our powerhead controllers by allowing the pumps to operate in multiple different wavemaking modes. The estimated release date for the controller is late April 2012 and we expect the pump and controller combo to really give traditional closed loop setups a run for their money. Of course, this setup will be far more cost prohibitive than a closed loop, but the energy savings will definitely be a much talked about selling point.

As we mentioned before, there will be three Deltec E-flow models available. Each of these models and their respective specifications are listed below.

Deltec E-flow 16

Technical data

• Minimum/Maximum water flow: 5000/14000 lph (1300-3700 gph)
• Minimum/Maximum power consumption: 20/180w
• Maximum head height: 9.0 meters (29 feet)
• Performance selection: 17 stages
• Inlet size: 50 mm (2″)
• Outlet size: 40 mm (1.5″)
• Price (from D-D The Aquarium Solution): £1099.99 (~$1730)

Deltec E-flow 12

Technical data

• Minimum/Maximum water flow: 5000/11400 lph (1300-3200 gph)
• Minimum/Maximum power consumption: 25/130w
• Maximum head height: 8 meters (26 feet)
• Performance selection: 12 stages
• Inlet size: 540 mm (1.5″)
• Outlet size: 40 mm (1.5″)
• Price (from D-D The Aquarium Solution): £959.99(~$1510)

Deltec E-flow 10

Technical data

• Minimum/Maximum water flow: 5000/9000 lph (1300-2400 gph)
• Minimum/Maximum power consumption: 20/80w
• Maximum head height: 6.0 meters (20 feet)
• Performance selection: 7 stages
• Inlet size: 40 mm (1.5″)
• Outlet size: 32 mm (1.25″)
• Price (from D-D The Aquarium Solution): £1099.99 (~$1730)

Information and images sourced from D-D The Aquarium Solution and Advanced Aquarist

From Left to Right: Unibody 36, Unibody 54, and Unibody 108.

Late last year, JBJ made their big splash onto the LED lighting scene with their all new Unibody LED fixture. Originally only shown off in one size, the 54watt Unibody, we’ve recently come to discover, via the JBJ USA Facebook Page, that there are actually three completely different models in the lineup. We assume that this trio of sizes is meant to mirror the three different sizes of the rimless JBJ Nano-Cube aquariums that were also just released, but obviously these small yet powerful LED fixtures can target a whole range of other nano to mid-sized aquariums. The three models being offered are the Unibody 36, Unibody 54 (the original model), and Unibody 108. And from what we can tell, the major features are shared universally by all three models, with the only differences being the number of emitters in each model and obviously the size.

The Unibody 54, which was the first model to hit the market, has three rows of six LEDs and the total power consumption is 54watts (hence the name Unibody 54). We assume the two other models, the Unibody 36 and 108, share this naming structure, but we are unsure of how the LEDs will actually be laid out on the CNC machined aluminum block. Regardless of how things are actually laid out, we’re sure each fixture is designed to provide maximum coverage.

The two new Unibody models aren’t quite available on the aquarium equipment market as of yet, but given the fact that pre-production models are already being tested and inspected, we expect the new models to be hitting store shelves in no time. Prices also haven’t been revealed as of yet, but going off the price of the Unibody 54 ($350), the Unibody 36 will probably come in at in the mid-$200′s and the Unibody 108 most likely flirting with $500. Again, these are all speculative points on our part, but we’re confident these will be in the same ballpark as their actual prices.

A little more about these lights: The JBJ Unibody LED fixtures are both sleek and stylish, being made from a solid block of machined aluminum, not unlike the very snazzy Apple Macbook laptops. Each fixture sports multiple rows of blue and white triple spectrum diodes, with both colors being on separate channels and both being completely controllable. The controller can dial in the color spectrum anywhere between 6500K and 20000K, giving users a great deal of control over how blue or white their aquariums look.

Want a job in the aquarium industry but don’t feel like your skills will allow you to compete against biology graduates? Do you have a passion for aquariums but don’t want to maintain them both at home and at work? If the answer to those two questions is yes, then you might want to consider getting a job at an aquarium equipment company where you can use your passion for the hobby to drive a successful career. With the popularity of LED aquarium illumination on the steady rise, job openings for reliable help in the sales and customer service departments for companies that produce this type of lighting are exploding. Looking to expand their operations, Ecoxotic has recently listed a job availability for an “account representative”, which is being described as a position designed to field phone calls and become intimately familiar with their product line to better help customers. The position is full-time and located in beautiful Southern California, where the company is based.

Full job description posted below.

