Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog

Captive Aquatics Custom Aquarium in Teethwise Dental

 Teethwise Dental chose Captive Aquatics for aquarium design and installation in their new Humble, TX office.  "We had a very specific look we wanted to achieve" said Dr. Lapido, "and Mike worked with our architect to make it look exactly how we wanted!".

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Tank Raised Clown Triggerfish!

We at Captive Aquatics care a great deal about ecology and ethics, and we're pleased to announce that we have yet another tank raised species to offer our customers thanks to Sustainable Aquatics and their Sustainable Islands program: the Clown Triggerfish.  Available in 2-3" sizes, these captive raised triggerfish are boisterous, colorful, and have a ton of personality!

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AquaRay's AquaBeam 500 LED Reef Aquarium Light Strip Review

American Aquarium Products (a US distributor of TMC Aquarium Products) sent over the AquaBeam 500, a wide angle aquarium LED light strip for review - and I'm impressed.  The latest generation of Cree LEDs (the XR-E and XR-G emitters) and are now viable (and excellent) LED options for reef aquarium lighting and nature aquarium lighting!

On to the review!

New from Nano Customs: Nano T5 + LED Retro Kit

The nano aquarium lighting geniuses over at Nanocustoms, Chris and Clive, have cooked up another awesome retrofit for the popular Biocube 29 and Nanocube 28:  a slick T-5 and LED retro with built in heatsink/parabolic reflectors that can be cooled with the stock hood! 

Jumpstart Your New Aquarium's Cycle!

So you've bought your first freshwater aquarium, installed the filter, got your decorations, and now you want to add fish...but you have to wait 4 to 6 weeks.  That's no fun!  Want to shorten the wait?  Here are three things you can do to your aquarium to jump start the cycling process in your new aquarium, and get you closer to those adorable goldfish you have your eye on!

1.  Add Bacteria
Many products are in LFS and online that have beneficial bacteria in a bottle.  One of these products, once added to an aquarium can, help establish the beneficial nitrifying bacteria that break down fish waste into less harmful substances - getting you closer to buying fish.  I recommend Seachem's Stability.

American Aquarium T-2 Nano and Pico Aquarium Lighting

American Aquarium Products sells several LED and florescent aquarium lighting options, and also offers a lot of good lighting information on their website.  One of these is their ultra-compact T-2 fixtures, one of which I'll be reviewing today as I attempt to catch up on the growing pile of products I have to test and post about!

Tropical Fish Hobbyist Digital: iPad Giveaway

TFH is offering digital subscriptions for $1, and entering anyone who signs up into a giveaway for an iPad - check it out here!

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Unboxing the X-Inout Reef Aquarium Overflow and Wavemaker

Xaqua's X-inout was first introduced at this year's Interzoo, and although we got our hands on one a little while ago, I just now finally found time to take a few pics for everyone to see.  I still haven't gotten a chance to break out the acrylic hole saw and install it, but here's what I have so far! 

The X-inout device looks promising, and it's actually very simple.  A built in, completely redesigned overflow system that's nice and compact (about 4x3x2 inches), while your existing return pump line (up to 2000 lph) snugs onto the barbed return connector.  The device creates a ripple, or wave effect, that not only affects the surface, but surges gently through the entire aquarium, creating a very nice looking effect.  Given the inferiority of in tank water pumps, and the fact that most aquariums are set up with inadequate plumbing for proper water motion, I'm excited about this new device.  We'll see how it affects reef aquarium water motion, so keep checking back for a video of the X-inout in action on one of our holding tanks in the coming weeks!

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EconLux SunStrip LED Aquarium Lights

EconoLux continues their multitude of LED lighting fixtures with this nifty triplex LED strip that can be chained together, similar to the EcoXotic stunner strips but more advanced. SunStrips look very useful for nano reef aquariums, small planted aquariums, or for adding a "shimmering" effect.  The strips come in color temperatures of 6500k or 15000k, operate via a 24 volt/100 watt power supply, and can be chained together in series between 4 and 18 units in a row, depending on the size of the strips, which range from 30cm to 1.2 meters! 

Although the jury is still out regarding how effective LED lighting is at keeping corals (multiple hobbyists have reported anecdotal information of their corals not thriving/living solely under LED lighting, and Anthony Calfo's preliminary report suggest 75% of coral species cannot be kept under LED lighting alone) supplemental LED lighting for nano aquariums and nature aquariums is often desirable and useful.  Even if the technology may not be there yet, LEDs are still very promising and I'm very excited about the future of LED lighting!

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EconLux Aquarium LED Lighting Video

A video showing EconoLux's new aquaruim LED spotlights - the two side LED lights are each 60 watts, and halfway through the video a single 50w blue spotlight is turned on.  We'll be showcasing several different EconoLux LED products in the coming days!

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