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This page contains reviews on products that don't fit in any of the other categories
Products such as heaters, gravel washers, water change devices, algae scrapers, electronic PH testers, R.O. units, and the like will be reviewed here!
CO2 Reactors/Diffusers
HydroLogix HCO-70 and HCO-150 External CO2 Reactor
by Bob Buettner 11/04/00
I just installed a Hydro Logix HydroCO70 external CO2 reactor and I must say it appears to be working very well. Over the last 2 years I have been experimenting with various ways to supply my 55 gal. tank with CO2. I have tried the Eheim high pressure diffuser system, an Aquatic Landscapes glass diffuser, wooden airstone diffuser, and lastly direct injection through the intake of my filter. The direct injection is a very good way to go...but....after changing one of my canister filters to an Eheim 2226 I found that the gas seems to collect in the filter and every 3 to 4 hours I would get a burst of bubbles from the output of the filter and I don't want to chance ruining the filter. Time for something different..in steps Hydro Logix. After seeing the advertisements in some publications for this company I decided to give it a try. This is used outside the tank and I like the idea of having less gadgets in my tank...it just looks better. This reactor goes in series with the output of my Eheim and the hose barbs are the exact size the Eheim output hose is. A very quick installation only involved cutting the output hose and connecting it to the HL reactor. There is what they call a venturi fitting that goes inline in the tubing from the canister filter. It has a fitting to hook up the CO2 line to it and CO2 is injected into the water entering the reactor. It appears that there is a tube in the reactor that the CO2 /water mix travels to the bottom of the reactor. The reactor is filled with what appears to be shredded plastic , probably to "catch" the CO2 and give it time to dissolve in the water in the chamber as it travels from bottom to a barbed outlet on the side near the top, that goes to the output hose to the aquarium spray bar. A very well constructed device I must say also. At $59.99 I think this is a good buy....especially considering what I've spent over the last two years in my experimenting. I am using a "high" pressure , single stage CO2 setup, running at 7PSI from the tank into a needle valve that runs into a bubble counter and injecting @ aprox. 3 bubbles every 2 seconds. I've had it installed only for about an hour now so it's way too early to tell what effect it will have. Certainly looks like the "ultimate" solution for what I need though.
11/07 update: After using the HCO-70E for a few days I decided that I would "upgrade" to the next larger unit the HCO-150E , so I would be set when I get a larger tank. This unit is constructed the same as the 70, but taller and larger in diameter and appears to have about twice the water volume. The units are not 100 % effecient as there are tiny bubbles in the output from time to time, but much more effecient than any other method I am aware of. I especially like the idea of having a reactor outside of my tank and not being a distraction in the aquarium.
The price on their web page is $119.00 but they informed me that was in error and it is actually $99.00. Tom at HydroLogix answered my email inquiry on Sunday (!) and Tuesday's mail brought my 150. You can check out their web site at: http://www.hydrologix.com/index_frame.html .
Pictures of a HCO-70E setup....hastily done so forgive the clutter!
Freshwater Additives
Cycle*-Biological Aquarium Supplement
by Chris Cow, Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry)
*Editors Note: I believe the following information can be applied to many different brands of additives claiming to add nitrifying bacteria to the aquarium water and therefore eliminate or minimize ammonia and nitrite peaks in a newly setup tank. B.B.
Cycle is a product marketed by Hagen corporation and frequently pushed on newbies and experienced aquarists alike by the local fish stores. In theory, this product contains billions of the beneficial bacteria required by aquariums to aid in the cycle of a tank; that is, the conversion of ammonia into nitrite into nitrate. Hagen advocates the use of this product both while cycling a newly setup tank, and routinely during water changes. Hagen, the maker of Cycle, contends (if you read their website at http://www.hagenpet.com) that it is the be-all and end-all of products: that it will cycle a tank, remove sludge, prevent disease, even act as a denitrifier (which, of course requires anaerobic conditions to occur...very unlikely to happen in the water column of your average aquarium). That, effectively, without it you condemn your fish to a hideous death. This is of course, nonsense, as is the idea that one should add it with every water change; if you have a healthy tank, your bacterial level remains essentially constant, and there is no need to add more (other than the need to put money in their pockets.) The big problem with Cycle, IMO, is that there is no independent research to support its use whatsoever. The "research" presented on the Hagen website consists solely of a graph which shows how the addition of Cycle reduces ammonia and nitrite peaks in a newly setup tank. There is no mention of statistical relevance (does their data come from one experiment, or one hundred?), or of any efforts to control other factors. Many factors will control the length of time and the severity of the spike associated with an aquarium cycling; these include, but are not limited to the temperature, bioload, filter type, light, etc. It would take a very large number of experiments to be able to rule out most of these other factors from influencing the experiment. Plus, the only evidence supporting their claims comes from their own in-house chemists; I prefer more impartial, independent studies. As an aside, I also don't really believe doctors who work for the tobacco companies when they tell me that nicotine is neither harmful nor addictive.
