The longfin neon tetra is a new strain of freshwater aquarium fish which is unwelcome in our fish store. If we had to put together a list of freshwater fish species that least needed tampering with, the neon tetra would of been near the top of that list. Sure diamond /diamond head neon tetras are kind of neat, replacing some of the blue with a blue spot at the head. Albino neon tetras are a curiosity but we see no redeeming qualities in the longfin neon tetra. The flowing finnage of the longfin neon tetra hampers their neat schooling behavior and it obscures the outline of their nice classic fishy body shape. Furthermore, the longfin neon tetras we spotted at InterZoo may have been somewhat stressed out but they were showing some mighty muted coloration. Both the blue and red colors seemed to have been bred out of the fish when on the quest to lengthen their fins. We don’t know if the longfin neon tetra strain will every become widespread but we’ll definitely pass.
The Tropical Aquarium Purifier is an ozone generator from Philips, like the Philips that makes lamps, TVs, cameras and a whole host of consumer electronics. While walking the floor of InterZoo we actually strolled by the Philips booth several times but on the last occasion we very faintly heard one the booth hunks say something about ozone and our interest was immediately piqued. Philips and O3? Nah that can’t be right. So we strolled these bloggin eyes into the Philips booth to be surprised by an ozone generator called the Tropical Aquarium Purifier, an electronic product that was specifically targeted for the aquarium trade. Presumably Philips wouldn’t get into the aquarium ozone generator biz unless they believed that their product would be either very reliable, lucrative or both. At first we believed this would be the greatest aquarium product since flake food but then we saw that the Philips Tropical Aquarium Purifier mdoels produce between 0.55 to 1 mg O3 per hour. What in the world are you supposed to do with half a milligram, 0.0005 grams of Ozone per hour? Scrub a betta bowl? Makes us wonder why Philips thought a half a milligram of ozone per hour would have any use in an aquarium when the smallest ozone generator produce between ten and 100 times that. In any case, perhaps this would be a good ozone source for pico reefs and quarantine tanks where only a minimal of Ozone would be desired.
If the Fluval Chi, Ebi and Flora tanks are a sign of things to come then we have some great expectations from the nano tank designers at Fluval. The FLuval Chi features a center mounted fliter/LED light which adds an instant splash of ambiance to the aquarium by basicaly submerging the primary LED light. The Fluval Ebi is custom taylored for use with bee and crystal shrimp and it ships with the food and little t00bular shelters than make Neocaridina happy. The Fluval Flora is more of a nano planted aquarium that ships with just enough light to grow mosses and ferns and crypts, the likes of which could really do without the included nano scale CO2 injection system. Although these are all intended to be used for freshwater setups, we have faith that the DIY nano reefing crowd can show Hagen and Co a thing or two about what these things can do with some saltwater life inside.
The Beta Mini Cube is a novel, modern looking small aquarium which is packing some serious features for a beta setup. Low power LED light, curved acrylic front pane and a built-in filter in the rear makes this small aquarium the Bentley of beta bowls. We don’t know how many times we’ve cringed at the site of nano reefers taking a perfectly good nano tank and butchering it with a load of excessive and unnecessary mods and partitions. With the Beta Mini Cube the prospective pico reefer will be able to take the 8 liter/2 gallon stock aquarium and do all of their DIY alchemy right within the built in rear partition, making for a much more classy set up over all. The LED light is bright enough to see by but for any corals or plants that are more demanding than mushrooms, zoanthids or moss, you’ll want to provide your Beta Mini Cube with at least some supplemental light, even ambient light would give this tiny tank a good photosynthetic bump. The Beta Mini Cube we spied at Tropical Paradise in Eastleigh Southampton, UK was resting comfortably on the counter, right next to the register. Tropical Paradise had a ton of these in stock for £50 although we expect a US appearance would cost in the $50 range. With it’s small price, built in filter and contemporary open topped appearance, the Beta Mini Cube could be a great starting point for making some amazing, full featured pico reefs.
ROWA Crystal is a new liquid additive from ROWA, the manufacturer of the first, and still the most potent granular ferric oxide (GFO) for the marine aquarium market. ROWA Crystal is designed to reduce the phosphate levels of aquarium water while also increasing the clarity. Marketing materials for ROWA Crystal claim that it “does not contain any chemical, bacteria or other organic additives” but unless the bottle is filled with liquid ether, water is one of the most chemically active substances known and there has got to be some chemistry in the bottle for it to have any effect in an aquarium. A likely compound for the active ingredient of ROWA Crystal is probably Lanthanum Chloride (LaCl3) which is often used to precipitate organic phosphates in aquarium water. The trouble with LaCl3 is that it is really only effective down to 0.1ppm after which point it makes more sense to run GFO to further reduce the phosphate levels of aquarium water. We suppose that ROWA may have added some fancy chemical gift wrap to help the ROWA Crystal do it’s thing beyond 0.1ppm and to further clarify the aquarium water. No word on price or availability but all will surely be revealed in Nurnberg next week.
