Let's see those MACNA pics!

[hahnmeister]

In the lower left is a part of Tony Vargas taking a photo of the ORA display at MACNA...

Oh, wait... thats the reef at the Aquarium... oops, my bad.

Where to start... hmm.... ORA made a huge showing... maybe the largest showing second only to Foster&Smith/Live Aquaria. Everywhere you looked, unless the place was selling their own livestock, I think they were selling ORA frags, clams, and fish. They had their own slick Current setup:

And this zero-edge display that I won and they are supposed to be sending me any day now:

Quit staring at my tank!

Boyd was displaying several clowns from ORA:

Some nekid clown pron:

More of the Boyd booth, including some 'booth babes' in the back:

 

[hahnmeister]

It was requested by my local club, the Wisconsin Reef Society, when I asked if there was anything in particular that they wanted me to take photos of, that I get pictures of 'booth babes' as if it was CES in Vegas... so I tried.

Speaking of ORA though, Jeff Turner... co-founder of ORA and current star of 'Where in the World is Jeff Turner?' was there talking to the Salifert guys.

And Jeff's current interests (RAS) are part of a new organization called the National Aquarium Service Organization. They were displaying pics of many of Turner's installations, as well as this brick of a tank:

I think it was a 300g+. Cant remember right now...
But look at the construction:

The parimeter bracing was double thickness, and the base parimeter had an extra ring of plate glass for contact area for the silicone, and the overflow boxes did as well... I would never want to move this thing:

It was the 'Ahhhnold' tank.

A little mre ORA porn:

 

[hahnmeister]

The Foster and Smith/Live Aquaria Crew were there, and IMO, their stuff looked better than anything else at the show. The water was clear, the corals were happy... they really pulled it off. They somehow ended up with a booth at the very back, which sorta screwed them (but not as bad as Central which was pretty much facing the back wall), but their booth was easily 'nicest in show'. It was just very well done.

What many overlooked were many of the little goodies in the tanks swimming around...

There were more than that even... every level had an Angler and then some...

Right there, Boomer is telling Tony Vargas how they got the Live Aquaria tanks sooo clear and happy looking.

 

[hahnmeister]

Next, we visited Dave and the ladies on the Vue... rather, CoralVue. He was rockin it with a bunch of nice skimmers. The following is Victor on the left, and Dave on the right, talking about how much they hate those Sicce pumps...lol.

I got to see how the CoralVue version of the 1500 was looking:

Its pretty much based on the ATB design, and looks nice. The inside needs a little more contours, but overall... sweet looking. Nice job Shan! Here is a spy photo of something else by Dave:

The lumenbrights:

More:

And Dave's 'booth babe':

 

[hahnmeister]

Fin's was there, sporting the H&S:

And in the corner of Fins was a comparison between one 175w mogul LED replacement and 'brand x':

The PAR meter is giving a 98 there I believe. Notice how there wasnt an actual 175w halide there though.

TAAM was showing off some new stuff. They had the Polario working, and it looks rather good:

I looked inside one to figure out how it works, and I must say, its a step forward for them. The rotors spin outside the stator, and the blades outside of that. It was quiet, moved water like a stream pump, so Im kinda hoping they send me that free 'test sample' they were talking about.

They also have a new modular media system... comes with the feed pump, and even a fine mesh output siv to prevent carbon and GFO dust from getting back into the tank, and you can link them up as shown:

They were sportin' the new prop pumps, including the new ones that have the wavemaker built into the pump itself... you can pick one of a few settings, and then no more wavemaker needed... the pump has it built in! I can see them scoring big points for listening to what consumers want with that one.

 

[hahnmeister]

Salifert was there, as I mentioned earlier, but the ASM's were left rather 'unmanned':

You can see Victor's confusion as he looks around wondering if the skimmers are free handouts or what...

Right next door, the ASM's were working very good as part of a display to show the new SCWD with 1 inch outlets and a removable cap for cleaning. Dig that:

Hydor was showing off new DC controllable prop pumps. Their controllers DO look very nice:

It looks like hydor will be bringing over the 'Performer' skimmers as well.