From a San Diego Craigslist listing:

Vista based LED lighting company is looking for a fulltime process oriented Account Rep to establish and maintain the valued relationships with our customers. This role is designed to keep the sales funnel replenished through hundreds of outbound phone calls per week, all documented within our CRM system, SalesForce. Please only apply if you have the tenacity to call every customer once a week to take care of their needs- whatever they may be. They may have a question about our product, need a tracking number, check the status of their order, check our current inventory levels, or place an order. We truly believe steady sales come from consistently contacting our customers, creating a partnership by providing excellent customer service and being their vital resource to generate more sales of their own.

Responsibilities
• Outbound Calling for Existing Dealers and New Dealers
• Documenting every step of the sales cycle in our CRM System
• Customer Service- Answering Incoming Calls and Emails from Dealers
• Up selling New Products and Promotions
• Quote Dealer lighting requirements

Qualities
• Personable and very comfortable on the phone
• Resourceful and diligent
• Process Oriented with the ability to follow directions and follow through
• SalesForce and/or ZenDesk experience is a plus but not necessary
• Willing to learn our product and industry knowledge

Compensation: Hourly + Bonus Structure

In the fast growing market of biopellet media and the associated media reactors, it comes to no surprise that the crew at CAD Lights is getting on board the trend. But in true CAD Lights style, they aren’t quite falling in line with that trend when it comes to the design of their latest product, the Conic Bio-Reactor. Tossing the standard media reactor design out the window, this new biopellet tumbler uses an inverted cone shape instead of the old cylindrical design. Taking it all a little further, the feed pump has been situated directly under the reactor, which obviously saves a ton of space in the already overcrowed sumps and refugia of aquarium keepers, as well as elminates the need for additional tubing from feed pumps.

So why the radial design? A video below demonstrates just how effective this inverted cone-shaped reactor is at tumbling the biopellets.

As can be seen in the clip above, the cone shape allows the pellets to not only tumble, but the entire mass of pellets spins and gyrates rhythmically from top to bottom. This eliminates any possibility of dead spots in the media, which have been a major drawback to solid carbon dosing, causing most aquarium keepers to look the other way.

This new CAD Lights Conic Bio-Reactor is rated for aquariums up to 150-gallons and has a very reasonable footprint of 6″x6″. The retail price for the cone-shaped reactor is set at $175, which includes the reactor body, the pump, and all associated plumbing pieces.

While we don’t typically chat about freshwater systems, this new installation from the crew at Aquarium Design Group is a build that we just had to share. The setup is a room divider, separating what appears to be a closed in porch area and a living room area. These types of aquariums aren’t uncommon in the hobby, but this particular setup blows all others away with both its beauty and unique design. The wall separating the two rooms is rather thin, too thin in fact to hold such a deep aquarium, but that didn’t stop the ADG fabricators from coming up with an ingenious solution. The stand is built thinner than the aquarium, but uses an extended ledge that sits on top of the wall that is already in place. The wall is essentially acting as the front half of the stand and helps support the weight of the aquarium. The room divider aquarium setup is finished off with a wood panel on the front and dressed up in the back with a similar wood frame. The lighting is very subdued, giving the tank a deep Amazon appearance.

During the most recent MACNA, we stumbled across a brand new protein skimmer from All Seas Marine, a company whose products have essentially remain unchanged for at least a decade or more, and ritefully so. The ASM G skimmers have always been the go-to budget option for aquarium keepers. They worked fairly well, cost fractions of what other skimmers did, and could be easily modified if the situation called for it. But with the all new ASM Cone Skimmer, we hoped to see some change. We hoped it would be something entirely different than their flagship G-series line protein skimmers, and we weren’t disappointed. The new line of skimmers are very different than the original line, but these differences come to aquarium keepers at a price.

The cone skimmers proved to be a completely new product that dropped the paper thin plastic of the older bodies and were beefed up with thicker acrylic, a better locking mechanism for the collection cup, rubber feet to reduce noise, and a bubble diffusing plate (basically all of the standard features on cone skimmers nowadays). The downside: the inexpensive prices we saw with the ASM G skimmers for so long have been tossed right out the window. With the new ASM Cone Skimmer finally hitting the shelves at Premium Aquatics, we get to see what kind of prices to expect. Being introduced with three different models, the starting price is $375 for the GC-3 cone skimmer rated at a 150-gallon capacity. While most might find this price to be very reasonable, it should be noted that the closest comparitive model from the original lineup, which is the ASM G1X and is also rated for 150-gallons, is over $125 cheaper than it’s conincal brother. So the question that comes to mind immediately is whether or not the price jump is worth it.

