Xaqua’s Xinout return and drain device is probably the first ever set plumbing parts to have ever commanded so much attention from the reefing community. Before we even consider the silencing function of the drain and the pulsing feature of the return, the Xinout is simply a beautiful set of fittings which are way more attractive than any assembly of off the shelf PVC; the aesthetic quality is particularly welcome on an open-top, trimless style aquarium set up. As you can see in the image above, the Xinout can be completely disassembled and the return and drain fittings can be separated by pulling back the pre-scored section between them. allowing the drain and return to be placed as close or as far apart as you’d like. The Xinout is a complete drain/return kit also ships with a high quality vacuum style hose for the drain and a matching silicone return hose which dampens any vibration coming from the return water pump. Obviously the most interesting part of the Xinout is it’s ability to pulse the incoming water flow, producing an effect of irregular waves that create exceptionally noticeable glimmer lines. Even if you already have a disturbed water surface and point ssource lighting, the glimmer lines produced when the Xinout is pulsing is much more noticeable and the pulses of focused light could even have some interesting effects on coral growth that we don’t yet understand. There’s a small bacth of Xinout’s which has already arrived in the US and are now available to pre-order from Finsreef for $179. For more information see out previous coverage of the Xinout, including this action video, and be sure to follow the break for a lot more hands on pictures of the Xinout and our thoughts on some preliminary testing of the pulsing action on a few different tanks.
So far we’ve mated the Xinout’s return side to a maxijet 1200, Tunze Silence 1070.20 and an Eheim 1260 with varying results. The maxijet seemed to produce the pulsing effect but without much force to affect the water body, the Tunze Silence worked fairly well at making larger ripples and so did the Eheim. The one thing we’ve noticed right off the bat is that in our testing of shallow and narrow tanks like a 29 gallon and a 33 long, the effect was harder to see on the water surface. It was easy to see some pulses of ripples on the 33 long that was tested out doors in full sunlight but even more so on the six foot, 150 gallon fish tank inside. In any case, the pulsing effect is really nice for making more dramatic ripples on the surface of the water and unless you have acros growing to within inches of the water surface, the “wave action” created by the Xinout will hardly be more functional than it is visual. In one trial though, it looked as if the Tunze Silence was producing a moderate harmonic wave, going back and forth on the 33 gallon long, but we failed to reproduce this effect. We’re gonna keep trying to make the wave in the 33 long because we strongly suspect that there is a pairing of tank length and pump that will produce resonance between the pulsing of the pump through the Xinout and the length of the tank which could result in much more significant wave action.
