It’s time again for Reef Builders’ Top 10 products of the year. Due to the studio fiasco and many other items we needed to clean house with, we decided not to conduct the Facebook poll this year to save time and organizational resources. These products are in no particular order. Items were included or excluded based on what they represented in terms of innovation and/or consumer value.
The Top 10 Products of 2024
In September, Triton introduced an innovative coral-feeding system that relied on three bottles. The first bottle, “X-PAND,” acts as a feeding trigger based on naturally occurring compounds found in marine sediment. The second and third bottles are “N-FUSE” parts one and two, which act as a synthetic carrier. When the bottles are combined, a precipitate forms, which can then be fed to corals; what makes this product innovative is that you can also include any other product before mixing N-FUSE parts one and two, allowing it to be incorporated into the precipitate. This effectively will enable consumers to turn any suspension foods like phyto or bacterioplankton into a solid form that corals can uptake via their mouths.
Tunze’s new Nanostream, released in the States in late November, is one of the best bang-for-buck wavemakers of the year. It was manufactured in Germany using high-grade components and impressive specs that allow it to turn some serious water for its size. In addition to its build quality, it costs a competitive $299.99 and comes with a 5-year warranty.
It just opened for beta testing two weeks ago. While this product isn’t technically available on the market, its announcement made big waves this year. Nick, the owner of dxAquaria, has a patent pending hand-held test that will be able to differentiate between Marine Ich and Velvet. Assuming by the time it comes to market, it’s relatively accurate, this will be an absolute game changer for quarantine in the industry.
In February, Panta Rhei unveiled the new Panta Surge Wave Box, a promising new design of traditional wave boxes that intakes water from the bottom section and pumps it through the top grate. This design seems to come the closest thus far to replicating the effects of Carlson’s surge devices from the 1980s.
One of the nicest-looking Pomacanthids, Apolemichthys arcuatus, which was previously available from Hawaii, was successfully bred in captivity this year. While the breeder is not confirmed they were first spotted coming from Kamihata in Japan in September. In October, DeJong Marinelife acquired 10 of them. Hopefully, there will be continued success with this species, and we can begin to see them trickle into the market yet again.
Last week, Reefability launched the beta for its new AI-driven app. This app allows you to upload any external test results, whether it be ICP, N-DOC, or Aquabiomics, as well as manual test results. With the power of AI, all of the data will be broken down into actionable steps. A pest identifier tool allows users to take pictures of pests in their tank for easy ID. There’s also an integrated chat bot you can ask any of you reefing questions. More on this app later this week! You can sign up for the beta now using the link above.
AquaWiz’s reagent-free alkalinity tester has a new best friend. The CRA calcium reactor controller can receive kH information from the AquaWiz kH controller and automatically adjust the c02 bubble count per hour. This allows for an ecosystem that can automatically test your alkalinity and flatline supplementation with a calcium reactor, all with the touch of a button.
In October, Aquabiomics released a limited batch of aquacultured live rubble, which was certified pathogen-free and was the most diverse microbial supplement ever hitting the market, including a member of the holy grail family Pelgibacter. At the December Reef Recapathon, Dr. Meyer, the owner of Aquabomics, announced he would be expanding his live rock culturing efforts in 2025, hopefully resolving supply issues with this very hot commodity.
This year at Reefstock, Chattanooga Coral Frag Tech released its new modular frag systems. Each base plug has a puzzle piece-like attachment, allowing for an even larger grow-out disk to be attached to the plug. Instead of constantly cutting plugs in a farming situation, the base can simply be removed, and the top of the plug can be attached to a wider grow-out disk, allowing the base to be reattached. Additionally, all models are thin enough to be cut easily with scissors—talk about making fragging easy.
Cade released a new system upgrade for their S2 tanks in March of this year. The Reef X offers up to two modular satellite systems per main display, adding extra volume and display space easily while maintaining the clean look Cade is known for. I can only imagine some cool ideas people could achieve with the full suite.
Watch us talk about some of these products and more on the last Reef Therapy of 2024 – Happy New Year to all of the Reef Builders out there
