Reef Builders | The Reef and Marine Aquarium Blog

The Curve 9 cone skimmer from Bubble Magus takes a lot of aesthetic design cues directly from the Royal Exclusiv Kone Skimmer. With a tapering cone shape, the small hole diffuser, large holes for the baffle and the outflow set out from the body, the Bubble Magus definitely imprinted on the best. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig, or in this case you can give the Curve 9 skimmer the wine glass shape of the Royal Exclusiv Kone skimmer but without its most critical component, the Red Dragon water pump, it will never perform like one. But hey, at least Bubble Magus did come up with something original with their quick-release feet clamping the skimmer body to the base.  Read the rest of this entry »

If the Nyos Viper water pump looks familiar that’s because it’s basically an oem’d Eden water pump but one which has been granted a few more perks. Unlike its Eden pump siblings, the Nyos Viper uses a much stronger silicon carbide ceramic shaft which is extremely hard. The silicon carbide shaft of the Nyos Viper wears much slower than the regular ceramic shaft found in the Edens which means that it will stay quieter, longer. Other touches to the Nyos Viper including some fashionable silicone feet to absorb/diffuse any vibrations, some magenta accents so you know it’s a Nyos products. Read the rest of this entry »

There's no other fish that's quite as orange as the Clarion Angel, except maybe the nefarious Garibaldi Damselfish.

Almost no introduction is needed when it comes to the iconic sparkly orange fish everyone has come to know and love – The Clarion Angelfish (Holacanthus clarionensis). Clarions are rare and expensive, but every once in awhile, a large batch is collected to the worldwide demand for this iconic marine fish. The bulk of the Asian countries are getting their fare share of Clarion Angels now. It’s that time again where brand new videos and pictures of  these crazy orange swimmers flood the internet. The video above of a juvenile specimen by B-Box Aquarium is just one of many. Continue reading for more pictures.  Read the rest of this entry »

Sep-Art Artemia Cysts from Ocean Nutrition are specially treated brine shrimp eggs which have shells that can easily be filtered using a magnet. Most of us know well that hatched brine shrimp rise towards the light and the egg shells sink to the bottom but the few unhatched eggs actually float, and these are the particles which can cause problems if they are accidentally fed to baby fish along with artemia nauplii (baby brine shrimp). Read the rest of this entry »

Preis Aquaristik’s Color Shake and Veggie Shake are nutritional supplements for fish food which take a cue from the spritzer spray bottles of salad dressings. Which a couple pumps of Color Shake or Veggie Shake, you can boost the nutritional profile and the attractiveness of your boring dry fish food.

As the name implies, Preis Color Shake has a few more additives in it to help boost fish coloration, with added astaxanthin, carotenoids and the usual color-doping compounds. Meanwhile, Preis Veggie Shake is endowed with Aloe Vera and “essence” of Spirulina. Of course for best results Preis Aquaristik recommends using Color Shake and Veggie shake together on dry and frozen food to give your meat and plant-eating fishes the best possible nutritional boost.

The new Tunze Turbelle Stream 6255 wide flow pushes out wide flow from a DC powered, low-voltage motor prop pump. Running at 12V with the ability push out 1,300 to 4,800 GPH (5,000 to 18,000 l/hr) the new Tunze Turbelle can be attached to a controller to simulate waves, a stronger tidal flow or other ocean environments. Read the rest of this entry »

To call Royal Exclusiv’s Dreambox and Nano Dreambox a sump is quite the understatement, it would be like calling the peppermint angelfish just a fish, because it clearly is a deity that swims among us. Likewise, the Royal Exclusiv vision for the Dreambox elevates the typical aquarium sump to the status of elite high performance water management and filtration center. The completely enclosed Dreambox feature extremely tight fitting lids and ports, a variable number of filter sock chambers for successively fine water filtration and more. Read the rest of this entry »

BioPronto Marine is a new product you should reach for when you need to kickstart a new marine aquarium or system. Two Little Fishes has been on a roll releasing new aquarium management products lately, like Bactiv8 NPX and now BioPronto Marine. Whereas Bactiv8 NPX is a food source for heterotrophic bacteria and the removal/export of nutrient like phosphate and nitrate, BioPronto Marine is a classic starter culture of beneficial aquarium microbes to rapidly start the biological cycle. BioPronto Marine can get your aquarium up and cycled in a hurry or it can also be used to enhance nitrification and denitrification in aquariums with a few extra fishes, and it can also dissimilate toxic ammonia in a pinch.

Aquatronica had their new 7” touch controller displayed at Interzoo 2012 and we got a quick peak at the Italian aquarium controller. The Touch Controller will sport a 7” touch display, and the ability to connect to the internet via Ethernet or WIFI. Data storage will use SD cards, allowing you to upgrade capacity as needed. Because this controller will be connected to the internet, you’ll be able to control it via your favorite browser or with your iPad or iPhone. All of Aquatronica’s existing systems including power bars, modules, and electrodes will be compatible. Our initial thoughts on the new device are good, with the interface having a very quick and snappy user design. However, not all of the modules of the unit were working when we viewed them, with Aquatronica promising these last few issues were still being programmed. We have a few additional feature points below the break and don’t forget there is another controller that Aquatronica will be releasing which has all the same features as the touch controller minus the 7″ display screen.

Read the rest of this entry »