Christmas is almost upon us! During this magical season, wallets are loosen and our mind stops to rationalise purchases. Our cash take on wings and our rooms fill up with stuff that seemingly do not make much sense in January.
At [TAG], the Christmas spirit is just as infectious and some of us here, just can’t stop singing off-tuned Christmas jingles at the top of our voices. Much to the chagrin of our fauna and fellow humans, who are in possession of more sane minds.
To help prevent you from weeping as you try figuring a way to hook up your beautiful calcium reactor to your discus aquarium in January, here is our recommendations for Christmas. Hopefully, it will lead you to what you really need!
The items on this list have been chosen because we feel they are special to the hobby. These are items that have been designed with inspiration, built superbly and some will be looked backed as a legend. They are by no means a must-have, but rather, really nice-to-have. Do leave a comment and let us know what you think of our choices! Enjoy your Christmas shopping!
Tank
ADA Cube Garden | 60P
Many have tried, all have failed. No other aquarium company can yet produce with consistency, this example of a superb aquarium tank. With its low iron glass, clean silicon work and braceless construction, many aquarists have been wowed into silence when they received their ADA Cube Garden for the first time. Of all the Cube Garden sizes, we chose the 60P for this Christmas list as its measurements of 60cm(length) x 30cm (depth) x 36cm (height) are really pleasing. This tank is not too big to find space for, yet of enough size to not be of a limitation.
Takashi Amano once said, that of all the Cube Gardens, the 60P is his favourite for aquascaping, we agree with him wholeheartedly.
Light
EcoPico LED Arm
Can Ecoxotic please let us know who was the genius behind the EcoPico LED Arm? We need to know the name to whisper in thanks, every time we lay our eyes on our LED Arm.
While we waited years for the big lighting companies to produce a reliable and decently designed LED unit for the nano tank, Ecoxotic not only beat them to it, but came up with a LED unit that looks like it has been designed by a top fashion house. Sexy, sleek, solid, special and superb are the few words that spill out of our mouths every time someone asks us about it. It’s completely versatile for the low to high tech aquarium, from freshwater to marine set ups. The LEDs that Ecoxotic use will last you 17 years with a photo-period of 8 hours a day. And, it is supported by a customer service which makes us wish we could contact them more often.
All of these packaged in a drop dead design. Need we say more?
Filter
Eheim Classic 2213
Once in a blue moon, a product is created and executed to such a level of refinement that it not only stays relevant for a long time, but its popularity is undiminished by the passing of time. The Eheim Classics have been around for a very long time and are Eheim’s first cannister filters. Since then, no less than 9 more advanced external filter models have been launched. In any other manufacturer’s product cycle, the Eheim Classics would have been phased out by now, but continual demand has kept them on the shelves.
Because the Eheim Classic is such a simple and straightforward filter, they are known to easily last a decade or more. The impeller, which is the only moving part in the entire filter, is easily user replaceable. The best thing about the Classics is the killer backwash ability, which means that you will never have to open up the filter, nor move away from your aquarium, when you need to wash your filter media. Of all the Eheim Classics, we choose the 2213 to be on this list as it is the only Classic to come equipped with a media basket. The media basket is incredibly handy if you want to flush the filter’s enclosure, without messing around with filter media.
Reliable, long-lasting, effective water bypass because of its round body, and with a low power consumption, the Eheim Classics are going to continue being around till someone figures out how to top this almost perfect design.
Filter Media
Seachem Purigen
Seachem’s Purigen is one of those products that sounds too good to be true. Here is a filter media that is actually so good that some don’t believe its claims and dismisses them as marketing language.
But Purigen is really such a wonderful product. It absorbs impurities and polishes water to such a clarity that you be spoiled not to settle for anything less. And unlike activated carbon, it is stronger, rechargeable and is visually indicative of when it needs to be cleaned. If you feed your fauna heavily, then we feel Purigen is indispensable, in controlling the high levels of organic waste.
Every filter in every aquarium, should have Purigen inside it. Ultimate Filtration, it is.
[TAG]
image credits: Aqua Design Amano | Ecoxotic | Tipy.pl | Seachem
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