Let's see those MACNA pics! - Page 3

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 01:32 AM

Current USA was showin' the goods. Here is a new All-Glass (true all glass, not some glass with a plastic rim) 180 bowfront Solana.

I have never been a fan of cubes, with between the lid, the finish, the pendant, and the overall look... this has taken the 'cube' to the next level. Here's the business end:

Yep, thats a simple ATO in the upper left. Oh, and yeah, thats a Vortech pump on the side. Those things were everywhere... you didnt even need to go to their booth or anything... MP40's for everyone!!! I must say, either the addition of the controller, or some improvements to the motor must be taking place. I had a laser pyrometer on me and I took some readings... these things were barely above room temperature. The older ones I see sometimes... they are 110F+. So hey... maybe they have come a long way or the pulsed output prevents the heat from building up... either way, they were workin' it very well.

Current had some of the new T5 reflectors in some new units there. I know Ike has some on the way to me for grid testing...

SLS was there (but no SAM!!!) showing off some new ballasts:

And wait... was that a Tek light with fans built in?!?!

As of Saturday morning, the big news was that the Tek 2 fixture was being redone 100%, canned, etc, and the display was gone (nothing to see here, move along). Ill have to talk with Sam to see whats really going on here... but it seems they have some new ideas on what direction to go all together.

They also had the new G-man bulbs there... take a look at that 'dual' spectrum!

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 01:34 AM

Rods was there. What can I say... I like the stuff so I didnt even bother stopping...

PFO was showing how the Solaris can hit the bottom with about 200 PAR values...

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 01:41 AM

I love those marco rocks. On friday, there was a crate with some sweeeeet looking plate 'dry rock' in it... table coral fossils most likely... the size of a 4 person round table!

Prodobio was there is FULL FRENCH FORCE. They were very informative and I ended up getting a good deal on some for Tom Obrecht to help his tank recover with...

Seachem was there... what can I say... I like their stuff already, no need to stop...

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 01:46 AM

Oops, sorry... I just 'blue-screened' there for a bit... Im getting tired, so Ill leave you with some stuff until I can get back to this tomorrow with the juicy tidbits (like how USHIO is making T5 bulbs...).

Cant forget Reef Nutrition. Their stuff looked yummy to me even...

MRC was also there in full force... showing some cool oldies:

And some new dart needlewheel monsters. I dont know how tall that thing is, but something between 4 and 5 feet would be my guess. And next to that, some very nice sumps.

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 01:49 AM

Here's a preview of the new Oceanic T5 light...

Yawn... Im off to bed...

xyzpdq0121 · 09/08/2008, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by chrismunn
whats chuck lidell doing at macna? he must have been in atlanta for his fight against rashad evans right????

Ya, all of the UFC fighters were staying in the same hotel as MACNA. So you could meet and greet all of them. Chuck's room was the one right next door to mine and Matt Hammel's (I think that is his name) was just around the corner. Forrest Griffin's was on my floor somewhere too. So you would ride the elevator all the time with them and sit and chat. (Although Chuck was not in much of a mood to talk Sunday!) It was icing on the cake for MACNA.

SShindell · 09/08/2008, 08:25 AM

If we had any energy we should have made Fish versus Fight T-shirts!

Chris@IceCap · 09/08/2008, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hahnmeister

I missed Chris from Icecap... so Chris, if you are reading this, you still owe me a beer![/B]

Sorry I missed you Han! IceCap didn't have a booth this year so we could save up for next years MACNA in our home state

jk

Try to make it to MACNAXXI in Atlantic City NJ and I'll buy you two.

Chris
IceCap Inc.

balagan · 09/08/2008, 09:07 AM

Quote:

I'm off to bed, more tomorrow

Lol Kryppy, you caught me and my son (me in green hat).

Great show. It was good to meet folks that I've talked to on some of the forums.

Thanks to gcarrol for some awesome frags as well...now if they would hurry up an grow.

