Just yesterday we reported on a new space saving bio-pellet reactor from Reef Octopus, and it seems they weren’t done with the new product rollouts. Also released on the CoralVue site is a new hang-on protein skimmer called the BH-90. Though official dimensions were left out of the product description, we can still tell that this protein skimmer is quite small. Despite its size however, it features a rather large OTP-1000s needlewheel pump that measures 5.5″ x 3.5″ x 3.5″ and has a flow rate of roughly 250 gallons per hour. The pump and a combination of features that include a bubble diffusing plate, surface skimming intake, and a cone shaped neck allow the skimmer to handle aquariums from 80-130 gallons. The price is still yet to be revealed, but the BH-90 should be available just in time for the 2011 holiday season.

With Reef-A-Palooza (RAP) only a couple of days in our rear view, we thought we’d go over a few of the new products unveiled at the show. First up is the newly updated cone skimmers from CAD Lights. In only their 2nd generation, the CAD Lights conic skimmers feature a seamless body that disassembles easily for cleaning, uses under the body pump that saves on space, and is built right here in the US. The skimmer is said to run nearly dead silent (only 5 decibels), a claim that is probably quite accurate given the fact that the entire skimmer sits atop four rubber feet and the pump  resides in the body. Another claim about these skimmers is the extremely low amount of microbubbles being emitted. This is reportedly accomplished by “built-in micro-bubble trapping mechanisms”, and is a claim that RAP-goers can back up. Three models are currently available (see descriptions below), and they are currently listed at an introductory price which ends November 20th.

A complete list of features and models can be read below.

Features:

• Perfectly insulated to feature silent operations, only 5 Decibels of audible sound.
• High quality water pumps for long lasting high performance, minimal vibrations and silent operation.
• Flex-Plastic injection molded pin-wheel impellers for extended life and designed for high volume air draw.
• Liquid extruded Cell-Cast Acrylic body, Solid seamless with no joints. Extra thick Acrylic construction.
• Attractive Semi-gloss Porcelain color Acrylic.
• Newest built-in micro-bubble trapping mechanisms eliminates the micro-bubbles in the exhaust.
• Laser cut bubble plate dramatically reduces turbulence and improves direction of foam production.
• Easily disassembles completely for simple maintenance and cleaning.

Models:

TIA-1105

• Dimensions: 9.75″ x 6.5″ x 18.5″
• GPH:  375GPH
• Wattage: 20w
• Light bio-load (150G)
• Medium bio-load (120G)
• Heavy bio-load (90G)

TIA-1220

• Dimensions: 12.75″ x 9″ x 20″
• GPH: 470GPH
• Wattage: 35W
• Light bio-load (250G)
• Medium bio-load (200G)
• Heavy bio-load (150G)

TIA-1350 ($439.99 USD)

• Dimensions: 12.75″ x 9″ x 25″
• GPH: 815GPH
• Wattage: 90W
• Light bio-load (375G)
• Medium bio-load (300G)
• Heavy bio-load (250G)

Even though it’s already been over a month since we walked the halls of MACNA 2011 in Des Moines, we’ve still got plenty of aquarium equipment to talk about. One thing we thought would be fun to share are the massive protein skimmers that were on display at the event. We found four huge protein skimmers, who collectively had a tank capacity rating of well over 15000-gallons, and each either stood very tall or had an enormous footprint. We’ve outlined each of the gigantic skimmers below, including as much information about their tank ratings as possible. And even though most hobbyists could never logically justify such beefy pieces of equipment, it’s always fun to dream right?

Deltec TC4580

Pictured at the top of the page, this massive Deltec protein skimmer can handle even the largest of residential systems and probably even most commercial aquarium systems. Standing at nearly three feet tall, it is the single largest production model protein skimmer currently being offered from Deltec and has an aquarium rating of roughly 3700-gallons. It features four needlewheel pumps, a double chambered body, and a very nifty bubble plate that is said to reduce the required height typically seen in such large protein skimmers. The TC4580 has a sticker price of $6000 give or take, and apparently it is currently available to order.

JNS Aquaria SK-7

The huge SK-7 protein skimmer from JNS Aquaria may not be the biggest in our discussion, but it still packs some serious heat. Even though the tank rating information isn’t readily available, we assume it to be capable of handling tanks up to 1500-gallons. We are basing this assumption on the ratings of the other skimmers in the JNS lineup, as well as the the technical specs seen on the company’s website. The SK-7 has a footprint of approximately 19″x24″, and the entire lineup has some nice noteworthy features such as sound deadening rubber feet, water level adjusting valves, and some cool shark-themed needlewheel pumps.

Super Reef Octopus XP-8000Int

Surprisingly, the SRO XP-8000 Int is the only cone-shaped skimmer on our list. Where the JNS SK7 above has only a conical shaped neck, the SRO skimmer has almost an entire body that is cone-shaped. As with all of the Octopus branded skimmers, the XP-8000 features a bubble blaster needlewheel pump. It is rated for aquariums up to 1000-gallons and has a rather small footprint at only 21.5” x 15”. But the skimmer makes up for that footprint by taking the bubbles skyward. At 36.5” tall, it’s bigger than most children…though it’s still not the biggest one we saw at MACNA.