Recently, Dr. Tim Hovanec has published a
number of very interesting articles in peer-reviewed publications
which indicate that Nitrobacter bacteria is NOT responsible for
oxidizing ammonia to nitrite in home aquaria. Instead, his
results indicate that it is a Nitrospira sp. More recent
work has shown that the assumption that Nitrosomas bacteria are
responsible for the oxidation of ammonia to nitrite may also be
incorrect. A review of his scientific papers with references are
in AFM magazine:
http://www.aquariumfrontiers.com/1998/mar/science/default.asp
http://www.aquariumfrontiers.com/1998/june/science/default.asp
http://www.aquariumfrontiers.com/1998/aug/science/default.asp
If his research is correct, and it has certainly not been
disproven (or confirmed) to my knowledge yet, then the bacteria
in Cycle are in fact the wrong bacteria for the job. His
research has also confirmed that the bacterial supplements
containing Nitrosomas and Nitrobacter bacteria have little or no
effect on a cycling tank compared to control tanks. Others
have shown that, contrary to Hagen's claims, only about 6% of the
bacteria in a new bottle of Cycle is biologically active... this
number will decrease drastically with an extended shelf
life. Enquiries about this study to Hagen, and requests for
additional information were made by a fellow aquarist; Hagen's
results were very insulting, ridiculing Dr. Hovanec's work, using
vulgar language, and effectively stating that more evidence
wasn't necessary, because any fool could plainly see that Cycle
works. Needless to say, this response did little to
increase my confidence in their product or their scientific
method. Many aquarists that I've spoken with have stated that
empirically (and I've observed when using this on my own tanks),
Cycle has had either a zero or a minimal effect on their cycling
process. I do not understand spending large amounts of
money (around $16 / 500 mL bottle here) for a product which has
little or no effect. I believe that Hagen, as the maker's
of Cycle, are already suspect as they advocate their product's
repeated use with every water change, even though a basic
knowledge of the nitrogen cycle would indicate that this usage is
totally unnecessary. IMO, you are much better off spending
that money on more fish, a larger tank or a better filter system.
Click here to go to
the manufacturer's web site.
Ingredients list for 18 commercial plant supplements
by Robert Paul H- Aqua Botanic 11/14/99
This is a link to a very good listing of the ingredients in 18 different commercial aquatic plant fertilizer/supplements. It was compiled by Robert Paul H. and published with his permission. You can email him by clicking on his name. Please also visit his web site, Aqua Botanic
Heaters
Ebo-Jager Submersible Heaters
by Chris Cow, Ph.D. (Organic Chemistry)
Quite simply the best heater on the market. Completely submersible, sturdy and rock-steady temperature control. Over the course of 2 years, the 150W Ebo Jager heater on my 45 gal. tank has never allowed the temperature to vary even a single degree. Compared to a 50W Visi-therm thermometer on a 10 gallon tank which has experienced periodic drifts in temperature over the course of the last six months, since it was put in. Setting the temperature on the Ebo-Jagers is very easy; accidentally changing (by brushing against it, cleaning, whatever) is impossible. Set the temperature, put it into your tank, and forget about it; this piece of equipment is probably the most maintenance free of anything in my tanks.