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 09:44 AM

I didnt know gcarrol was using Prodobio (and really believes in it), but I think that might have had something to do with why his corals sold so well. They were very nice looking... so to get them to hurry up and grow balagan... maybe Greg should have mentioned you need to pick up a 3-pack from the Prodobio guys.

Emc2 · 09/08/2008, 09:46 AM

Thanks to Greg for supplying the rum and introducing us to Superman.

And for this awsome shot of Greg stuffing some rum down his pants and Hoots trying to hide her lighter (can you guess where?). The rum made it (fortunately)... the lighter did not.

Emc2 · 09/08/2008, 09:53 AM

Chris and his wife will gladly supply your habit.

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Emc2
Thanks to Greg for supplying the rum and introducing us to Superman.

And for this awsome shot of Greg stuffing some rum down his pants and Hoots trying to hide her lighter (can you guess where?). The rum made it (fortunately)... the lighter did not.

YES! Thank you Greg!!! Good job Heather!

Emc2 · 09/08/2008, 10:15 AM

For the record Heather...you looked HOT no matter what you wore. Right Jon?

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 11:07 AM

Okay, here is some of the 'Buzz', at least how I heard it. It was tiring, and it was alot going on, so if I get something wrong... just correct me, but I believe this is 95% true...

-Giesemann's new aquaflora T5 bulbs were there. They look nice....
http://www.giesemann.de/index.php?nId=64&nLang=1

- Warner Marine has some T5 units/reflectors on the way. Warner also has a nifty 'easy clean' head on the way as well as a few other things Jon talked about. The 'easy clean' head for a skimmer is alot like a SCH... but just manual. So you dont have the timer, motor, etc... but to clean your cup you just reach in and give it a quick spin. It should go for $1200. Lol... just kidding, the idea was to keep it simple yet effective, and that it should. Say, where were the Aquadriver Skimcleans? There was not a single BK even plugged in even.

- Ushio has T5's coming out. The Ushio booth is simple, just like the booth you see at other shows. The real edge that these guys have, IMO, is that their guys really know their lighting tech, and can give you info that really matters. Their handouts actually provide info, you know what I mean? Their reps went out of their way to talk to people and 'talk shop'. UVL otoh, was there, and I meant to talk with them, but they tended to huddle together and keep to themselves it seemed. Ushio only had 2 guys there, and UVL had 4 or more it seemed... but those Ushio guys really were on their game.

- Honya is trying to make a Laguna pump clone. Not just the volutes anymore, but the whole motor it is rumored. I just dont see how THAT is possible since in order to be a Laguna you actually would have to include the patented power factor correction/slip/torque technology. Without that... its just not a Laguna. So Im betting it either wont happen (Hagen wont let it) or they will say '50 watts' on the box and really run at '150 watts'.

- Tunze has replaced the Sicce PSK 2500's with a new pump. It is still a Sicce, but a bit nicer I suspect.

- Tunze has the new stream 2's on the way. Their new USB controlled multicontroller looks like a solid winner as well.

- Tunze has the nano-wavebox out.

- SEIO Polarios, prop pumps, and pumps with internal speed control/wave makers are here, and from getting my hands on them they are looking like the quality over previous pumps keeps getting better. SEIO/TAAM also has that nifty modular pump/media reactor system.

- Hydor's new DC controllable pumps look sweet. You might start seeing Tunze Streams coming down in price if they keep this up. Heck, Stream pumps have come a long way, and you could say they are 'mainstream' now more than anything. Ecotech was selling their Maxi-Jet mod kits, and they were being sold at the Marco Rocks/Aquactinics (different make) booth as well.

- I forgot to take photos, but the frag-mag rock guys were there as well. I forgot to pick some up for the trip home as well. They look very nice in person and they had some new stuff out as well. Maybe if someone else has some pics they can post that.

