Reef Builders - The Source for Reef Keeping Information

Well look what got sent to the RB Lab? Could this be the complete line of Seachem’s latest and greatest line of premium care products for your reef? Yup, it is. Seachem sent us the complete Aquavitro line to see for ourselves if this premium line is worth the money. We can’t get enough of the clear and simple design that is easily read and not to be confused with other products on the market. A full review will be posted a little later on after we finish testing with our reef tanks. Kudos to Seachem for letting us review their newest product. More pictures after the jump!

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Have you seen Caribsea’s South Seas Base rock? South Seas had much more structure than any other commonly available aquascaping rock and is much more porous than other as well. South Seas is a calcium carbonate base rock that is very similar to actual reef rock and at one point actually was, although it is obtained terrestrially from ancient coral reefs underground. South Seas will make the perfect alternative to live rock or can provide a very attractive base for live rock. A 40lb container is about $90, not bad.

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This powdered material mixes easily with water to produce an acid solution that will remove thick hardened on calcium deposits which solutions like vinegar would not touch. EzeClean formula can be used anywhere where lime deposits have formed, such as on aquarium equipment or in a domestic situation where hard tap water is present and causes problems. EzeClean removes even the most obstinate lime deposits simply and effectively.
Use EzeClean formula for cleaning pumps, skimmers, pipework, UV sterilisers, calcium reactors, old aquariums and the white deposits off the body of kalkwasser stirrers to bring the function and appearance back to new.

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Having tried Red Sea coral pro salt before I decided to go ahead and try this reef salt. First, both products are made in Israel which is awfully suspicious if you ask us. Even still this salt smells, dissolves, and leaves residue in container just like Red Sea Coral Pro sea salt. At about $65 a large pail we wonder why this is so expensive other then having to import it into the United States? We did however like the high Potassium and Calcium levels found in H20 Ocean pro salt. At least the name says it all right?

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Planet II’s will now be available in 2 different 250w fixtures, the 1×250w with 2-24w t5’s and the 2×250w 2×39w t5’s. Currently the 2×250’s are sold out. Also there are rumors about different color options which haven’t been confirmed, yet we are eagerly awaiting any new color options, black would be nice.

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Take a gander at Euro Reef’s new CS300E protein skimmer. Hear anything? Yeah, we thought it was pretty quiet too. No word on when we will expect to see this go retail, but we have our fingers crossed.

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Marine scientists surveying a large undersea mountain chain were amazed to find millions of tiny starfish swirling their arms to capture food in the undersea current. About 19 scientists studied the biology and geology of eight Macquarie Ridge sea mounts. These sea mounts are part of a string of underwater volcanoes that stretch 875 miles from New Zealand toward Antarctica. Marine biologist Ashely Rowden said: “It was unique in that it hasn’t been found on the tops of sea mounts before … (and) it was over a relatively large area” of about 60 square miles. The starfish are about 0.4 inch across, with arms about 2 inches long. Fewer than 200 of the world’s estimated 100,000 sea mounts that rise more than a half a mile above the sea floor have been studied in any detail.

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Here is a short clip of our new CS/RC Series silencer running on the (1) one SPE5 (EHEIM 1262) pump powering our new CS300E

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Did you know that there are over 3,000 species of nudibranchs in the wild? “Found from sandy shallows and reefs to the murky seabed nearly a mile down, nudibranchs thrive in waters both warm and cold and even around billowing deep-sea vents.” So why aren’t they picked up by varius animal life?  Nudibranchs produce toxic secretions and stinging cells within their bodies, leaving most aquatic animal life to leave them alone. After all, their bright colors attest to this fact.

Via [Glassbox-Design]

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Wait, who is this company? Surely not the same octopus that produced poor quality images and questionable products from  years past? Seems they have learned from their mistakes with the release of their newest line of skimmers called “Core”. Designed with the aquarists in mind, these core pumps will come with Pentair Quietone Pumps. If that wasn’t enough to win you over, how about a 5 year warranty and a 12 month warranty on moving parts?

The Pentair Quietone pumps are said to only produce 45 decibels. Upgrade cell cast ancrylic is included on the models as well featuring among other things: SCH-80 dark grey PVC, JG fittings and silicon O-rings. These materials will not color fade, are crack resistant, inert and non-corrosive.

Now, we need to just find out pricing. Are these products still for the budget conscious? Or has the price increased with the quality of materials jumping?

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