Small LED Clip On Light Review

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41TUjyp1DeL._SY450_A neat little lamp powered with LED’s to illuminate a small aquarium, low power, cheap cost… sounds too good to be true right? Lets find out!

See other reviews on this great little lamp over on Amazon.

Ok, well not normally a product that needs to be reviewed and isn’t going to break the bank but came as quite a surprise to me the quality of this little lamp. Somehow the manufacturer managed to cram 40 small white LEDs into the head of the unit and then another 8 blue LEDs also! There are two settings, one for “daylight” so the white LEDS which should be sufficient to grow plants in a very small aquarium, I wouldn’t go over 20 litres to succeed. The other setting is the “nightlight” where the 8 blue emitters shine a seductive “moonlight” across the aquarium, and this is a totally different way to view your aquarium and inhabitants. 41RWHCNBMkL

The build quality of the unit is suitable for the low cost of the unit, and the LEDs should last for ages and not draw much current which also saving you money. The main light is white, I would estimate around the 6500K to 8400K spectrum and is suitable to penetrate around 14″ of water and still grow plants. (Obviously with balanced CO2 and Nutrients!)

The light fixes to the glad with a little screw attachment and thats fine by me, and the metal arm hold the head in the position you set it at. All in all its a great little lamp, cheap, low power and has the nightlight feature. Downsides, none really.

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Hydor Koralia Nano 900 Review

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71wBeOqxNpL._AA1500_The Hydor Koralia Nano 900, a neat little fan that runs inside you aquarium for making waves and increasing circulation, and as we all know, I adore Hydor products! This should be fun!

To see the 5star ratings from other user of this product, please click here.

So I like Hydor products, I am not ashamed to let you all know that and straight away I am bound to be biased but there is a harsh reality I will get to shortly.

Back to the product, the Hydor Koralia Nano 900 a small water circulating fan which you can position in your aquarium for a myriad of reasons. I tend to use it to drive CO2 bubbles from my diffuser downwards as to increase the absorption of CO2 into the water column. Some use them to increase flow so aquatic plants get a better distribution of nutrients to aid photosynthesis. What they were designed for was to make waves, for aesthetic purposes and for gas exchange in the aquarium. It comes with a highly positionable arm and a magnet/ suction cup to ensure the unit does not vibrate against the glass of the aquarium. The length of the lead however is rather short and if you have to route it through a hood and then down to the lower part of your aquarium, it may be an issue, as it is with mine.

The problem, the price. This retails at £45.00 but obviously is far less than that, more like £30.00 but even still this is too expensive for what it is. I have a small pump from All Pond Solutions and it only cost me at the time £12.00 and this unit is far far more powerful than the Hydor Koralia. Obviously this review is for the Nano version but the cost is quite high for what you get. So this simply comes down to use. If you want a really nice looking wave maker for your aquarium, then the Hydor Koralia Nano 900 is great. If you want to increase flow in your aquarium, go for something less pretty and more functional like a submersible pump (All Pond Solutions also make wavemakers!)

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Arcadia Arc Aquarium Review

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41g5iXLbLiL._SL500_This is the Arcadia Arc Aquarium and is available in 20 and 35 litre capacity but both have the same pros and cons, so if you are considering getting one, lets see if you should!

By the way, there are other reviews for you to look at here.

So Arcadia, I do not have enough to say about this company and here is why. I purchased a 35 litre Arcadia Arc Aquarium for my works office and upon delivery decided to set it up as a live planted tropical aquarium and set to work. Well after adding the aquasoil, the dragon stone rock placement and planted all the small clumps of Hemianthus callitrichoides (HC) and standing back admiring my work I left the room to get water to fill the tank, on my way back I heard a loud snapping sound, and upon my arrival saw a massive crack across the front of the aquarium. Gutted!

I immediately called Arcadia customer services and after sending them an email with photographic proof, they sent me out a brand new one, and I got a free light and filter as they didn’t want the originals back! This is very good customer service. Now I am writing this review after a few people asked for it after mentioning it on my review of the Arcadia Arc Pod Light. I will say again, the light pods are good, but not amazing.

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So back to the Arcadia Arc Aquarium! Nice thick glass with curved front corners which gives a nice seamless view of the aquarium. The top glass that prevents too much evaporation and had small holes on each side to safely grip the glass with. Comes with a small internal filter which I am sure is efficient, but I immediately replaced with a hang on the back filter as I wanted a higher turnover of water for the plants.

All in all, I think the company is good with excellent service, although a few niggles on their lights but these can be overcome with care. Hopefully this will help you with your decision and if you want to find the latest lowest price in the UK, please click here or the button below.

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Arcadia Arc Pod Aquarium Light Review

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31Ig60zV+5L._SL500_The Arcadia Arc Pod Aquarium Light, comes in both 9 watt and 11 watt versions and are standard on the Arcadia Arc aquariums, question is how good are they?

Click here to read other reviews about this light.