- This Vertex skimmer has people wondering... is being made under ER's liscence from China? Is it a copy, or is ER somehow involved (like Toyota/Scion)? And which pump was that? It just had a dark corner at a vendor booth and nobody really said much about them but my peepers zoomed in on it right away.

- MRC's Volcano clone

- AquaC may be comfortable since they have sold hundreds of thousands of Remoras, but the EV line has been lagging, so rumor has it that AquaC is going to be looking into something new, perhaps a needlewheel. Hey AquaC, if you want some ideas, let me know. I have something you might like that would fit in your line!

- Current USA has new T5 units out. One reflector looks like a minimal improvement, but the other (a true parabolic) looks most promising.

-Oceanic's future T5 fixture looks nice as well. I cant speak for quality, since it wasnt even there, but it looks as though this will be in a line above the Coralife brand units. The unit did have individual parabolic reflectors after all.

- SLS... hmmm... lots of potential, cant quite tell what they are doing. Got to really see the Lumenmax Elite in person and play with it a little bit. I can see what they did now with the design, and why. Those with Lumenarcs, dont worry. The new Tek has me interested though. They pretty much used the cross-flow fan (they have small axials) and sheild/duct idea that I put up here long ago. Its been a long time, and then Sam starts sending me PM's and asking questions again... and then within 24 hours of my last PM to him (weve been going back and forth) the new 'prototype' at the show gets yanked. I talked about it with the rep on Friday, and it was gone the next morning. All they could say was that the current one has been scrapped and the design is going to take a 'totally new direction'. Ill have to talk with Sam on that one I suppose. I dont know what to tell you other than that. It has taken more than a year to get that far, yet I'll admit, I was expecting more than a 'factory made' version of a mod I did long ago. If it took them that long just to do that, how long will it take for a 'totally new direction'? OTOH, I hear this might involve some 'high ups' in the company that want to get something done here.

- CoralVue LED's... nuff said.

- Those PFO's are looking nice. Im thinking I might want to test one to see how they compare from a PAR/watt standpoint. The demo they had was bright.... granted, the spread wasnt too impressive, but not lacking either. Getting close to 200 micromol/m2/s on the tank like they were was not something to scoff at, and since LED's transmit less IR, they will heat up your tank less (even though the units themselves might dump alot of heat into the room). This isnt news exactly, but its exciting none-the-less because we really are THAT CLOSE to seeing LED's as a mainstream contender... the only challenge at this point would seem like the price... but for every 10x increase in production, the price should drop 1/2... right?

- SCWD with large 1" ports and a cleaning cap. It looks nice. Too little too late? I mean... with all these lower-cost stream style pumps out now with wavemakers even built in...

-New Maxi-Jet Utility Pumps look good. And if Aquarian/Oceanic wont make that 30" or 36" front-to-back tank you were looking for, Marineland does! The price (with shipping) would amaze you. When I asked about adding custom holes, they said 'no problem'. Starphire? Included. The cabinet quality was top-notch. Was it the Sherman Tank that came up from Florida? No. But this thing is less likely to make your basement floor crack too. Lol... Just kidding, I see the value in both tanks or course.

-Did PM mention a dart needlewheel skimmer as well?

- Aquactinics LED's in the fixture to add shimmer. Tom made it out like this was going to be a first, which was funny because we told him we had just come from the CoralVue booth where some T5/LED combos were on display, but his did look better. Sorry guys, but I dont think I could convince them to make a 5 foot constellation... I may not agree with the reasoning 100% (like that their 5' halide units never sold all that well) but I can see where they are coming from. OTOH, a 5' Solar Flare might be a different story... but thats more up to Icecap. Otherwise, that entire market might go to SLS since they at least said they would like to come out with a 5' unit.

- Warner Marine chemicals. Check em out.

- SERA is looking for US dealers.

Many other things that I think I have to keep to myself. I was shocked that Franz and Dieter didnt knock on my door at 3am with HK UCP pistols.