^^^ another unmanned skimmer booth. Man, what is with that? RK2's just sitting there... must have been freebies or something. Note that 'brag' meter with the 18scfh.

 

[hahnmeister]

To many, this man needs no introduction, and if he did, well, he comes with his own sign so you dont forget:

The Doctor of Miracle Mud and the EcoSystem booth:

Deltec made a nice showing. It was nice to finally meet you face to face Phil! More on that later. What can I say... sometimes I dont pay alot of attention to these 'keystone' vendors like D-D here because, well... I already have their stuff!

So just general pictures here, and more on what's new from these guys later:

I got to take apart a Red Dragon 2 and finally see the insides. Those things are monster pumps!

 

[hahnmeister]

^^^ Hah! Where is the foam head? I knew it didnt skim well! Lol. But seriously... whats with all the 'high-end' skimmers not even running, and all the rest that are? Not a single BK running, not even the brand new Supermarine 300. Which brings me to Warner Marine... Jon was there, and HIS skimmers were working. The 'Award for most productive skimmer' goes to him for sure. His little monsters were not only running, but pulling crud out. He was showing that his skimmers not only blow bubbles, but were actually working, which was something no other vendor could say. Warner has some other nice chemicals and products like Potassium and Mg suppliments (which he sold out) that look like they should get some more interest:

^^^ Vic and Jon

Warner skimmer working: best in show skimmer!

And more empty BK's... I suppose, they are so pretty that nobody wants to get them dirty:

Premium's ATO they were showin' off:

But here is an empty skimmer tucked into a corner that may be of interest:

Is that a euro-reef patented neck? But it doesnt say Euroreef... and the center of it has a pipe, like an ATI, but without a bubble plate below (more like a H&S A150?). But that standpipe... thats like those Honya made ones... what is the 'Vertex'???

 

[hahnmeister]

I may overlook Tunze since I already own them, but there are the new Tunze Stream 2's on the way. Im sure you have heard before, they look like the nano seriesl, in that they are larger versions of those very positionable and attractive balls...

And the new 'nano' wavebox:

Its a very attractive package for that smaller tank. This is a video of it on a 65g:

 

[hahnmeister]

It seems Tunze didnt care for the old Sicce PSK pumps either...

And the new Marineland Maxi-Jet Utility pumps were there for display. Im sure these will be making some nice skimmer pumps. I bet the large one beats an Eheim 1260.

NOW THIS IS HOW YOU SERVE A COLD DRINK!

Marineland was showing off their series of tanks. They look very nice and come in some huge sizes... this one was 6 foot long and 3 foot deep... what other maker has these? They also said this tank's MSRP was only about $1000, and it has Starphire on the front 3 sides!!!

Sera was there to improve its market share in the US. They distribute directly to stores and they are looking to pick up more stores. They are a large brand in the EU, but haven't been as dominant here in the US.

I cant believe I forgot to take a pic... but they have a little nano... wait, no, pico skimmer that comes with their 'cube system' that not only looks cute, but looks like it could perform as well. The Sera rep told me that due to demand, he will be importing just the skimmer (normally sold as a part) for sale in the US. Ill try to see if I cant get a pic of that sent later. Its really sort of cool... like a micro sized Bubbleking.

These guys were also a big hit:

More hydor:

I missed Chris from Icecap... so Chris, if you are reading this, you still owe me a beer! So I talked with Tom about whats new at Aquactinics, and so he 'flipped me' something...

So now those who complain about 'no shimmer' can get these. And yes, there was shimmer. He said that the final will have LED's that are 3x as bright (Im pretty sure), and they are neato because they are 120vAC LED's.

 

[hahnmeister]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

Yawn... Im off to bed...

 

[xyzpdq0121]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13307733#post13307733 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> 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]

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

 

[Chris@IceCap]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13311492#post13311492 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> 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]

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]

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.