Water Purifiers
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Purifier
By-Katie Z.-1/30/00
It is a fact of life as an aquarist that sometimes one must alter water prior to using it in the tanks. This may be because of poor tap water quality, or because tap water parameters will not support the species of fish we wish to keep. I ran into this problem after becoming very aware of wide pH fluctuations in my tap water. Upon talking with the people at my LFS, I became aware of the large variety of contaminants in our local tap water. Our local municipality uses a phosphate product for maintenance of the pipes, insecticides at certain times of year for pipe cleanliness, and because we are a very agricultural community, there are nitrates present in the water as well. I decided that to control algae, provide for a stable pH and further the health of my fish, I had to treat my tap water. I couldn't afford a RO unit by far - I had a very limited budget. I came upon the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Purifier (TWP) in a fish products catalog, and thought that for the short term, this would improve the quality of my tap water until I could afford a RO/DI unit. The TWP is a bare-bones DI unit. It has one column that houses a carbon filter, a particulate filter and ion-exchange resins. It is very easy to assemble, attach to the faucet and use. It is also very simple to replace the cartridge when it is exhausted. A color change indicates when this is to be done. It does yield water that is very close to zero GH and KH, so it performs as advertised. The speed with which it produces water is advertised as 10 gallons per hour. Although I calibrate the faucet so that the TWP puts out 1 cup in 30 seconds according to the TWP instructions, I haven't yet noticed a 10 gal/hour output. My TWP does 2.5 gallons every 20 minutes. The product is also advertised as able to treat water at any temperature below 90 degrees F, so that the water is immediately equal to the tank's temperature. I have read that with many RO units, only cold water can be filtered. Indeed, the water is warm and ready-to-go after treatment with the TWP. I have noticed that my nitrates are lower since using the TWP treated water, since I am not introducing fresh nitrate with every water change. Fish color is also better and the plants are doing well. I am generally pleased with the product, but there are a few drawbacks. It is difficult to see the color change that signals an exhausted cartridge. Using the TWP can also get expensive if you have especially poor or contaminated water. The product is advertised as being able to produce between 50 and 150 gallons of purified DI water depending on tap water quality. Our area falls into the poor water category due to a large amount of agricultural runoff, combined oddly with a large percentage of chemical pollutants from some of the types of businesses in this area. Our municipal water supplier cannot get everything out of the water, and because of this poor tap water quality, each cartridge gives only about 40 gallons. I go through cartridges rather quickly. In addition, because many water faucets are difficult to "set" at a given temperature for a few hours straight, it is difficult for me to get water through the purifier that is warm enough for the tanks, yet under the 90 degree maximum the instructions stress cannot be exceeded. If the maximum temperature for the water going through the TWP were a bit higher, it would be easier to deal with the varying and difficult to control temperature output of the average faucet. I also ran into a problem with the pH Adjuster that comes with the product. After treating water with the TWP, two products are supposed to be added. One is called "Electro-Right" and works similar to "RO Right" or "Recon 50" in that it puts minerals and salts back into the DI water that are necessary for the fish. After adding Electro Right, the pH is, according to the instructions, 5.8. My results indicate 6.2. pH Adjuster is then supposed to raise the pH to the desired level, and very specific dosing instructions are given. I ran into two difficulties: One, the pH Adjuster did not raise the pH significantly. Very large amounts of it were necessary to raise it to 6.6, and it did not seem to be possible to raise it higher. Two, after adding enough pH Adjuster to bring the pH to 6.6, there was no measurable KH in the water. The ElectroRight brought the GH to about 40-50ppm, but the KH was nil. After a few water changes using the TWP, the KH in my tanks was 1dKH. Although the technicians at Aquarium Pharmaceuticals tried to help via e-mail, and certainly tried their best, they couldn't really come up with a solution. I solved the problem myself by purchasing Kent Marine's pH Stable - a KH increaser. This brought up the KH in the TWP-treated water and the pH responded nicely. There was, after a couple of water changes, an acceptable level of KH in the tanks. The last problem was an unusual one. After I used the purifier and stored the only partially exhausted cartridge for the following week, when I used it the following week, the water exiting the purifier, even after being allowed to stand a few minutes and being mixed with the appropriate Electro Right additive, was at an alkaline pH. The pH was higher than the tap water's pH, and beyond the scale of my test kit. I tried several test kits to see if the results were accurate, and they were. I then tried all sorts to tests to figure this out - letting the water stand for varying lengths of time including several days, adding varying amounts of ElectroRight and pH Adjuster, adding baking soda to increase KH to see if that would affect the pH test kits results, etc. Nothing worked. Finally, after what seemed like several dozen e-mails with the folks at Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, I stumbled upon the solution myself. It turned out that letting the water stand in a container didn't affect the alkaline pH, but aerating it vigorously did. Aeration brought the pH down, although not to the 6.2 level at which the water exiting a brand new cartridge reads. I didn't have this problem with alkaline water exiting the TWP when the cartridge was brand new - this only occurred after a partially used cartridge was stored. I have several theories for this, although I will not bore everyone with them here, but I have used aeration to my advantage to solve this problem. In addition, I purchased some 5 gallon carboys bottles and the last cartridge I purchased, I used completely, making all 40 gallons in one day and storing them, eliminating the storage of a partially used cartridge altogether. I intend to purchase a RO/DI unit in the next 8 months, but until then, the TWP has served my needs well, despite a few problems which I solved. If a $250 RO/DI unit gave me this much trouble, I'd be dissatisfied with it. However, for the low price of the TWP - around $30.00 - I am happy with the product.
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This page last modified 01/30/00