-BEST DISPLAYS: ORA and Live Aquaria... slight edge going to Live Aquaria IMO. Nice to see the boys from Wisconsin making such a showing.

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 11:11 AM

Hey, the entire joke (Heather got it she said) was that it would be wrong of me to suggest she look any more or less no matter what... I just didnt recognize her at first due to her being a 'quick-change artist'. Maybe you didnt hear that part, but I was sure not to stick that foot in my mouth... and that was what prefaced my comment to her that night, and sort of what the whole joke was about. I never said anything different... and my official response is: 'I dont know what you are talking about, no such thing, that wasnt me, move along here, nothing to see'...lol.

Emc2 · 09/08/2008, 11:15 AM

Jon, I'm just yanking your chain (teasing you a bit?). I'm sure Hoots got it.

hahnmeister · 09/08/2008, 11:20 AM

I got ya, dont worry. I never take myself too seriously or put my ego first, so sometimes I forget to give due attention to other's in the process... as you found out shortly after that. It was very nice meeing you two though and I hope to see more of you two on the forums here and at furure events.

OxInYourBox · 09/08/2008, 11:42 AM

Just to clarify-The LED fixture wasn't from Fins Reef. They split a double booth with Coral Dynamics who designed the LED light on the left after the one on the right was supposed to be the "holy grail" of new LED lighting from a designer. It's just a street light that burned VERY hot and low par.

There were some PAR readings the last day in the water for both.

OxInYourBox · 09/08/2008, 11:48 AM

Oh and I hope to have pictures up soon. There were some great shots to be had and not just at the bar (man that was pricey).

Warner Marine · 09/08/2008, 11:51 AM

lol...

It was even funnier in person!

Do you have your Superman pics up?

Nice to meet you all.

jon

Quote:

Originally posted by Emc2
Thanks to Greg for supplying the rum and introducing us to Superman.

And for this awsome shot of Greg stuffing some rum down his pants and Hoots trying to hide her lighter (can you guess where?). The rum made it (fortunately)... the lighter did not.

JRaquatics · 09/08/2008, 12:21 PM

There was water in another skimmer besides WM. At least they put the ASM skimmer to good use.

Emc2 · 09/08/2008, 12:24 PM

You mean this guy?

It was fun meeting you too Jon. I'm already looking forward to seeing everyone in AC.

melev · 09/08/2008, 12:32 PM

jamesdawson · 09/08/2008, 12:43 PM

Thanks for the pics/info Jon and everyone else!

James

09/08/2008, 01:32 AM	#51
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Current USA was showin' the goods. Here is a new All-Glass (true all glass, not some glass with a plastic rim) 180 bowfront Solana. I have never been a fan of cubes, with between the lid, the finish, the pendant, and the overall look... this has taken the 'cube' to the next level. Here's the business end: Yep, thats a simple ATO in the upper left. Oh, and yeah, thats a Vortech pump on the side. Those things were everywhere... you didnt even need to go to their booth or anything... MP40's for everyone!!! I must say, either the addition of the controller, or some improvements to the motor must be taking place. I had a laser pyrometer on me and I took some readings... these things were barely above room temperature. The older ones I see sometimes... they are 110F+. So hey... maybe they have come a long way or the pulsed output prevents the heat from building up... either way, they were workin' it very well. Current had some of the new T5 reflectors in some new units there. I know Ike has some on the way to me for grid testing... SLS was there (but no SAM!!!) showing off some new ballasts: And wait... was that a Tek light with fans built in?!?! As of Saturday morning, the big news was that the Tek 2 fixture was being redone 100%, canned, etc, and the display was gone (nothing to see here, move along). Ill have to talk with Sam to see whats really going on here... but it seems they have some new ideas on what direction to go all together. They also had the new G-man bulbs there... take a look at that 'dual' spectrum! Last edited by hahnmeister; 09/08/2008 at 01:55 AM.

