NanoReefBlog » Reviews

First look: ATB Multi Use Cone Protein Skimmer

Curvball — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:07:09 +0000

On my previous 12g system, I ran a Tunze 9002 protein skimmer and it did a great job of removing some generous amounts of foul smelling DOCs. However when I switched over to the ZEOnano9020, I found that the Tunze just didn’t want to perform as I wanted it to, no matter how much I tweaked it… I’ve always liked the idea of running an oversized skimmer on my tanks, although for the nano side of the hobby, most decent skimmers are bigger than the aquariums themselves. I toyed with a few options, threw caution to the wind and opted for the ATB Multi Use Cone. My main reasons for going with this exact model are as follows:

1. The feed pump is located externally
2. Size wise it was about right for my tank (physical, not filtration capacity) and the space available
3. ATB are world class skimmers
4. It is one of the only cone style hang on skimmers
5. Easily allow upgrading of the tank without upgrading the skimmer
6. I had a choice of colours… is that really a valid reason?

What follows is a selection of photos of the unboxing, setting up and a few photos of some really scary skimmate produced after only 48hours on my tank.

I will put together a more detailed review of the skimmer in the next few weeks as right now I’m still seeing how it’s performing and what affect it is having on the ZEOnano9020.

But before I leave you, I would like to say that this is one solid bit of reef aquarium equipment, the craftsmanship is outstanding – overall the skimmer is just downright good looking, and I’ve seen a fair few skimmers in my day. I do wonder what it would look like in red instead of the plain black I opted for…

First look: ATI 6 x 24w dimmbar Powermodule T5 lighting unit

Curvball — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:33:48 +0000

By now many of you are familiar with the ZEOnano9020 reef system I’m running and if you’ve seen those posts, then you’ll have seen that the tank is lit by an ATI T5 unit. The exact model is the 6 x 24w ‘dimmbar’ Powermodule.

The dimmbar model makes use of dimmable electronic ballasts instead of the standard ballasts found in these German T5 units. The 6 x 24w Powermodule consists of two channels, one for 2 T5 lamps, the other controls the remaining 4 lamps. The ‘dimmbar’ function allows the lamps of the Powermodule to be dimmed by the GHL Profilux computer. This is extremely handy for sunrise/sunset cycles and of course to adjust the intensity of the light provided when adding new corals and other light sensitive animals.

What struck me about the ATI T5 Powermodule was how extremely well put together it was, the quality of materials used it outstanding. I had seen many images, read loads of reviews, but when I pulled the unit out of the box, I was completely in awe. The matt finish contrasting with the polished edging, the ATI branding on the cooling fans – this is one stunning bit of aquarium equipment. It’s as if the Apple Mac designers drew this light up, I’m sure the longer bigger units would look great in a design studio dominated by Apple hardware… but I’m getting off topic here.

As I mentioned, the Powermodule has cooling fans, one for each pair of lamps. These lamps are controlled by an adaptor allowing you to switch up the speed at which you need them to run at. I still don’t understand why some lighting companies forgo active cooling since it’s been proved that T5 tubes produce the most amount of light at a certain temperature (35C if I’m correct?)… does the ATI Powermodule 6 x 24w unit deliver on the lighting front? A quick measurement revealed (that with my lamp configuration), I was getting over 600PAR at the water surface with the unit roughly 5″ above – I was impressed.

Before giving you my review of the unit and how it has been performing, I wanted to share a collection of images highlighting this beautiful lighting fixture, from unboxing through to setting it up over the tank. Enjoy the images.

Look out for the upcoming review of it’s performance and my overall thoughts on the 6 x 24w ‘dimmbar’ Powermodule.

Thank you to Alex @ Empac and ATI Aquaristik. for allowing me to review this unit.

Live rock online

Curvball — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:14:56 +0000

When starting the 12g nano earlier this year, I had an idea of making use of very little liverock in the display. So began my search for a small amount of good quality live rock.

live-rock.co.uk website

As myself, and I’m sure you are too, are big fans of the internet, I thought it would be wise to see what online vendors had in terms of liverock. A good few weeks of ’shopping around’, countless emails and enquiries, I finally stumbled across live-rock.co.uk – their online store offered some great choices in terms of live rock packages. However they also only offered 5kgs as a minimium. I dropped them an email… At this point I wasn’t expecting a reply, as 90% of other online retailers never ever bothered to reply.

The next day I had a reply from Nigel at live-rock.co.uk – this was a good sign.

A few email exchanges later between Nigel and myself, explaining what my goals were for the tank and my ‘vision’, we got my live rock order sorted out.
He was extremely accomodating of my requests and proceeded to quickly shipped the rock out to me.

The next day I found a white polystyrene box in my living room. The box itself was well sealed and looked professionally wrapped. I quickly got the cutting blade and stripped the packaging tape off the box. Inside wrapped in layers of newspaper, was my liverock, also wrapped in plastic. The box contained my exact order and the shapes were perfect. It’s like i had hand picked them myself.

So what did I end up getting? I went for 3kg’s of liverock, a single 1kg piece and a single 2kg piece. Also included was 2kg’s of live rock rubble.

The rock was all quickly added to my bucket of freshly made up salt mix as the tank would only be ready for the rock the next day.

The rock was very light with lots of holes and burrows. The shapes were amazing and were covered in coralline algae giving them a nice pink colour. The rock was good to be used straight away, and even after adding it to my tank, a had a very very small initial cycle. The amount of life that crawled out of the rocks was amazing. The tank was soon home to hundreds of copepods and other little critters. I didn’t win the ‘bonus coral hitchhiker’ prize this time round, however I’m extremely pleased with the quality of this live rock. It is still going strong in the tank now.

All I can say is that my experience in dealing with Nigel and live-rock.co.uk is possibly one of the best I’ve encountered so far with an online vendor, let alone a physical store. I would highly recommend getting in touch with them if you’re looking for high quality, beautiful, life encrusted live rock which comes with stellar customer service.

Visit live-rock.co.uk