Aquarium Currents has been around a long time and the American-made Sea Swirl, one of its signature products, has been available to hobbyists since 1998. Another newer and innovative product is the Sea Sweep, which is an oscillating device for propeller pumps like the Tunze Stream and the Hydor Koralia.For those new hobbyists that are unfamiliar with the Sea Swirl, it is an electronic device that oscillates the flow from your return pump or closed loop. It produces a nice random flow throughout the tank to help disrupt detritus settlement. In the past, you had to specify your return plumbing diameter when ordering a Sea Swirl. Fortunately that is no longer the case. The new Multi-Size Sea Swirl includes 1, 3/4 and ½ in connections available in one box.
We recently got our hands on both devices and wanted to share some unboxing photos and general impressions. Both units we received are the Deluxe model, which are advertised to be more silent and versatile. We’ll talk more about that later on in our full review.
The Sea Swirl came with absolutely everything needed to get it running on an existing return line. Everything appears to be Schedule 80 PVC, which is more attractive and durable than your typical white Schedule 40 PVC. The acrylic tank mounting brackets are extremely thick and the clamp screws are no joke. There is rubber on every part of the bracket that touches your tank (including the thumbscrews). This should really help keep vibration noises from reverberating though the tank. The inclusion of all parts and options is impressive. Custom tank mounts are available upon request, so you rimless and Euro-bracing folks are not left out in the cold.
The Sea Sweep includes brackets for the older square Tunze Streams, newer Tunze Sream 2’s, Tunze Nano Streams and the Hydor Koralia prop pumps. A lot of thought was put into the design. For example, the power cord for the pumps is routed through a hollow adjustable tube and up through the center of the product. The power cord just floats in the center instead of being constantly turned and pulled while the Sea Sweep oscillates. While there appear to be no hard edges that would wear on the power cord, they still provided an extra sheath for the cord inside the Sea-Sweep. The threaded mounting tube is 6 in. long and easily shortened, which allows the mounting depth to be customized to your liking. The unit consumes just 3W of power.
Both units look well built. There’s nothing flimsy on either of these products. Soon, we’ll post a full review of Aquarium Currents’ latest offerings. For now, enjoy the pics!