09/08/2008, 11:15 AM	#67
Emc2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly Posts: 315	Jon, I'm just yanking your chain (teasing you a bit?). I'm sure Hoots got it. __________________ PBITAWA Current Tank Info: 58 gallon

09/08/2008, 11:42 AM	#69
OxInYourBox Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Fort Mill SC Posts: 360	Just to clarify-The LED fixture wasn't from Fins Reef. They split a double booth with Coral Dynamics who designed the LED light on the left after the one on the right was supposed to be the "holy grail" of new LED lighting from a designer. It's just a street light that burned VERY hot and low par. There were some PAR readings the last day in the water for both. Last edited by OxInYourBox; 09/08/2008 at 11:49 AM.

09/08/2008, 12:24 PM	#73
Emc2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly Posts: 315	You mean this guy? It was fun meeting you too Jon. I'm already looking forward to seeing everyone in AC. __________________ PBITAWA Current Tank Info: 58 gallon

09/08/2008, 12:43 PM	#75
jamesdawson Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: I AM THE SEA Posts: 1,303	Thanks for the pics/info Jon and everyone else! James __________________ Old Reefers Never Die, they just...join the crew! Current Tank Info: I'm expanding my reach

09/08/2008, 01:34 AM	#52
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Rods was there. What can I say... I like the stuff so I didnt even bother stopping... PFO was showing how the Solaris can hit the bottom with about 200 PAR values...

09/08/2008, 01:41 AM	#53
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	I love those marco rocks. On friday, there was a crate with some sweeeeet looking plate 'dry rock' in it... table coral fossils most likely... the size of a 4 person round table! Prodobio was there is FULL FRENCH FORCE. They were very informative and I ended up getting a good deal on some for Tom Obrecht to help his tank recover with... Seachem was there... what can I say... I like their stuff already, no need to stop...

09/08/2008, 01:46 AM	#54
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Oops, sorry... I just 'blue-screened' there for a bit... Im getting tired, so Ill leave you with some stuff until I can get back to this tomorrow with the juicy tidbits (like how USHIO is making T5 bulbs...). Cant forget Reef Nutrition. Their stuff looked yummy to me even... MRC was also there in full force... showing some cool oldies: And some new dart needlewheel monsters. I dont know how tall that thing is, but something between 4 and 5 feet would be my guess. And next to that, some very nice sumps.

09/08/2008, 01:49 AM	#55
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Here's a preview of the new Oceanic T5 light... Yawn... Im off to bed...

09/08/2008, 08:25 AM	#57
SShindell Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 408	If we had any energy we should have made Fish versus Fight T-shirts!

09/08/2008, 09:44 AM	#60
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	I didnt know gcarrol was using Prodobio (and really believes in it), but I think that might have had something to do with why his corals sold so well. They were very nice looking... so to get them to hurry up and grow balagan... maybe Greg should have mentioned you need to pick up a 3-pack from the Prodobio guys.

09/08/2008, 09:46 AM	#61
Emc2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly Posts: 315	Thanks to Greg for supplying the rum and introducing us to Superman. And for this awsome shot of Greg stuffing some rum down his pants and Hoots trying to hide her lighter (can you guess where?). The rum made it (fortunately)... the lighter did not.

09/08/2008, 09:53 AM	#62
Emc2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly Posts: 315	Chris and his wife will gladly supply your habit.

09/08/2008, 10:15 AM	#64
Emc2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Philly Posts: 315	For the record Heather...you looked HOT no matter what you wore. Right Jon?

