Product Reviews

At MACNA 2010, I met Dave and his wife Amanda in the NextReef booth showcasing their beautiful reactors. The bright blue body with the white flange pieces that cap each end were very appealing to me. They care about their product line and go to great lengths to make sure each item is perfectly built. Believe it or not, I never got a picture of their booth. I must have really been fascinated, right?

This is Amanda showcasing NextReef products at the Fort Myers, FL event I attended earlier this year.


After talking with Dave about my system and my desire to use biopellets, he recommended the SMR1 XL - Solid Media Reactor 1 XL. This isn't their biggest, but it's a good size for larger reef tank owners. It holds 2 liters of media with a little space at the top, and is rated for up to 400g systems. A smaller version is also available, both for solid media and for the finer stuff like GFO (Granular Ferrix Oxide).

This is what the SMR1 XL looks like ...

If your local fish store (LFS) offers Red Sea products, you may have noticed this item on display.



When my friend Wes first told me about the kit, he was very excited to explain why. The kit covers the three elements we reef keepers need to test regularly: alkalinity (KH), calcium (CA), and magnesium (Mg). He really liked that it was a one-handed test. When I flew to Connecticut, I found myself in a LFS that had them in stock, and on sale. ...

Last weekend, Roger of Tunze was in town for a fish store's event. When I asked him what was new-to-the-market, he showed me their new two-part putty, Coral Flex. $20 later, I was on my way home. If you don't know why you'd want this, it's used to secure corals to the rockwork so they feel stable and grow. Corals that rock in the flow tend to grow very slowly, but when rock-solid grow more readily. ...

When I considered writing a review for Chemi-Pure Elite... I thought to myself, "that would be a very short review!" Namely because the product is so simple and effective, but then I began realizing that this product does SO MUCH that I can talk about... so I decided to give it a go.
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I've had the 120w 14k Evolution LED for just over three months now and I have enjoyed it. There are a few things I would love to be different, but in my opinion for the price of this unit you can't go wrong.

The fixture itself is attractive. 119 1 watt LEDs (60 blue, 59 white) are arranged well so that there is nice even coverage across your tank. No "stripes" or "spotlights" of different color lighting. Although early reviews suggested that the fans were very loud, this issue seems to have been resolved before my model was produced. The fans keep the unit cool and are nearly silent. The outside of the fixture is powder coated black and looks modern and attractive hanging above the tank.
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If you haven't set up a refugium on your reef tank yet, you're missing out. I am a big believer in the effectiveness of having it as a part of any salt water set up.

There are many benefits of a refugium:
-Reversing the light cycle of the refugium light and the display light can help keep to keep Ph levels stable throughout the night.
-Harvesting macro algae is a natural and effective way to remove excess nutrients in the water.
-Fuges are a great place to grow pods and other little critters that provide a source of live food for your display tank.
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