Does a cone shape and a few extra bells and whistles justify a 50% price increase? For the smallest model, we’re actually quite comfortable with the retail price. After all, every other skimmer on the market is around that price or more. But this price point, and those found on the two larger cone skimmers, takes ASM right out of the budget market and they are stepping away from what made them so popular in the first place. We understand that with a new product comes extra R&D costs and the new skimmer has a sturdier build quality with a few new features, but the pump hasn’t changed. The needlewheel pump, which makes or breaks a good skimmer, is the same pumps ASM has been using all along. We’re not saying the Sedra pumps are bad, but there are better options available, and those options use less energy, are more reliable, and perform better. Please understand that we aren’t knocking ASM or its new cone skimmer, but we would  loved to have seen ASM stick to their roots a little more.

Skimmer Model: GC-3 In-sump (Internal) Protein Skimmer
Tank Size Capacity: Up to 150gal
Body Size: 6in (Diameter)
Height: 22in
Footprint: 6in x 12.5in
Pump Model: Sedra 3500 with Needle Wheel Impeller
Water Level: Minimum Level – 5in from bottom or same level as the Bubble Trap Plate
Maximum Level – 10.5in from the bottom or same level as the bottom of the Tee.
Price: $374.99

Skimmer Model: GC-9 In-sump (Internal) Protein Skimmer
Tank Size Capacity: Up to 400gal
Body Size: 8in (Diameter)
Height: 24in
Footprint: 8in x 15.5in
Pump Model: Sedra 9000 with Needle Wheel Impeller
Water Level: Minimum Level – 6in from bottom or same level as the Bubble Trap Plate
Maximum Level – 11in from the bottom or same level as the bottom of the Tee.
Price: $594.99

Skimmer Model: GC-15 In-sump (Internal) Protein Skimmer
Tank Size Capacity: Up to 500gal
Body Size: 10in (Diameter)
Height: 26in
Footprint: 12in x 18in
Pump Model: Sedra 15000 with Needle Wheel Impeller
Water Level: Minimum Level – 6in from bottom or same level as the Bubble Trap Plate
Maximum Level – 12in from the bottom or same level as the bottom of the Tee.
Price: $794.99

Link to the Premium Aquatics page comes to us from Reef Builders

At MACNA last year, Vertex Aquaristik teased us all with some simple but remarkably sleek looking magnetic probe holders and algae scrapers. After nearly three months of waiting impatiently for these to actually hit the market, but as of yesterday Vertex has finally announced their availability. At this time, only three crystal clear magnet devices will be offered. These include two glass cleaners of different sizes and a probe holder, all of which have a minimalist look that don’t intrude into the overall visual appeal of the aquarium. The smaller algae scraper, called the Cleaner-Mag Simplex, is a small round device (about the size of a nickel or a quarter) that possesses a single magnet and is designed to get into those hard to reach places of your packed nano aquariums. The Cleaner-Mag Duplex, which isn’t much larger, has two magnets buried in the clear mold and sports a squared off shape. Moving on to the probe holder, the Sensor-Mag Titanium shares the same clear sleek look of the algae scrapers and is built to hold three different probes. Titanium screws hold the probes in place, and because the holder is magnetic, it can be located anywhere in the sump. In terms of pricing, the Cleaner-Mag Simplex will run approximately $10, The Cleaner-Mag Duplex $15, and the Sensor-Mag Titanium $25.

More photos can be seen below.

Vertex Sensor-Mag Titanium

Vertex Cleaner-Mag Duplex

Vertex Cleaner-Mag Simplex

Image taken from DaniReef.com via Elos

Elos is making some big changes to their protein skimmer lineup with the addition of their new PS2000 skimmer. This new model, which uses a needlewheel pump, doesn’t look all too different on the surface from previously offered models. In terms of functionality, however, the PS skimmer stands in sharp contrast to the older style NS series, which featured top-down injection as opposed to a needlewheel pump. Elos is obviously phasing out the older NS series, replacing it with this newer PS series that will also have a smaller footprint (roughly 8″x6.7″) and a sporty Sicce PSK1000 pump. For those of you keeping track with the dimensions of other protein skimmers, this PS2000 is tiny in comparison, especially given its tank rating. The culmination of features described above gives the all-acrylic PS2000 a tank rating up to 2000L (or roughly 530 gallons) or so while consuming an estimated 22watts. The NS2000, on the other hand, features an Eheim 1260 and is rated for tanks up to 12ooL (320 gallons). If the pricing for the new models stays anywhere near the older model, we expect to see a sticker price of $900 for PS2000 protein skimmer.

We are under the impression that this new line of skimmers is starting to trickle into the aquariums of European hobbyists, but we don’t know when we’ll start seeing them stateside.