Well I have had over 3 in my time and they have all lit small aquariums well, not enough light to grow demanding live plants but enough to see the fish. Arcadia are a decent enough company, and when my Arc aquarium cracked within days of setting it up (hadn’t  even added the water thankfully) I contacted them and they sent out a replacement with a Free Arc Pod Light! These units are flawed though and here is why. The clear plastic is very brittle and cracks very easily, I have cracked two out of three. These didn’t crack due to user error, I think the heat and evaporation from an open topped aquarium caused the plastic to crack on its own. The Rubber seal makes for a good seal but is tough to get on which means wiggling the two together, I ended up knocking the lamp inside against the housing which smashed the bulb. I would advise using vaseline on the rubber seal to make for easier assembly. The lamp is a 2 pin fluorescent and are supplied in two wave lengths, warm white and cool white. The light is mounted using a screw clip and the light hinges up making for easy access to the aquarium which is great but you will blind yourself in the process!

So, should you get one… maybe. Arcadia are an excellent company in my opinion but these lights just don’t seem to cut it.

Don’t take my word for it, head over to Amazon and see what other reviews of the Arcadia Arc Pod Aquarium Light.

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Interpet Fish Pod 64 Review

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817RPcmd-cL._AA1500_This is the Interpet Fish Pod 64, a great little aquarium from Interpet, known for quality but at a budget level, although there may be a few flaws with this aquarium, there are also some great features you wouldn’t expect.

This unit has had loads of other reviews, to see them please click here.

Sold as a coldwater aquarium with an optional tropical upgrade kit (read “add a heater”!) this stylish aquarium has nicely curved front glass corners which give the unit nice clean lines, almost panoramic, with no silicone visible unlike older fashioned aquariums. The Interpet Fish Pod 64′s biggest feature fro me is the dual lighting system which offers a daylight and night light mode, switchable from the white daylight for plant growth and a moonlight mode which casts a gentle blue light across the aquarium. This night light effect is becomingly increasingly popular and offers a totally different experience of the aquarium.

Filtration is Interpet’s PF Filter, which has highly rated by many enthusiasts for its easy care. Naturally as an internal filter it will take up some space but is a soft rounded shape that could be easily hidden by some tall stem plants, real or fake. The filter takes various foams and activated carbon as one would expect to ensure clean and crystal clear water. Also provided is a bacteria booster to kick start the biological filtration and BioActive Tapsafe solution to condition your water and remove chlorine and chloramines, which are very harmful to fish and invertebrates. When you cycle this aquarium, please be responsible and perform a fishless cycle.

Back to the Interpet Fish Pod 64.  As you may have guessed this aquarium is 64 litres in capacity and 60cm long, 37cm wide and 32cm high. This aquarium does not come with a cabinet, but one is available to buy and it is a good looking cabinet also. If 64 litres is too big, they make a smaller version which is 48 litres, but everything else is the same.

Prices vary, but it is competitively priced against the rest of the market and worthy of serious consideration. Please click here to see the Latest Price or you can click the Amazon button below.

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Fluval E 100w Review

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71dnLR3FtlL._AA1500_ 71QZHtv0jSL._AA1500_Possibly one of the most reviewed heaters on the market today, the Fluval E 100w is a heavily debated heater which some love and some hate. I think its just okay.

To read the furious discussion about this heater, sorry reviews here!

Well, the Fluval E, a heater with a difference apparently, with its revolutionary “VueTech” technology which shows the temperature of the water around it, like a thermometer does! So you could have a normal heater and a thermometer but you do save some space with the Fluval E 100w, although the space concious would be using an inline heater, right?!

I have used this product for extended periods and it does in fact heat water, to the temperature you set it at, and has a nice plastic guard to stop cooking your fish if they get stuck on in or around it! The display changes colour from red to green and blue depending of the state and situation the heater is in. The one annoyance is there is no way in telling when the element is “on”, basic glass heaters have a red light when heating.41cCnn5IYuL

Attached to a slide on suction cup mounted bracket, the Fluval E 100w can be discreetly place in a corner and not worried about and every savvy aquarist should have a spare heater in the cupboard, just in case! Suitable for an aquarium of up to “120 litres”, this unit is more suited, especially if on its own, to a smaller aquarium of around 80 litres or less. The temperature adjustment itself is excellent, precise and in 0.5° increments, so great for dialling in that perfect temperature for all inhabitants.

All in all I think it a good unit, a bit over the top but does a good job overall and isn’t too heavily priced either!

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Fluval Edge 25w Heater Review

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71EfAo6CcsL._AA1500_Fluval are a good manufacturer in the aquatic scene and one would expect a good product from them. This wasn’t the case with the Fluval Edge 25w Heater.

See other reviews from disappointed customers here.

The Fluval Edge is a great aquarium and has brought design of the small aquarium to a new level with their revolutionary design. This aquarium does not come supplied with a heater so you automatically consider buying the Fluval Edge 25w Heater. Don’t. Its rubbish.

