MACNA XIX

Premium Aquatics.

bmwaaron brought home one of these babies on our plane.

Big skimmer...

...check out the pump!

New MJ mod kit - sold out quick.

Also from Premium Aquatics - displaying the Tunze skimmer. That is the model number, not the price.

Actual price was $1500.

Marine Depot

Ben, always grinning

Neptune Systems, with the new Aqua Surf on display

Two Little Fishies had mangroves for sale, as well as their normal products. I got a sample of Sea Veggies and my fish love 'em.

Like using UV? Emporer Aquatics: These guys take that seriously.

Look at this beast. I swear it belongs in a Mustang. Or a submarine! :lol:

Magnavore, famous for their cleaning magnet (imho)

Their Pura products.

Let me pause here for a second, as this got a little interesting. They had a Nitrate remover that was some type of resin. They took 30 minutes to explain it to me. One man was from Russia, the other was from (Poland?). We talked for a long time, as they stated nitrates would drop 50% each day. Once they were at the ideal level, remove it and recharge it with various acidic solutions. My head was swimming. I saw Boomer of the Chemistry forum and recruited him to go over there and make sense of it. Then I went over to talk to Habib, who felt it couldn't work in saltwater. This is no slam on the Magnavore guys, but I'd prefer to use something that works and doesn't waste my time. Boomer came over to me later and we talked about it. I think his face says it all.

So I'm choosing to use AZNO3 instead. Back to the booth: Because they did have something neat and I'm going to get it. This is their Fischer-Price sump, that allows you to assemble it in various configurations. Fun if you like that, but I tend to stick with one layout and reduce my workload. Note the thing the arrow is pointing to?

Here's that basket. It's really neat. Costs $50 retail.

The way it works, unscrew the blue lid, remove the mesh screen, and pour in your media (carbon, gfo, etc). At the base is another screen and another blue lid. The device can sit on the bottom of your sump, and using a powerhead (50-500gph), push water through the media. As detritus collects on the screen, you can pull the basket out of the base housing, flip it over and reinstall it to blow that detritus off the screen. Very handy, very easy to clean, and replacement screens come in a 6-pack.

MarineLand / Instant Ocean

This booth is The Coral Broker, who happens to be located in Arlington, Tx. I was really surprised, since I thought I knew all our local vendors. The owner is Don Burns, whom I've known as he's worked at several local fish stores over the years. This is his own mail order venture.

Adorable tiny clams. (remember, each square is 1/2" wide.

Jim from The Filter Guys. We took some time out to talk, and it really struck me how two competing RC sponsors can be absolutely great people and get along fine. That alone proves what nice people are in this hobby. It doesn't have to be cut-throat or political, imho.

The Fish Place, where I got a couple of beer glasses.

Ushio, with three panels in the background showing the spectrums

Huge 1000w bulb

Ever heard of Sera? Me either.

Their master reef test kit, which didn't include Magnesium.

Something Fishy

I don't have any idea whom this Trigger was assigned to, but it was very pretty. It was next to the UV booth.

Tropic Marin

Under The Sea, a LFS north of Pittsburgh