We got a video of the new Solaris I5 LED aquarium lighting unit. This I5 is the newer and updated model from the older I4 model. Specific features that were changed are: (1)Made in USA with LEDs produced from Phillips Lumileds that are manufactured in Malaysia. (2)  LEDS were changed from 25 K2 driven at 1000ma to 30 Rebels driven at 800 ma. (3) Drive circuit has been changed to monitor and control both current and voltage.  (Patent Pending). (4) Power Supply Manufacturer has been changed and installed in a larger enclosure and drives at 24V DC. (5) All Chinese hand soldered control board, distribution boards, and LED boards have been changed to surface mount machine wave soldered in USA. (6) All mounting hardware has been changed to black oxide covered Stainless Steel. (7)  Fan Guards are now cut into end plates for a better look and eliminate rust potential.(8)  LCD display has been updated and has a blue background. (9) All wiring is contained in internal wire holder. Click the read link for more…

10.  Acrylic Lens is designed for easy removal for cleaning.

11.  USA designed packaging for UPS approved shipping.

12.  All units are UPC labeled.

13.  All circuit boards have latching quick disconnects for easy assembly and secure connections when shipping.

14.  100% testing and burn in for 48 hours.

The new I5 series produces PAR light output levels equal to a 400W MH 15k. It uses 40% less energy than the 400W MH 15k fixtures it replaces. The life of the LEDs is approximately 50,000 hours, so it almost eliminates metal halide and fluorescent bulb replacements. All heat is radiated up and away from the tank; therefore, it does not heat the water like Metal Halides or Fluorescents. This eliminates the need for Chillers. The room air conditioner needs to work ½ as much since the light fixture produces only ½ the heat of Metal Halides which saves even more energy over traditional lighting methods.

There is a built in microprocessor that controls the I5 series Solaris. This not only eliminates timers, but it allows the unit to dim the actinic blue LEDs, white LEDs, Lunar actinic blue LEDs and Lunar White LEDs independently from 0-100%. This dimming capability opens many opportunities. The light can be adjusted from 6.5K to 22K, or anywhere in between, to set the ideal color temperature. Sunrise, Daylight, Cloud Cover, Sunset, and the lunar cycle, can all be set independently.

Coral Growth has been outstanding with the new lights. There is excellent water penetration of the light.

Related Posts:

• Reader’s Choice Awards: Vote on the best lighting products of 2009
• Flexible LED lights make adding efficient lighting simple
• Aqua light the new Flash LED T5 hybird lighting fixture
• Underdriving or Overdriving LEDs: coralSky’s Jeff Littlejohn explains LED drive current
• Gotek’s new LED lighting fixture from China
• Quality Marine now shipping AquaBeam 1000 HD Ultra units
• Eco Lamps new LED aquarium lighting KR92
• New LED aquarium lighting panel being imported

Micro-encapsulated formulated food with probiotic bacteria for your nano reef aquarium. “The particle size covers a wide range from 30 micron to 150 micron, making it ideal for many SPS and soft corals.” Said to have probiotic bacteria which safeguard against overfeeding. Very high HUFA content and DHA/EPA ratio. It of course doesn’t cloud the water and it has great free floating abilities.

Related Posts:

• No Related

Since we are living in the 21st century what is the current rage? Instead of actually saving money and testing your water yourself. Reef Builders are actually (gasp) sending it out via mail order to a company and they in turn will send you a nice complete test result back. You of course are thinking this might be a great idea, however before you run and jump off the bridge into nitrate regent you might want to know the price, $34.99. To spread the word around about this service, Aquarium Water Testing (what an original name), decided to test “all the salt mixes” to determine their specific parameters. This of course was only done to generate buzz and viral marketing. Being an internaionally read blog that we are, we wouldn’t want to disappoint you by not publishing their findings. We are of course staying on track as a blog and giving you the read link.

Read [Warning PDF!]

Related Posts:

• No Related

Maintaining good water quality is a foregone conclusion in fishkeeping, but it cannot be stressed long and hard enough when it comes to keeping corals. Perhaps it is not surprising then that some enthusiasts adopt almost clinical levels of cleanliness in their aquariums, with no detectable impurities in the water.

