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?

The Hobby branded multi box has as the product name suggest multiple uses. However one of the biggest complaints we hear is how to thaw frozen food for your tank mates. Most of us use some sort of dish in reverse osmosis water and wait for it to thaw and then pour it into the tank.  That might work well, but as many of us know, food is usually high in phosphates (fish need them to survive you know), so by dumping the thawed “juice” into the tank you are increasing your chances of having a phosphate spike. The Hobby multi box is what we like to call a professional thawing system. It has a fine mesh screen which allows you use whatever water source to thaw the food and then using the strainer system, keep the food in the box and all that left over juice out. These can be picked up for about $11.

The issue is with the glass tube for certain batches of 300w and 400w Theos.  The bad tubes may crack during normal operation.  If this occurs the heater should simply shut off and stop working.  The specific affected batches are outlined in the attached letter.  A copy of this letter as when ass additional information for customers will be available on our website.  If they have any additional questions they can contact us by email or phone.  That information is also available on our website.  We have already stopped sales of the affected batches and new heaters with properly manufactured tubes are now available to replace the stock.  The majority of the heaters did not make it to the retail customer, but we want to get those that did out of circulation.  Most customer returns will be handled thru the store they purchased it from.

CORONA, Calif.—North American Pet Products has acquired the assets of Cerritos, Calif.-based CASCO Group Inc., one of the world’s largest manufacturers of retail acrylic aquariums and commercial pet systems. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Teams from the two companies reacted immediately to ensure a seamless customer experience. The combined company now operates a 24/7 customer service support line for all commercial equipment. The expanded arrangement will continue to deliver enhanced habitat solutions to large and small companies that accelerate profitable growth through ingenuity, superior environments, and veterinarian approved designs.

The combined company will have 200 employees and will consolidate the Cerritos operations under the North American Pet Products world headquarters in Corona. CASCO Group Inc will operate as a division of North American Pet Products. Existing CASCO Group facilities in Utah, Illinois, and Mexico will continue operations as usual.

“We are so excited about the vast new resources available to us. This opportunity unites two great companies into one provider of point of sale display systems. We now have immediate access to 27 years of aquatic technology that is unsurpassed. CASCO Group fixtures can be found at public aquariums, museums, and amusement parks,” says Ron Bonner, president of North American Pet Products.

North American Pet Products now has more than 300 Commercial Habitat customers including leaders such as PETSMART, Petco, Wal-Mart, Petland, and Pet Supplies Plus. The combined companies will maintain a strong global presence across Europe with the product deployed and supported in over 20 countries and in 16 languages.

via [North American Pet]

Sera has had their line of air pumps for some time now and 2 of the 3 models received a nice performance boost. The models getting more efficient are the 275 plus air, and the 550 R. The 275 plus air wattage has been reduced from 6 watts down to 4 watts and the 550 R has been reduced from 12 watts down to 8 watts. These new models also have been retrofited with a filter drawer allowing you to clean the intake area further increasing the efficiency of your pump. The price on the 550 R tops out at €35 ($48.69) and models below that including the 275 plus at €22 ($30). Expect to see these pumps arriving in Europe and the UK.

Waste-Away is a beneficial bacteria will naturally dissolve the sludge and dirt that accumulates in an aquarium and prevent the build-up of debris when used on a regular basis. Waste-Away is fast acting and specially formulated to remove aquarium gunk, unclog gravel/coral beds, and keep filter pads freely flowing longer.  This results in better water flow, more oxygen and a healthier aquarium environment. Waste-Away should be used on a regular (weekly) basis to keep sludge from acculmulating which can negatively affect fish and corals. Contains no phosphates.

Giesemann has launched their IQ Nano aquarium to the masses over in Europe. The Giesemann IQ Nano Aquarium is your typical aquarium size coming in at 400 x 400 x 400mm (15.74″ x 15.74″ x 15.74″) and holding roughly about 17 gallons of salt or fresh water. The base price is €999 ($1401) and will get you the aquarium, a stand available in 3 different color schemes, connections for a sump system (but let’s remember you don’t get the sump with the base package) and a 4 x 8 watt T5 light. You could of course upgrade to a marine package that  includes a Deltec MCE300 for the included sump, a feed pump and sump connectors. That marine package will run an extra €369 ($517). Ouch. That’s not all. You can upgrade the lighting system with their “Light Package”. The lighting package upgrades the included 4×8 watt T5 up to a 70 watt metal halide with 2 x8 watt T5s. We aren’t sure why Giesemann decided to put a Metal Halide over only 17 gallons of water, that is just asking for the water to boil. That’s way to much heat and in our opinion they should have stuck with LEDs.

via [Giesemann]