We’re still 24 hours away from MACNA opening its doors but already we’re starting to scoop all the latest and greatest new products from this seminal, annual show. The Reef Octopus VarioS controller is a swanky looking new driver box for Reef Octopus’s own line of DC pumps.
The Octo VarioS is so spanking new that US distributor CoralVue hasn’t even really put it fully through its paces, but they shared with us some details about it. The VarioS is a much more refined DC Pump driver with a lot more features than we’ve come to expect from the often rebadged water movers from China.
The VarioS still only has six speeds of pump control, but this driver now also has a float switch port for automatically detecting when skimmate has reached a high level, either in the skimmer cup or in a remote waste collector. The Octo VarioS also includes ethernet input and output ports, presumably for third-party control the likes of Apex-Ready. An additional two serial buses on the side of the VarioS controller are there to integrate with a forthcoming full-fledged controller from Reef Octopus tentatively called the ‘Aqua Logic’.
We saw the new Octo VarioS controller hooked up to a familiar looking small needle wheel DC pump which was installed on the new Reef Octopus Regal 150 Super Space Saver (SSS) protein skimmer. It is unclear how the VarioS will be sold, but most likely the Reef Octopus protein skimmers that are driven by a DC Pump will be offered with the standard driver, with the VarioS available as an upgraded controller, but certain offerings may include the whole nine yards in premium bundles in the future.
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