09/08/2008, 11:07 AM	#65
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Okay, here is some of the 'Buzz', at least how I heard it. It was tiring, and it was alot going on, so if I get something wrong... just correct me, but I believe this is 95% true... -Giesemann's new aquaflora T5 bulbs were there. They look nice.... http://www.giesemann.de/index.php?nId=64&nLang=1 - Warner Marine has some T5 units/reflectors on the way. Warner also has a nifty 'easy clean' head on the way as well as a few other things Jon talked about. The 'easy clean' head for a skimmer is alot like a SCH... but just manual. So you dont have the timer, motor, etc... but to clean your cup you just reach in and give it a quick spin. It should go for $1200. Lol... just kidding, the idea was to keep it simple yet effective, and that it should. Say, where were the Aquadriver Skimcleans? There was not a single BK even plugged in even. - Ushio has T5's coming out. The Ushio booth is simple, just like the booth you see at other shows. The real edge that these guys have, IMO, is that their guys really know their lighting tech, and can give you info that really matters. Their handouts actually provide info, you know what I mean? Their reps went out of their way to talk to people and 'talk shop'. UVL otoh, was there, and I meant to talk with them, but they tended to huddle together and keep to themselves it seemed. Ushio only had 2 guys there, and UVL had 4 or more it seemed... but those Ushio guys really were on their game. - Honya is trying to make a Laguna pump clone. Not just the volutes anymore, but the whole motor it is rumored. I just dont see how THAT is possible since in order to be a Laguna you actually would have to include the patented power factor correction/slip/torque technology. Without that... its just not a Laguna. So Im betting it either wont happen (Hagen wont let it) or they will say '50 watts' on the box and really run at '150 watts'. - Tunze has replaced the Sicce PSK 2500's with a new pump. It is still a Sicce, but a bit nicer I suspect. - Tunze has the new stream 2's on the way. Their new USB controlled multicontroller looks like a solid winner as well. - Tunze has the nano-wavebox out. - SEIO Polarios, prop pumps, and pumps with internal speed control/wave makers are here, and from getting my hands on them they are looking like the quality over previous pumps keeps getting better. SEIO/TAAM also has that nifty modular pump/media reactor system. - Hydor's new DC controllable pumps look sweet. You might start seeing Tunze Streams coming down in price if they keep this up. Heck, Stream pumps have come a long way, and you could say they are 'mainstream' now more than anything. Ecotech was selling their Maxi-Jet mod kits, and they were being sold at the Marco Rocks/Aquactinics (different make) booth as well. - I forgot to take photos, but the frag-mag rock guys were there as well. I forgot to pick some up for the trip home as well. They look very nice in person and they had some new stuff out as well. Maybe if someone else has some pics they can post that. - This Vertex skimmer has people wondering... is being made under ER's liscence from China? Is it a copy, or is ER somehow involved (like Toyota/Scion)? And which pump was that? It just had a dark corner at a vendor booth and nobody really said much about them but my peepers zoomed in on it right away. - MRC's Volcano clone - AquaC may be comfortable since they have sold hundreds of thousands of Remoras, but the EV line has been lagging, so rumor has it that AquaC is going to be looking into something new, perhaps a needlewheel. Hey AquaC, if you want some ideas, let me know. I have something you might like that would fit in your line! - Current USA has new T5 units out. One reflector looks like a minimal improvement, but the other (a true parabolic) looks most promising. -Oceanic's future T5 fixture looks nice as well. I cant speak for quality, since it wasnt even there, but it looks as though this will be in a line above the Coralife brand units. The unit did have individual parabolic reflectors after all. - SLS... hmmm... lots of potential, cant quite tell what they are doing. Got to really see the Lumenmax Elite in person and play with it a little bit. I can see what they did now with the design, and why. Those with Lumenarcs, dont worry. The new Tek has me interested though. They pretty much used the cross-flow fan (they have small axials) and sheild/duct idea that I put up here long ago. Its been a long time, and then Sam starts sending me PM's and asking questions again... and then within 24 hours of my last PM to him (weve been going back and forth) the new 'prototype' at the show gets yanked. I talked about it with the rep on Friday, and it was gone the next morning. All they could say was that the current one has been scrapped and the design is going to take a 'totally new direction'. Ill have to talk with Sam on that one I suppose. I dont know what to tell you other than that. It has taken more than a year to get that far, yet I'll admit, I was expecting more than a 'factory made' version of a mod I did long ago. If it took them that long just to do that, how long will it take for a 'totally new direction'? OTOH, I hear this might involve some 'high ups' in the company that want to get something done here. - CoralVue LED's... nuff said. - Those PFO's are looking nice. Im thinking I might want to test one to see how they compare from a PAR/watt standpoint. The demo they had was bright.... granted, the spread wasnt too impressive, but not lacking either. Getting close to 200 micromol/m2/s on the tank like they were was not something to scoff at, and since LED's transmit less IR, they will heat up your tank less (even though the units themselves might dump alot of heat into the room). This isnt news exactly, but its exciting none-the-less because we really are THAT CLOSE to seeing LED's as a mainstream contender... the only challenge at this point would seem like the price... but for every 10x increase in production, the price should drop 1/2... right? - SCWD with large 1" ports and a cleaning cap. It looks nice. Too little too late? I mean... with all these lower-cost stream style pumps out now with wavemakers even built in... -New Maxi-Jet Utility Pumps look good. And if Aquarian/Oceanic wont make that 30" or 36" front-to-back tank you were looking for, Marineland does! The price (with shipping) would amaze you. When I asked about adding custom holes, they said 'no problem'. Starphire? Included. The cabinet quality was top-notch. Was it the Sherman Tank that came up from Florida? No. But this thing is less likely to make your basement floor crack too. Lol... Just kidding, I see the value in both tanks or course. -Did PM mention a dart needlewheel skimmer as well? - Aquactinics LED's in the fixture to add shimmer. Tom made it out like this was going to be a first, which was funny because we told him we had just come from the CoralVue booth where some T5/LED combos were on display, but his did look better. Sorry guys, but I dont think I could convince them to make a 5 foot constellation... I may not agree with the reasoning 100% (like that their 5' halide units never sold all that well) but I can see where they are coming from. OTOH, a 5' Solar Flare might be a different story... but thats more up to Icecap. Otherwise, that entire market might go to SLS since they at least said they would like to come out with a 5' unit. - Warner Marine chemicals. Check em out. - SERA is looking for US dealers. Many other things that I think I have to keep to myself. I was shocked that Franz and Dieter didnt knock on my door at 3am with HK UCP pistols. -BEST DISPLAYS: ORA and Live Aquaria... slight edge going to Live Aquaria IMO. Nice to see the boys from Wisconsin making such a showing.

