Aquarium Equipment
Equipment Review: Propeller Pump Performance, A Different Look: Tunze Nanostream Pumps
Dana provides a very in-dept look at the Tunze Nanostream pumps, their flow characteristics, and water velocities and compares them to various water velocity zones found on reefs.
Product Review: Build My LED 48" Strip Light: Custom LED Lighting for Freshwater and Reef Aquaria
"I want a reliable lighting device and Build My LED seems to have hit the right note." Dana evaluates the construction, performance, and customer service of a custom-configured LED light from the new company, Build My LED.
Aquarium Equipment: PAR Meters and LEDs - How Accurate are the Measurements? A Comparison of Three Meters and Lux to PAR Conversion Factors for LEDs
How do PAR meters stack up to one another? Dana delves into the data comparing and contrasting three light meters and gives us his take on the results.
Product Review: Ecotech Marine Radion XR30w Pro
It's been a little over a year since Ecotech Marine introduced the Radion LED light. The Radion made big waves with aquarists and quickly ascended to mass popularity. In January 2013, Ecotech Marine began shipments of their latest and most powerful incarnation of the Radion platform: the XR30w Pro. Advanced Aquarist takes a closer look at the Pro.
Feature Article: LED Lighting Tests: Maxspect Mazarra P and Aqua Illuminiation Vega
As LED lighting moves further into the mainstream, there is new effort being made to provide a fuller spectrum light that can be tuned by the aquarist to satisfy both the demands of the corals as well as the visual pleasure of the aquarist.
Product Review: EcoTech Marine MP60 Propeller Pump
This review will report on operational issues of a MP60 that has seen over a year of service. How well did the pump hold up? What problems, if any, encountered? These questions and others will be answered below.
Product Review: Maxi-Jet Pro Series Pumps
Marineland Aquarium Products' Maxi-Jet pumps have been around for quite some time. Recently, their design changed as well as their country of manufacture. The manufacturer promises relatively high performance while offering them at very modest prices. Is this a case of 'you get what you pay for' or are they a true value?
Aquarium Lighting: Moonlight - A Concise Review of Its Spectrum, Intensity, Photoperiod, and Relationship to Coral and Fish Spawning
Moonlight is thought to play an important role in timing reproductive cycles of many coral and fish species. In corals, lunar cycles set the date of spawning, while the time of onset of darkness fine tunes the cycle and decide the hour and minute (then a release of hormones into the water induces mass spawning). Lunar periodicity seems to play a role in timing of reproduction among at least some fish species. It seems apparent that different taxa are affected differently by altered moon phases, if only temporarily.
Equipment Review: Getting the Most from Your T-5 Lights: A Look at Reflectors and More
It is imperative that you use reflectors with T-5 bulbs, and individual reflectors do a better job of sending light into a tank than a single reflector. Bulb temperature and even an aquarium's background has a measurable effect on lighting performance.
Product Review: RLSS R10-U Protein Skimmer
RLSS is a new line of protein skimmers by H2O systems featuring the speed-controllable Waveline DC pumps. Advanced Aquarist reviews the RLSS R10-U.
Feature Article: Spectral Distributions of LEDs: AI-Sol, Radion, Orphek, EcoRay, Mvava
In addition to the characterization of light by its intensity and distribution, the spectral distribution is also of interest. Light sources emit light at varying amounts at different wavelengths. Spectral distribution characterizes the light output across different wavelengths of the light spectrum.
Feature Article: LED Lighting Tests: Radion, Orphek, Mvava, Ecoray and Ecoxotic
As LED lighting moves further into the mainstream, there a lot of new choices available to the aquarist. Hopefully this data will help the aquarist make an informed choice on what to expect from the individual LED fixtures and how best to utilize them to achieve the desired coverage and light intensity.
Product Review: Blue Moon Aquatics' P30 LED Pendant
What seemed impossible to many just a few years ago is now reality - this LED luminaire can complete with metal halides when used over coral reef aquaria of sizes commonly seen in homes. I've had another Blue Moon Aquatics LED system in operation for over a year and report no problems with it. If that is any indication, one should get long, reliable service from the P30 luminaire.
Product Review: Inexpensive Analytical Devices: Hanna Instruments' Checkers: Alkalinity and Phosphate
In many cases, results from colorimeters are superior to visually judging colored samples. Will an inexpensive device deliver results comparable to an expensive spectrophotometer? Dana tests the Hanna Checkers to find out.
Feature Article: LED Lighting Tests: Ecoray, Reef Fanatic, and MaxSpect
LED lighting for reef tanks is on its way to becoming a reality, and various designs and configurations are making their way into the market.
Aquarium Equipment: The Internet Accessible Aquarium for the Budget Conscious Aquarist
Raul will give you the necessary information, presented at a layman's level, to get your reef aquarium up on the Internet. The Internet accessible aquarium will be discussed here from the standpoint of two particular pieces of equipment, the aquarium controller and the network webcam. Read on to see how it's done.
Feature Article: Experimental Comparison of Measured Flow Output of Aquarium Propeller Pumps
Hobbyists have seen significant advancements in the range of aquarium circulation pumps available over the past decade. While all manufacturers provide a flow rate for the pumps, it is not clear what methods have been used to arrive at the numbers. Further, different manufacturers may use different methods. We have presented a standard method that we hope can be adopted by the manufacturers thus enabling a more accurate and verifiable approach.
Product Review: Two Little Fishies' Media Reactor 150 and PhosBan Phosphate and Silica Adsorption Media
TLF's 150 Reactor and PhosBan media performed as advertised. Under the conditions of this testing, both phosphate and silica concentrations fell to levels below the detection limits of 'laboratory grade' instruments. The successful application of these products in aquaria around the world is a testament to their functions. If you're battling algae outbreaks and need a quick solution, give these products a try.
Aquarium Invertebrates: On Lighting for Tridacnid Clams
To summarize, it is impossible to give a single number recommendation when it comes to tridacnids' lighting requirements, even for a particular species. Each clam is genetically different, and some members of a given species will need more light than others.
Feature Article: Bacterial Counts in Reef Aquarium Water: Baseline Values and Modulation by Carbon Dosing, Protein Skimming, and Granular Activated Carbon Filtration
What are the bacteria populations in the water column of reef tanks, and how does that value compare with bacterial counts in authentic reef water? Does carbon dosing indeed increase water column bacteria populations (i.e., is growth carbon limited)? Does mechanical filtration (protein skimming and/or GAC filtration) actually remove bacteria from the water column, and if so, how much? Ken, Allison, Sanjay, and Gary's in-depth article puts these questions to the test.
