Blackreef is a new aquarium controller system borrowing heavily from the ease of use that iPhones and other touchscreen smartphones have brought to the market. We got wind of the Blackreef from Aquarama and from what we’ve been able to gather, the Blackreef system uses a 4.3 in. resistive touchscreen device as the main control and display of the device with just one cable to power and communicate with all the modules. The touchscreen control is very reminiscent of a smartphone app making it easy to browse, monitor, control and setup equipment on the system.

The Blackreef system has built in control for dosing pumps and can be easily scheduled and managed quantity control via the device and with the computer software, more advanced dosing features can be tapped into. The Blackreef system also had built in management of the most popular streaming pumps allowing you to simply choose any of the preset scenarios or create your own.

If lighting control is your bag, then the Blackreef has a swanky built in LED control module with all the typical bells and whistles — a full sunrise to sunset scheme, lunar cycle, plus cloud cover and thunderstorms. Each LED module also features two outlets to control T5 lights. There is also a standalone lighting module to control and manage T5 and HQI/MH lighting. The Blackreef system also features add-on modules including an SMS module to send updates, error messages and alerts to you in real time along with an ethernet bridge module.

Sensor control and monitoring is the backbone of most aquarium control systems since steady parameters are a key component of a stable reef system and the Blackreef system sensor control module has several precision sensor components — temperature (heating and cooling), pH, Redox/ORP, and salinity. There is even a way to manage salinity and control the automated top-off of the aquarium and if you really want to get detailed, could even use the system to do automated water changes. Future plans call for nitrate and oxygen sensors to be added.

While using a sexy device instead of a utilitarian box with a simple digital display is refreshing, the obvious nod to the iPhone is appealing but we would rather see a system eliminate the need for a propriety head unit or handset control device, opting for using a smartphone as the main platform. Sure it is a nifty looking device compared to what’s on the market today but with the advanced computing and processing power we have in our mobile phones, one less “device” is always better. Look for the Blackreef aquarium control system to make its full-fledged debut at InterZoo 2012.

The aquarium in the video above is an aquascape created by Oliver Knott which was inspired by the blockbuster movie Avatar. This aquascape was modeled after a setting of the movie called the Hallelujah Mountains, which float in mid-air, covered by lush jungles and connected to each other and the ground by vines. Oliver Knott is a highly regarded freshwater plant aquarist from Germany who has some serious skill, and we can just imagine that he set himself to design this particular aquascape the moment he saw the breathtaking scenes of the Hallelujah Mountains during the movie.

The tank containing Knott’s nature aquarium remix of Hallelujah Mountains is 250 liters, so about 60 gallons and it features a flat-screen television-background for sunrise, sunset and passing cloud simulation. Also consider that this tank was set up on the spot, for the “The Art of Planted Aquarium” 2011 competition in Hannover Germany. On a similar note, Knott also set up a smaller nano planted aquascape with a color changing RGB LED background, video after the break.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Black Ghost knifefish is an elongated freshwater fish that swims around by unudlating it’s long anal fin, much in the same way that some eels and brotulas do. Researchers from Northwestern University studying the motion of Black Ghost knifefish decided to build a robot model of the unusual fish. Ghostbot accurately reproduces the undulating motion of Ghost Knifefish and it has allowed the scientists to discover a jetstream motion of water that develops right underneath the fish as the undulations meet each other on the underside of the fish. Of all the fish to roboticize, we would have placed the Black Ghost Knife at the bottom of the list but the result is undeniable cool. Full video when you click on the header image.

December 6, 2010 – Houston, Tx – Aqua Design Amano headquarters in Niigata, Japan announced an increase in cost of goods due to the inflation of raw material cost at the manufacturing level. The new prices were effective as of November 1st, 2010.

Costs in manufacturing, shipping and the declining value of the dollar versus the yen have caused increases in prices of the Aqua Design Amano product line in the United States, similar price increases in the past did not always lead to price increases for the end user and the price increase this year has been the result of a compiling effect in cost to provide the product.

However, for the sake of the consumer, the new prices for the ADA product line will not be in effect until January, 2011. We hope that providing this opportunity by announcing the price increase ahead of time will allow our customers to buy for the holiday season at the current price levels.

In addition, the new container order is scheduled to arrive in Houston on December 7th, 2010. Most out of stock items will be back in stock at that time for the holidays, and with the container, the new “Book of ADA” catalogue will be arriving and available for free to all ADA customers. This years ADA catalogue contains a wealth of information covering all aspects of Aquascaping, maintaining a Nature Aquarium, and visual inspiration from Takashi Amano’s latest creations. ADA clientele is not required to purchase to get their free catalogue – simply pay postage and you will receive one in the mail.

Aquarium Design Group is currently working on some exciting new ventures for ADA clientele and avidly building new infrastructure that promises to bring a new level of value to the Aqua Design Amano experience in the United States, expect more announcements regarding this effort in the coming months.

Aquarium Design Group is a distributor for Aqua Design Amano products in the United States, based in Houston, Texas. In 2010, ADG moved into a new facility to construct an entirely new retail experience for aquarium and aquascaping enthusiasts that prominently features the Aqua Design Amano product line. Completion is scheduled for early 2011. Aqua Design Amano is based in Niigata, Japan and is the provider of the Nature Aquarium and Do!Aqua line of designer aquariums and related goods that supports the Nature Aquarium philosophy developed by Takashi Amano.

Contact:

Frank Wazeter

Aquarium Design Group

frankw@aquariumdesigngroup.com

3520 S. Sam Houston Pkwy E.

Suite#100

Sera has a new CO2 reactor with a novel pinwheel design to break up the gas before it travels down the reaction body. CO2 and Ozone reactors are normally the type of device which is DIY’d or handmade into existence which is why it is so refreshing to see a different design for this often ignored segment of the aquarium market. The robust acrylic body is about two inches wide and ten inches long, near the top incoming water pushes the needle wheel to help break up the incoming gas into finer bubbles for quick and thorough dissolution. All of the connections of the Sera CO2 reactor are twist-off, the body, the intake and outflow and the gas inlet. Not sure when the Sera reactors will be hitting U.S. aquarium stores but when they land expect them to sell for $60 to $80.

Whether you want to dose carbon dioxide to your planted tank like the Sera CO2 reactor is intended, dissolve some CO2 before hitting the calcium reactor or dissolve some ozone before hitting the protein skimmer, the slim bottle design looks sleek and effective. We are currently using a hand made CO2 reactor on a Tonina Style plant tank that was cobbled from odd fittings and an old Aquarium Pharmaceuticals tap water purifier and we’d much rather see something this solid in it’s place. Amano loves to sell carbon dioxide diffusers for every small nature aquarium or planted tank out there but is planted tanks are strongly focused on aesthetic, why don’t more companies make external CO2 reactors? Better yet, we’d rather see a canister filter maker design a model with a built-in CO2 reactor, that would be the bomb.

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.

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.

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.