I purchased one of these heaters for a small medical aquarium set up for a poorly Cardinal Tetra after my previous (and very old) heater burnt out. Without thinking I grabbed a cheap small heater and installed it into the aquarium. The first thing I noticed was there was no heat adjustment and upon reading the box, the temperature is automatically set at 26 °Celsius which is the decent temperature of any tropical aquarium. The Cardinal Tetra needed 26 °Celsius, which was fine but this lead me to the main problem with this unit. Although this was installed in a 10litre aquarium, it wouldn’t get above 21.5 °Celsius in temperature and would fluctuate down to the ambient temprature of 18 °Celsius at times, regardless where I placed it in the aquarium.

This isn’t just an isolated incident, other enthusiasts have also complained about this heater being unreliable, and not working the way the manufacture describes.

If you have a Fluval Edge and want to install a heater so you can keep tropical fish, you would be wise to consider other options.

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Juwel Rio 240 Aquarium Review

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Juwel Rio 240 beechJuwel have been making aquariums for many many years and this is our review of the Rio 240 in Beech, but this will also apply to the other sizes available including the 125, 180 & 400.

For more information about this aquarium, please click here.

The Juwel Rio 240 Aquarium has been around for quite a while and is still a great selling aquarium, as it is everything you could ask for, high quality production, great design and fit in with the modern living enviroment. It has Juwels “suspended base” which means you do not need to put a polystyrene sheet under the aquarium for pressure distribution.

The unit comes with a Juwel heater rated 200watts,  Juwels Bioflow 3.0 compact filter system which comes supplied with filter media (1 poly pad, 1 carbon sponge, 1 Nitrate sponge, 2 course sponges for large debris and 2 fine polishing sponges. The lights are Juwel High Lite system whch takes 2 x 54watt lamps, one a “day” light and one “nature” light and this unit will easily illuminate a planted tank with no problems and offers a balanced spectum as well.

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As the name suggests, the 240 holds 240 litres of water and is about 120cm long. The dimensions of the aquarium are nice and balanced so a decent aquascape could be applied. I set up a planted dutch aquascape in this unit and this offered versatility to get the layout exactly how I wanted it with being too pushed for space, especially length.

I am reviewing the Beech finish but this also comes in Dark Wood, Black and White. For the modern living enviroment the Beech and White fit in very well but I do like the look of the Dark Wood finish. The silicone is black and the reason for this is so it doesn’t get stained, come clear silicone can become stained if various medications are used in the aqarium i.e. white spot treatment will turn clear silicone blue.

On the downside, a lot of companies are throwing freebies in with their aquariums these days and this doesn’t even come with a thermometer to ensure your temprature in within the right parameter. The Rio 240 Aquarium is however a very well made product and a contender with other similar sized units like the Fluval Roma 240 and the Aqua One EuroStyle 100.

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Eheim Air Pump 400 Review

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eheim_air400_verpacktMy aquatic hobby has spanned many years and there have been many air pumps but this is the best I have used, the Ehiem 400 Air Pump.

Click here for the cheapest prices and further information.

A lot of the air pumps on the market claim to be quiet and most of time time they are not as quiet as the user would like. I recently set up a Reef One Flow 30 and the air pump they provided was exceptionally noise, so much so, I went and bought an Ehiem air pump for it as I have had great experiences with these units in the past. I was amazed to read a review saying how noisy this air pump is, and it has to be appreciated these diaphragm driven air pumps do have moving part, so a little noise is bound to exist! BUR

Anyway, this Ehiem 400 Air Pump is well made, housed in a rubber body to help deaden sound and has rubber feed and hook for hanging is desired. This unit comes supplied with 2m of regular air line hosing and 2 of Ehiems diffusers which are adjustable. The unit has two output points and both are controlled but its own regulator so you can get the flow exactly as you want it. This is a powerful pump rated at 400 litres of air per hour which is a lot of air, so much so, without the adjustment your aquarium could become a jacuzzi!
I am yet to find a flaw with these units, but as it seems other opinions may vary. Since I am here to offer my opionion, I highly recommend this air pump and will buy another again when I need to.

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Fluval Planting Tongs Review

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51nK+P7O7mL._AA1500_If you have any experience with planted aquariums or aquscaping, no doubt you would had encountered these long tweezers or tongs and these are the Fluval Planting Tongs.

For other reviews have a look here.

When doing anything inside an aquarium means leaning into it and this can be a stretch if the aquarium is a deep one and this typically reduces your view of what you are doing. The Fluval Planting Tongs aid the user by increasing their reach with the added bonus that they are essential for planting new plants deep into the substrate. Made from stainless steel these tongs will not rust at all. Combined with Fluvals Scissors, these tongs become one of the  two most important accessories for any enthusiastic aquascaper.

I’ve had my set of tongs now for over a year and they are a stain free and balanced as the first time I used them. I would highly recommend them.

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