Aqua Medic has published a teaser video of a new pico aquarium called Armatus XS. Like the normal-sized Armatus aquarium range the XS is open-topped and comes complete with a sump and central weir only this one is truly tiny, desktop-sized, and literally inches (not feet,) in length. Pico reef tanks have evolved of late, featuring not just rear All In One filter sections like tiny tropical tanks but fully functional miniature weir boxes and sumps for saltwater. The Armatus XS is one such aquarium, the tank and weir box look to be made from clear acrylic with the sump a one-piece grey plastic. The outer sump walls of the XS double up as the tank stand, but what bent our minds is that its makers have molded the stand to look just like a full-sized Armatus cabinet. Inside are some baffles, sponges for mechanical and biological filtration, and a tiny return pump, although by the looks of the rendered video the only sump access comes via lifting the whole tank off the top of the stand, and not via the faux front doors.
Upon discovering the Aqua Medic Armatus XS we first checked that it wasn’t an April Fool. It isn’t featured in their latest catalog however it is on YouTube and their home page so for now we are taking it as truth. The video shows footage of one set up and running in life, complete with rock, sand, corals, and Sexy shrimp, and based on the shrimp we are rough-guessing its sub 12” in length and around three gallons in volume. That mini Aqua Medic cabinet and badge are throwing us off, however. It has what looks like a mini version of the Aquarius Plus LED light but we don’t know if the tiny return pump is ATO sized in dimensions and output or slightly larger. Without size, spec, or retail price, and based only on a twenty-second teaser video the XS is an interesting prospect and comes at a time when reefing passion is not waning but budgets certainly are. Aqua Medic also appears to be the first established marine aquarium brand to put its name to a truly tiny pico and publicize it with the intention of launching it. With what seems like brand being about half of everything these days we spy an opportunity for some big industry players to follow Aqua Medic and get involved in a tiny bit of reef aquarium action.
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