09/08/2008, 11:11 AM	#66
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	Hey, the entire joke (Heather got it she said) was that it would be wrong of me to suggest she look any more or less no matter what... I just didnt recognize her at first due to her being a 'quick-change artist'. Maybe you didnt hear that part, but I was sure not to stick that foot in my mouth... and that was what prefaced my comment to her that night, and sort of what the whole joke was about. I never said anything different... and my official response is: 'I dont know what you are talking about, no such thing, that wasnt me, move along here, nothing to see'...lol.

09/08/2008, 11:20 AM	#68
hahnmeister Moved On Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Brew City, WI Posts: 10,156	I got ya, dont worry. I never take myself too seriously or put my ego first, so sometimes I forget to give due attention to other's in the process... as you found out shortly after that. It was very nice meeing you two though and I hope to see more of you two on the forums here and at furure events.

09/08/2008, 11:48 AM	#70
OxInYourBox Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Fort Mill SC Posts: 360	Oh and I hope to have pictures up soon. There were some great shots to be had and not just at the bar (man that was pricey).

09/08/2008, 12:21 PM	#72
JRaquatics Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: On RC Posts: 3,609	There was water in another skimmer besides WM. At least they put the ASM skimmer to good use.

09/08/2008, 12:32 PM	#74
melev Moved On Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Ft Worth, Tx Posts: 43,217