Product Reviews

When I first heard about Safety Stop by Blue Life USA, I was intrigued. A small package containing two solutions to help fish shake off external parasites sounded very practical. So I made a call to Blue Life and asked more questions.

Right off the bat, the contents are Formalin (Part A) and Methylene Blue (Part B). These active ingredients are known useful solutions to bathe fish in to remove parasites. So if it isn't new, why the write up? The fact is, the majority of hobbyists do not quarantine their new fish. Every new acquisition dumped into your tank is the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette in that you may be lucky several times, but it only takes one widespread outbreak that kills off your beautiful and expensive fish to make you realize what a risk you've taken. For years, I told hobbyists "You don't want to put AIDS in your tank." That continues to be the most clear way I can ...

Quite a few people recommended Warner Marine's EcoBak media when it comes to nitrate & phosphate reduction in the aquarium. This was one of the first brands to come to market initially, and for a period it was almost always out of stock. If you've been on the fence, unsure if it is worth the effort, let me assure you that it replaces other choices like vodka dosing... and it does so nicely.



Biopellets need to be run in a specially designed reactor. Two that I've used are by NextReef and by AquaMaxx. These reactors force water to flow strongly through the media, causing it to tumble at all times. Water shouldn't channel or flow through clumped media, ...

When I first got the AquaMaxx Biopellet Reactor, I was very interested in how it worked because the demonstration unit on display showcased something unseen by other similar devices. Unlike its counterparts, this one causes the media to spin at a strong rate -- the pellets orbiting a vertical riser tube provide one-way directional flow. It looked really neat, but I didn't know how the media would do under such conditions.

The reactor itself is made of acrylic and PVC fittings. The inlet and outlets are glued into place, ...

Prior to MACNA, I had the opportunity to ask the guys at Real Reef to create a Rock Bowl for my tank. I've wanted something to grow mangroves near the top of the rockwork, where they would be able to grow up toward the metal halides high above the water. From the side, the rock needed to look natural, but within it needed to hold sand for the mangrove root system. I believe other hobbyists might like something similar, and such a bowl could be useful for wrasse owners that maintain barebottom tanks.


At the conference, I was told my bowl survived ...

I recently received the brand new electronic Neo-Therm submersible heater from Cobalt Aquatics. I was excited to test it out, because it doesn't look like any heater you've ever had before. It's about the thinnest I've ever seen, measuring at 8mm or the unusual 1/3" listed on the box. The best news of all: a Three Year Warranty. Any product that has a 3-year warranty is good in my book, because that usually means the company believes in it enough to make that promise. It is rated to keep the temperature at +/- .5º F, which is a very tight tolerance, and is UL listed.

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Prodibio is company based in France that has a complete line of products to dose your aquarium with. Their website (http://www.prodibio.com/) lists additives for freshwater, saltwater, fish disease treatment and pond treatment. Since we are primarily Reef Addicts here, I'd like to discuss how I'm using their saltwater dosing system for my reef.

Iodine and Strontium are recognizable, but Bioptim, BioDigest and Reef Booster not so much. Bioptim adds micro-nutrients to the tank, which BioDigest consumes...BioDigest is a bacteria designed to consume nitrate, phosphate and organics. Reef Booster is very fine food (nutrient supplement) in liquid state. Regularly adding new bacteria is especially useful when running NP biopellets, and Prodibio fills this need nicely. ...