To go with their C.A.S.T. particle filter, Coral-Shop is now also releasing a complete set of other filters for your sump. The system consists of C.A.S.T, a particle filter that utilizes a filter pad rather than a filter sock; A.R.M.S which can be used as a media reactor, A.L.F.A which is a redesigned “wet-dry”/trickle filter; and R.A.N.N which is a nitrification-denitrification bacteria reactor. What is especially interesting about these filters is that Coral-Shop seems to be on a quest to redefine conventional and old school aquarium filtration by giving them a new light. All the filter systems are designed to be hung from the back of your sump, but do not seem stack, which was the first thing that came to mind when we saw the Coral-Shop filter systems. More info after the break
Coral-Shop A.L.F.A as we mentioned before is a redesigned “wet-dry” filter that serves mainly to improve the efficiency of the nitrifying bacteria in the media. Much like a wet-dry filter this is accomplished by exposing the water to air resulting in very oxygen rich water which is ideal for nitriying bacteria. Unlike the conventional wet-dry filter the Coral-Shop A.L.F.A filter is very compact however and appears to be well sealed, so there should be no concern of bulkiness of salt creep. Water is pumped from the bottom to the top by a pump and then tickles down the reactor through biological filter media and then drains through the bottom. Adjustable brackets allow the user to control water levels.
Coral-Shop A.R.M.S on its surface is a more conventional media reactor, and is designed to run submerged media such as activated carbon, GFO, Purigen etc. For more fine media fine-grained Media Tray can be installed as well. Unlike the A.L.F.A the media is not exposed to air and the water is rather pumped into the bottom of the reactor. Water then rises to the top through the media and then drains through the center. If for some reason you do want to add air into the water it is possible to add air through an air intake with an airpump. A.R.M.S also features an adjustable bracket.
Coral-Shop R.A.N.N is probably the most interesting of the filters, and at a first glance might appear much more complex than the other Coral-Shop filters. It turns out however that overall the function is pretty basic. R.A.N.N is designed to be used in conjunction with Coral-Shop BioCat and Coral-Shop NitraClean which serve as a source of bacteria and required food to sustain the bacteria, respectively. Interestingly unlike most bacteria sources on the market BioCat is actually a Polymeric carrier pellet rather than a liquid solution. Although we are not certain of the specifics, the Polymeric carrier pellet actually releases bacteria directly into the water which then continue to serve nitrification and denitrification functions. We can only assume that NitraClean is just a modified version of most carbon sources on the market.
Availability in the US is not yet known but expect to see them in Europe soon. Beside these releases word is that Coral-Shop has some solutions for calcium and magnesium dosing on the way as well.
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