The zebra pleco, Hypancistrus zebra, is one of the flashiest and most memorable freshwater fish in the world. Although they have a very striking pattern, the fish has not become widely popular because it’s not exactly the type of fish you plop into a community tank. Zebra plecos are a very cautious species which quickly retreat from sudden movements of fish and people, making them unable to compete with common aquarium species. Many aquarists complain that they never see their zebra plecos even in tanks dedicated to L46 and we believe that is because the aquarium has to fulfill some requirements to make Hypancistrus zebra feel most comfortable. Probably the most overlooked need of zebra plecos is the need for moderate light; it doesn’t have to be very dark but they can see bright lights shining overhead so we recommend just one fluorescent tube or LEDs. Also, although it is well known that shy fish need dither fish to feel comfortable coming out, if you want to dither your zebras you should use species that make sense to zebra plecos like corydoras and ottocinclus. Finally, it goes without saying that zebra plecos need hiding spaces and cover to feel comfortable. If you give L46 an endless matrix of caves and holes of course your viewing experience will be impaired. The zebra plecotope above tries to provide areas of cover which are still visible to the aquarium viewer such as the large overhanging ledge. If you provide Hypancistrus with moderate light, the right kind of dither fish and creative hiding places your colony will reward you with plenty of time roaming around out in the open places of your aquarium where they can easily be seen.
We thought it might be a good idea to announce that Reef Builders will be attending Interzoo 2010 in Nürnberg, Germany. Interzoo, if you haven’t heard about it, is the worlds largest pet tradeshow in the world. This year there are over 1400 exhibitors from over 114 countries across the world. Reef Builders will be there live covering the event doing what we do best. Many of the largest aquatic companies are headquartered in Germany including Hagen, Eheim, Juwel, JBL, Sera, Tetra, Tunze and Aqua Medic to name a few. Interzoo is a great venue to show off their new products and updates. Do you have any products or companies that you want us to check out?
Every time I see a suggestion to place a piece of foam, plastic, neoprene, or (shudder) a carpet sample underneath an aquarium or aquarium stand I cringe a little bit. Okay, so they are great at smoothing out any small gaps or imperfections to lessen stress on your tank. The problem with these materials is that they create a very thin gap on top of your stand or flooring where saltwater can puddle up and never return. While minor spills here and there don’t cause too many problems, one major spill of saltwater and a few months time is all it takes to permanently ruin the flooring underneath your stand. There’s a better way–Dri-Dek is a self draining interlocking tiles that don’t seem to be used very often in the aquarium hobby for this purpose, yet they are nearly perfect for the application. The rubber tiles create a large air gap to allow saltwater spills to dry on their own, or with a little help from a fan. Cut the tiles with a pair of scissors and lay your aquarium or stand right on top of it. Dri-Dek tiles come in a range of colors, they start at $4.35 per square foot and for more information, visit the Dri-Dek website.
Glass no Naka No Daishizen is the complete works of Takashi Amano featuring over 185 aquascapes. Most of the aquascapes are classics but the new book by the godfather of modern aquarium aquascaping also features some of the master’s newest works, many of which have never been seen before or published. With stunning photography and breathtaking illustrations, Amano’s new book is a work of inspiration in several freshwater planted aquascaping style but mostly the Nature Aquarium style which he created. Such a powerful volume draws attention to the notable gap that is present in the reef keeping community. Reef aquascaping is a plus, not the focus and we are only now just beginning to see the reefing world catch on to more intensive aquascaping with the ReefScape competition that debuted at ReefStock. Although the book is in Japanese, the illustrations and details of these set ups are inscribed in a language we can all understand. The book is priced around $79 and it is currently available in the U.S. only from Aquarium Design Group.
This watercooled LED aqaurium light shows that DIY is often first to the scene when it comes to apply very simple concepts to accomplish very awesome things. An intrepid German aquarist took it upon himself to build this watercooled LED light for his planted aquarium using some very simple off the shelf components. Not only is the light watercooled but the heat from the LEDs is cooled using aquarium water, meaning that this light is not only very small and silent but it also reduces or negates the need for having an aquarium heater for much of the year. There has been some discussion of water cooled LED lights on Reef Builders before but this is the first time we have seen the idea built into an actual LED light. The aluminum used for this project is fine for use in freshwater but in saltwater it would quickly corrode producing lots of Aluminum Oxide that invertebrates really don’t care for too much. If we could just find a thermally active material that would resist corrosion in saltwater we could soon be seeing some lights like these produced for the aquarium world. Where there’s a will there’s a way and we can almost guarantee that we’ll be seeing some watercooled LED lights at next year’s ReefStock. Follow the break for many more pictures of this exciting project.
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