NextReef Commercial Protein Skimmer

No giant skimmer discussion would be complete without the commercial stylings of NextReef. Known for their insanely large aquarium equipment, the NextReef booth at MACNA was full of huge aquarium equipment. The skimmer shown in the picture immediately above stands 56″ tall and has a 10″ diameter skimmer body. It is a recirculating model that uses Reeflo pumps to get the job done and when asked what the tank rating on this beast was, the crew at NextReef just sort of chuckled and said that at this volume, the actual rating is virtually worthless.

That concludes our list of giant protein skimmers that we saw at MACNA, and we know these aren’t the biggest on the market. Anyone out there have a jaw-dropping protein skimmer that’s almost big enough to have it’s own zip code?

Most protein skimmers seen on the aquarium equipment market are mainly just copies of each other, with companies changing only a handful of little things to make the skimmer their own. Instead of going down the same old beaten path, the guys at Bashsea have ventured off to pave their own with their new Blu Demon line of skimmers. The Blu Demon protein skimmers don’t have the cone shape that everyone else is going with, but use the traditional cylinder. The reason the cylinder is still loved by some is that it not only holds more water, but is also believed that the shape inherently increases the contact time of air with water.

Continuing on with the unusual features, another notable difference from the norm is the presence of a bubble plate located all the way up in the bottom of the collection cup. The skimmer has a primary bubble diffuser down in its body where water is injected, which is where most skimmers have them, but the secondary bubble plate is something completely unique to the Blu Demon. Presumably, this keeps the bubbles as small as possible for as long as possible, while at the same time increasing the dwell time of the water in the skimmer. Both of these allow the skimmer to collect waste more effectively and probably help make the Bashsea Blue Demon a solid performer.

A third somewhat unique feature is how the needlewheel pump draws air and water into the skimmer. The skimmer is an internal model, but the pump is located up on the body much like an external skimmer. The pump points its intake down into the acrylic base plate and draws in water through a different looking custom volute on the Sicce PSK1000 pump. The design is similar to that seen on the new ATI PowerCone, but it’s hard to tell if the two pumps function similarly just by looking at the images. The water is definitely drawn into the pump on the outside of any vortex that is created by the suction, but it’s hard to tell if the air is injected directly into the middle as seen with the PowerCone. We would have asked more questions at MACNA, but that little feature was hard to spot with all of the equipment distracting us. With the intake  being similar to that of the ATI protein skimmer, we’re wondering if the impeller is a traditional needlewheel or something wild like that of the PowerCone.

Besides all of the new features, the Bashsea does have some more traditional ones. These include a drain line on the collection cup, parts that can be disassembled for easy maintenance, an air silencer, and a knob for adjusting the water level within the skimmer. A matching skimmate collector is also available. The Blu Demon isn’t quite available to aquarium keepers at the moment, but once they are, we’ll update with price details and whatever other information we can dig up.

AVAST Marine Works unveiled a new piece of hardware recently with their AVAST Marine CS2 Black Pearl recirculating cone-shaped protein skimmer. After listening to the feedback from customers of the CS1 line of protein skimmers, the crew at AVAST have made several new updates to the line, most notable of which is the fact that the skimmer is a recirculating model. This new features really adds to the skimmer’s versatility. It can be run in either in-sump or external applications, the latter of which really frees up sump space for other equipment or even allows the sump to be smaller so that it takes up less space under the aquarium. This design also has the added bonus of not being affected by the water level, allowing it to run consistently virtually all of the time. Further adding to the Black Pearl’s allure is the blacked out body, which does a good job preventing some of the unwanted algae growth that usually shows up in protein skimmers. Fortunately, the body is still see through to some extent, so users will be able to see the bubble action to make sure the skimmer is working as desired.

Some of the CS2 Black Pearl’s specifications can be read below.

The pump on this CS2 cone skimmer is a needlewheel Sicce PSK-1000 that draws around 1100 lph of air while consuming only 26watts. The diameter of the cone is 8″ at its widest point, but tapers to 4″ at the neck. The Black Pearl is rated for aquariums up to 250-gallons, and the overall footprint is 16″L x 11″W x 25″H. The price for this skimmer is set at $700 and several optional accessories are available as well. These include the Swabbie, which is an automatic neck cleaner for the skimmer, and the Davy Jones’ Skimmate Locker, which catches all of the skimmer and even shuts off the skimmer when it’s full. Both of these accessories are sold separately, and each are pictured in the image above.

We like the idea of a blacked out, yet still see through skimmer. Algae can grow just about anywhere and really make an impact on how our equipment runs, and let’s face it, not everyone wants to tear down their equipment ever month or two to give it a good vinegar bath. Hopefully we’ll start to see more of the smoked acrylic products showing up from AVAST Marine Works.