Where it all begins
Due to difficulties in obtaining unpolluted natural seawater, many marine keepers use commercial sea-salt mixes that are mixed with local tapwater. The quality of this artificial seawater is dependent on the purity of tapwater used.

Although tapwater is safe to drink, it still contains a range of impurities. The most obvious are chlorine and chloramines, but is also likely to contain nitrate, phosphates and other organic components, heavy metals and toxic elements.

Acid rain can further aggravate the situation by lowering pH, often to below 6.0. At such low levels, metallic compounds like aluminium, copper and zinc – all of which are extremely toxic in the coral reef aquarium – can easily become dissolved in the supply. To counter this, many marine keepers rely on the high filtering efficiency of reverse osmosis (RO) units to prepare tapwater for use in their aquariums.

To learn about the latest position regarding RO technology, I approached Paul Oglesby, of Flowtech Aquarium Systems, an expert in reverse osmosis systems who has started to manufacture a new range of RO units based mainly on components from the USA.

The ideal RO unit
I asked Paul what we should be looking for in the ideal form of RO unit for a marine hobbyist.

He replied that as RO technology has been mainly developed in the USA to produce very high standards of drinking water, it is suitable for use with marine aquaria.

“The ideal RO unit at present is a four-pod system comprising a sediment filter, carbon filter, RO membrane and a post de-ionising mixing bed resin filter. The water enters the RO unit through the sediment filter cartridge, sometimes called a particle filter, which removes particulate contamination from the feed water, ie the water from the mains supply.

“A wide range of particulate contaminants such as soils and other sediments, rust, etc, are usually present in the mains supply, which can be harmful and impair the performance of the RO unit at later stages of the filtration process.

“The second stage is a carbon membrane cartridge which protects the highly sensitive main RO membrane as it is easily damaged by contact with chemicals such as chlorine and chloramines. The carbon also removes other pretty volatile organic chemicals.”

He went on to say that all carbon filter materials have specified micron ratings, and care is necessary to ensure the RO unit is fitted with filtration to the correct specification.

Carbon cartridges loaded with granular activated carbon (GAC) or powdered activated carbon (PAC) are not as effective as those using extruded carbon block (ECB).

ECB, he explained, is a superior material and prevents channelling. GAC and PAC types contain carbon in loose media form and water can easily channel and bypass areas as it finds the path of least resistance.

“Extruded carbon allows the water to flow easily and evenly through, and the radial design of the cartridge assists the process,” he said. “ECB membranes also come with a rating of around 10 microns, which is easily capable of filtering out material down to bacteria size.”

Cheaper models don�t usually incorporate ECB cartridges. This is a false economy as the carbon cartridges in cheaper units have a shorter life and there is also a big sacrifice in effectiveness terms.

Moving on, Paul said that the water next flows through the main RO membrane. This is a semi-permeable material rolled onto a spindle and contains millions of tiny holes. These are so small that they are measured in a microscopic unit of measurement called angstroms. The sheets are also coated with a layer of de-ionising resins.
The quality of this membrane varies, and with poorer ones, phosphates may easily pass through.

Another feature of inferior quality RO membranes is the water rejection ratio, which is the amount of waste against the usable water produced. Inferior membranes can have a rejection ratio of 5:1. This is uneconomical and slow, producing less than 25 l. in 24 hours. A good quality membrane should have a ratio nearer to 2:1 and deliver around 200 l. in 24 hours at a standard mains pressure of 45psi.

RO units should have a backflush facility to allow any particulate matter on the membrane to be flushed away, and there should be a check valve on the water feed to protect the membrane from back pressure and to avoid back siphoning of water or air when water is connected to an open reservoir.

“The final stage, the post de-ionising filter cartridge, is optional but highly recommended,” Paul continued. “It’s employed basically to mop up anything that the RO membrane may have missed and ensure product water is really pure.

“Various types of de-ionising filter are available. We offer a wide range of mixing bed cartridges and another with the same range, but the added capability of removing silicates.

“RO membranes typically have poor rejection ratios for silicate and silica (some as low as 80%), and where silicates are present in large quantities in the mains supply, the greater capability of this type of cartridge is worth considering.”

