I have been involved in professional aquarium maintenance since 1987 in Southern California.
This Web Blog will add articles over time based on my observations with products, companies, and clients.
This INCLUDES ongoing consulting with others in my profession, investigation, and use of NEW products as well.
In particular I will link to the good, bad and the ugly in this hobby/industry to hopefully help guide others to a more satisfying observations in this hobby.
My advice is based on what works, not what some sales person tells me, what many anecdotal forums will state as “best”, or over hyped marketing plans convince others is best.
I have NOTHING to gain by promoting one product over another other than hoping to correct poor information that is often miss-stated about certain products over others. I ONLY sell to service clients and then have to service what I sell.
Readers should also note that I provide NO LINKS to sellers either in articles or the blog roll in the side bar (nor have I ever done this, despite some miss-informed comments in aquarium forums such as 3reef.com/forums).
Reef Aquarium with LED Lighting
My skills are not in writing or web design, as readers will obviously note; HOWEVER I will brag in that I have used many of the popular and not so popular brands, and as well I constantly consult with others about their use and investigation into UV Sterilizers, Aquarium Lights, and more so that my reviews are well rounded and based on facts, not “cut & paste” opinions!
In fact the writing of this weblog came at the urging of many of my clients who have been quite confused after visiting many websites or visited many forums; they felt I should share my observations and expertise with others so as to counter much of the misinformation now common on the Internet.
I hope to also warn readers of the “sharks” that dredge up old failed ideas such as the AquaTop PF15, 25, & 40 UV Hang-On Filters which are concept that was attempted years ago but failed in actual long term application due to poor dwell time, incorrect flow rate, and more. Products such as this which will work for short term aquarium clarification but when actual level 1 or level 2 sterilization is considered, these UVs cannot deliver, resulting in UVs getting a “bad name” in general for true disease control.
As an example, I have found the correct use UV Sterilizers and LED Aquarium Lighting are areas of often misguided information and products, as well as some really top notch products too.
Recommended Outside References:
UV Sterilizers; Review
LED Aquarium Lighting; Reef & Planted Specifics
I will address these subjects in upcoming posts based on my observations, those in the industry that I know have true knowledge of said products, and based factual investigation of said products.
This includes my regular meetings with those I come in contact with at some of the major marine fish/invertebrates suppliers near LAX as well as some mentors whom we compare notes from experiments with different products, many under controlled scientific conditions too.
Also see my editorial on my “blog” page where I comment on a personal attack about my review of the TaoTronis LED, rather addressing the facts.
G
HERE ARE A FEW OF MY REVIEWS/ARTICLES:
Must Read Aquarium Information Websites
Stress Induced Betta Fish Tail Biting; Myth or Fact
Shilling Hikari Aquarium Sponge Filters for Amazon while attacking industry professionals
AAP Professional Aquarium Treatments
YouTube & Facebook for Aquarium Keeping Information
Modern Aquarium Supplies Marketing; My Aquarium Box, etc.
Why Aquaray LED Light Fixtures, Review?
Lighting a Planted or Reef Tank: Understanding PAR & PUR
AquaRay Aquarium LED; Reef Central
Aqua Ultraviolet versus TMC UV Sterilizers, Reef Central
Economy Planted Aquarium LED; Fluval Aqualife & TMC AquaBar
Aquarium Forums for Information such as LED Lighting, UV, Filters, more?
Review of Ocean Revive & Evergrow LED Lights for Reef Aquariums
AquaBeam Ultima 1500 NP; Review Correction Reef Builders
Aquarium LED Lights, Controllers, RGB, Emitters; What is Best?
Purchasing Aquarium & Pond Equipment via Amazon
EcoTech Radion & Aqua Illuminations Review
Aquarium Canister Filter such as the Fluval FX 5 or Fluidized Filter
TaoTronics, SkyLED Aquarium LED Light Reviews
Aquarium & Pond UV Sterilizer Review; TMC Vecton, Advantage; Aqua
Are UV Sterilizers Good for Aquariums
| AQUARIUM OPINIONS RECOMMENDS: DuckDuckGo for Internet Searches. NOT Google, as Google now brings up mostly spam & inaccurate information, especially in aquarium care searches such as Aquarium Lighting & UV Sterilization |
My Aquarium Opinions 
Great and informative post. Thanks for sharing and keep posting.
Great post. I really enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing your experiences to us.
I found the forum post in 3reef.com that you reference in your editorial about your Taotronics post.
All I can say what skewed logic!!
He ignores easily provable facts, and then has the audacity to say any review he does will be unbiased????
REALLY, he showed his biases, which we all have, some though are more based in reality and facts, while others are not.
One of the most simple to demonstrate is the excess heat produced by these lower end LEDs, this represents wasted energy not going to light your aquarium.
What is so unfortunate, is how much misinformation about aquarium LED lights is circulating around the internet, when the facts are so easy to find
You make a very good case for the TMC Aqua Ray LED lights but there is virtually no one ( customers ) talking about these products. As a potential customer this makes me nervous. TMC really needs to get more interactive with their customers if they want this LED product line to fly.
Andrew, I think you are confusing forums with “no one”. In my professional circles, plenty are well aware of this product and have been long before Ecotech and other late comers were even around. As well these are more talked about in the UK.
In fact I am relatively new to the Internet compared to most person. WHY? frankly I only came on because of suggestions of other friends in the industry who felt I might have something to offer. My point is not everyone is participating in forums or social media (I do not participate in Facebook, etc.)
Thank you for the reply,
I have tried to reach customers in Canada, US and the UK without reply. I would love to hear some testimonials from active hobbyist who are using the TMC product line and getting good results from their SPS corals. I’m not knocking TMC, but before I invest in their product it would be nice to hear good results. Perhaps they have chosen to be a professional product rather than commercial.
Andrew; you are correct as per going with a professional product rather than commercial.
TMC has chosen to go with promoting their product with aquarium installation and service professionals rather than social media and forums, although I am told they have a Facebook page (I cannot view since I do not have a FB account)
Most professionals I know are not active in forums and such. I know I was for a short time, but quickly became tired with the facts I presented getting attacked with “lol” and much more rude replies rather than addressing the facts.
Also you need to understand that many persons are very private about sharing their pictures/information. My clients do not allow me to use their pictures online out of respect for their privacy. I know that my mentor many years ago went to make a resume with pictures (prior to the Internet) and the majority of his clients would not allow this, so in the end he had to respect their privacy.
Most persons with the money to afford services such as mine also demand I respect their privacy.
That said there is plenty of information available on the Internet if you do your homework such as the “National Oceanography Centre in London” which uses the Aquaray LED lights.
Finally, if everyone in social media or forums said the world is flat, does that make it so?
The simple answer is no, and as per LEDs, the scientific evidence is out there and it really is not all that complicated such as wasted energy going to heat instead of light. You just need to research and read this and apply common sense logic rather that jump of a cliff with lemmings that believe the world is flat
Thank you for your comments, I will continue my research.
i want to build an led setup for a sps heavy tank . 72 by 25 by 18
i have a 48 by 10 heatsink. i have meanwell dimmable drivers. will you reccomend brand of led and number of each i would need ?
They’re many LED DIY options if you have the time, so it comes down to preference. My opinion is why go the DIY route, when quality brands are available?! DIY doesn’t come with patents, warranties, water proof, or support.