A few days ago we showed off footage of a new skimmer from Reef Octopus that was still in the testing stage. Dubbed the Reef Octopus “Cupid”, the tiny in-tank protein skimmer shows off several new features in its final rendition that were completely lacking in the previous model. What’s new is the base plate and riser tube, along with the added flexibility of having some of the hanging brackets be removable. The first prototype we spied was simply sitting in an aquarium and allowing microbubbles to escape the open bottom of the skimmer and clouding up the tank. This update version forces bubbles out of a foam-topped riser tube, reminding us so much of skimmers from back in the day. The skimmer can apparently be run in-sump without all the hanging gear as well, though it would appear that due to the pump’s position on the body, the water level would have to be fairly deep for everything to work properly…after all, this is an in-tank skimmer.

We are currently unsure of the overall finalized dimensions and tank rating of this nano skimmer, but those will be made available at some point and we’ll update accordingly. We do know however that the chamber itself has a 3″ diameter, though we’re positive the footprint has grown a few inches.

The gang at Coralife unveiled a few new products at MACNA this year, one of which is a brand new cone skimmer. After sitting on their Super Skimmer design for many years and seeing very few updates to the product line overall, the Cone Skimmer sees several new features once only seen in the products of competitors. These new features include a bubble diffusing plate, a subtle cone design, vibration reducing rubber feet, an air silencer, and a needlewheel from what we can tell, though more updates will probably be released once Coralife decides to be more vocal about it. The Super Skimmers used a flat needlewheel whereas this new conical skimmer uses a more traditional needlewheel. The Coralife Cone Skimmer is rated for aquariums up to 150-gallons

There is very little information on the Cone Skimmer, as the product reps were fairly tight lipped about both it and their new LED Aqualight, but as the details emerge we will be there to cover them. More images can be seen after the page break, including a few of the Cone Skimmer in action.

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We just came across this video of a new Reef Octopus nano skimmer simply called “Cupid” and wanted to share this somewhat different design. The skimmer is obviously an in-tank model and is still in the testing phase, but it is slated to be finished very soon according to the video’s description. A few of the features present on this skimmer that we can see include a new Bubble Blaster pump called the OTP-300s, a 3″ diameter body, and a 13″ height. Another interesting detail about the “Cupid” skimmer is the fact that it is completely open bottom, meaning there’s no bubble plate or riser tubes to direct the bubbles out of the skimmer body. The water and bubbles just fall out of the bottom of the skimmer and back into the aquarium. We have our reservations about this design, but according to the maker of the video, it performs well, though we can’t really judge its performance based on this brief clip especially since the skimmer appears to have just been placed in the aquarium.

As can be seen in the video, the design of the Cupid has led to an overabundance of microbubbles in the aquarium, but we’re not sure if this is necessarily a byproduct of the open bottom design or simple because the skimmer is brand new, or at least appears to be, and hasn’t broken in yet. Regardless, microbubbles in an aquarium are a bad thing, hence our reservations about the product. Other than that handful of details, there’s really not much else to go on. Sure, we can see the brackets and we assume the entire body can be adjusted vertically based on the placement of different thumb screws, but we don’t know how large that range of motion is. Pricing details and tank ratings are completely unknown at this point, but we’ll keep an eye our for them and update as soon as we know anything.

On a final note, if microbubbles flooding into an aquarium is normal operation for this skimmer, then we doubt it will do all that well on the aquarium market.

The ATI PowerCone is one of the most unique protein skimmers on the market. Instead of the traditional needlewheel, fractionating water pump, and venturi, the PowerCone skims in a whole new way. It uses a meshwheel impeller on a controllable water pump. The venturi draws in air from the middle of the fitting instead of on the outside like every other skimmer, and a built-in air flow meter lets you know how much air the PowerCone is drawing in at any given time. This combination of features allows for extremely fine bubbles and a lengthy contact time, creating a very thick and stable foam head. In the video above shot at MACNA this past weekend, we can see the super fine bubbles being produced along with the different features present on the skimmer. George from ReefGeek demonstrates how the skimmer’s air draw can be adjusted, along with how the skimmer reacts to a clog in the air line. Despite initial setbacks out of the gate, the PowerCone should be making its US debut within a few months.

Stay tuned for more videos and updates from MACNA.

Tunze 9002 Nano Skimmer

MACNA was packed with various vendors from all over the country, each one displaying new products and chatting with interested hobbyists. Tunze was in full force at the event as well displaying their new 6095 pumps, a slightly tweaked Osmolator, and several other products seen in their lineup. But we got a little news about a product that isn’t available yet, and in fact wasn’t even shown at the conference. Tunze is gearing up to replace their popular 9002 Nano Skimmer with not just one updated skimmer, but two. In a couple of months, the larger Tunze 9003 is going to come out, followed shortly by the smaller 9001 Nano Skimmer. The Tunze 9002 that many hobbyists are currently using is going to be phased out completely as soon as the 9001 is released. As for tank ratings and dimensions, the new 9001 will be roughly the same size as the nano skimmer currently being offered by Tunze, but it will be rated for aquariums up to 30-gallons. It should still fit nicely in the rear chambers of most all-in-one nano aquariums. As for the 9003, it will be rated for aquariums up to 70-gallons and won’t fit into a majority of the AIO nanos, but should still play nice with nanos having a larger skimmer section. Both the 9001 and 9003 will come with needlewheel pumps.