Maintaining an RO unit
Modern designs are reasonably trouble free, said Paul. It’s now no longer necessary to run water continuously through a unit to prevent damage to the membrane, and units can be opened and closed as needs arise. In fact, the membrane can hold a large amount of water when shut down, so it’s advisable to run the unit for 15 minutes or so to flush out any water standing in the system.

Maintenance involves the regular replacement of cartridges. Paul said it was possible with the sediment filter to monitor its life by the colour of the cartridge. When it turns a light coffee, it is too clogged for effective use. This can occur in between three and six months if demand is high, but the average marine aquarium with low demand can have a longer life.

“Most extruded carbon cartridges will process 2000-6000 gal. of water, depending on the quality and specification. There is no indication when a carbon cartridge is exhausted, so the maker’s recommendations should be adhered to.

“As all of the water passing through the unit is processed through the carbon membrane – both product and waste water, calculations must be based upon total throughput.

“The de-ionising filter cartridge is not subject to the same problem as only product water from the RO membrane is processed. It can only process around 1500 gal., but as it’s not worked as hard, it’s effective for a period similar to the other two.

“The RO membrane will have a lifespan of perhaps a year in heavy-use situation, and a continuing drop in volumes of product water after replacing all of the clear pod filter cartridges is a good indication that the RO membrane is reaching the end of its useful life.”

Although the initial investment may seem high, an RO unit is valuable in attaining the quality necessary to maintain a successful marine aquarium. There is no substitute for high water purity, whether the aquarium is a colourful collection of coral fishes or a full-blown reef aquarium system.

Trouble shooting
Problems that may arise when installing a new RO system are few. If you experience low levels of product water, this is usually due to low mains water pressure. Install a booster pump, which boosts the water pressure usually by around 15psi.

Optimum operation of an RO unit occurs at 45psi, and over 60psi, serious damage to the membrane can easily occur.

Attaching a booster pump to a mains supply already in excess of 45psi could lead to damaging consequences. Careful measurement of existing mains pressure is therefore necessary.

Poor removal of dissolved solids is not normally a problem with a new system, and the fault usually relates to the TDS meter that indicates the level of total dissolved solids. The cheaper in-line mounted TDS meters are factory calibrated and often give misleading results.

To get a true reading, use one of the hand-held TDS meters, which can be manually recalibrated for accurate readings.

Related Posts:

• No Related

Released: Marine Enterprises Crystal Sea Marinemix Salt Mix

Released: 24 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 2×24 watt T5 HO 10K/460nm

Unique and Rare 2 Color Lobster caught probably not reef safe

75 Gallons of pure reefness and update to my reef aquarium

Bristle Worm Removal from Saltwater Aquariums

Man grows corals in his basement to support his reef business

Georgia Aquarium gets 2 new whale sharks

Related Posts:

• No Related

VIA [aquarists online]

View

Related Posts:

• No Related

The cloudy water is the male sponge; and the thick matter is the female producing eggs. The barrel spawning typically happens only once a year and rarely is it caught on tape.

“The sponges start spawning after the full moon in may and they stimulate other sponges downstream so it’s an all or nothing every sponge that gets hit with a water column with sperm and eggs in it starts producing.”

Angel and butterfly fish were among the other species that can be seen swimming near the sponges.

Watch

Related Posts:

• No Related

This video, courtesy of the Seattle Aquarium, shows what happened after the keepers moved a giant octopus into an aquarium containing five-foot sharks. In short; octopus and sharks do not get along with each other [2:02]

Related Posts:

• No Related

Finally, converted into standard flash format. Here they are for your viewing pleasure. Excuse the newbie of recording my fish tank. NOTE: No other pumps are on in my tank, not even the tunze you see in the upper right hand of the aquarium. I am working on a file with/sound too.

Related Posts:

• No Related

So I finished the video of the new hydor pumps, sadly I need to get a converter for you all. The total files is well over 1gb!
Anyways, while your waiting patiently for those videos. Ken wanted a picture of all the new Hydor Pumps side by side.

Related Posts:

• No Related