favorite manufactures

[killerwhale]

Anthony, There are a lot of tools in the trade today and it is hard to decide what is the best bang for the buck. I have heard you openly talk about skimmers and pumps but was wondering if you would mind giving your favs on other products. There has been good discussion on ozone for example. Holy cow the choices on just probes and meters is mind blowing.If we come up with a list of toys would you be willing to give your manufacture preference.

[Anthony Calfo]

sure... happy to do so.

But it will only be a snapshot in time. Like any other consumer goods manufacturer, things (qualty, value, etc) change in time with management changes, buyouts (we have seen lots of thi sin recent years in the aquarium industry with bigger companies eating up big co.s, and quality sometimes dipping for the belt-tightening, profit-tweaking, etc.).

Some don't much... true. But many do.

But FWIW, as of today, I like:

Ozotech hands down for ozone generators. Industrial quality. (I would not take most hobby brands for free... literally.)

Supplememts... Seachem in general. But I must admit that many brands are so very similar in quality.

Test kits: for affordable hobby grade branbds - Aquarium Systems. I generally use Hach or Lamotte though (their higher end kits)

Meters and Probes... no standout fav. Most in the hobby market are mediocre in quality at best, it seems to me. The cheaper ones may last but are variously to unreliably accurate IMO. You really have to spend some decent coin to get lab equipment that will last many years and be reliable. Exception: like Apogee brand for light measuring.

Sea salt: I buy Instant Oean because its a good value (I live in PA near their OH plant)... but if I was spending someone else's money I'd buy Tropic Marin

Japanses made Iawaki pumps without exception. I try new pumps every year... and always come back to these.

No UV or RO units (see my rants... er, threads on this in my forum at length)

Lights: the issue is too large and complex to summarize for "quality." Other people are far more qualified to speak on this than I am anyways. See writings/posts from Joe Burger (JBNY), Sanjay Yoshi, Dana Riddle, etc. FWIW... I'm using all of the following: ARAD/Icecap products, URI brand fluorescents, and Iwasaki and Ushio halides.

[killerwhale]

Thanks. You can spend a lot on this hobby its a little more comforting to know your getting what you pay for. How about ca reactors?single or dual chambers?Are refractometers considered probes if not which one do you prefer?Light or dark beer salt or no salt with that marg?Where would one look for the lab grade probes or for the average guy is it worth it?Do you prefer a moniter or a tester?

[Anthony Calfo]

I don't have a very strong preference for Ca reactors... though I'd recommend a local or regional mfg like Geo or MRC for their fab customer service and overall fine quality. The big commercial companies more and more (if not from Go) have their equipment made overseas... cheaply... and badly at that IMO.

Whichever Ca reactor you buy... double chamber hands down for me.

Refractometers... totally a get what you pay for category. The cheap units under $100 are... well, cheap. To the extent that I always keep a high quality glass hydrometer on hand to check against ever couple of months. I still like the convenience of a handheld refractometer, though table-mount is usually more reliable (lab work).

Plastic hydrometers BTW... don't take them for free

Beer... the darker the better... the higher the alcohol content the better. I want my beer to grab me by the shirt and slap me like a red-headed step-child.

Butter... not marg... no salt.

Meters and controllers over reagents for me for convenience (not necessarily reliability). I'm using an Octopus controller now for what is approaching a decade. Sent back almost yearly for offered service/calibration and upgrades. Incredible customer service! Definitely getting a good value and product for the price paid.

Probes... unless you feel like shopping a sci supplyhouse (Fisher scientific... Carolina Biological supply... Aregnt labs, etc), I say buying the higher grade probes from MarineDepot, Custom Aquatic... whoever has that option, is generally worth it. Better quality probes have really come down in price in recent years. Your reef tank is worth it.

[killerwhale]

thank you. hey just a side note.maybe you could recomend some of your fav books and things too.I know you love what you do but after reading many of the posts I feel guilty about some of the questions being asked (I know I have probably asked some) We should not rely on you and your kindness the way we sometimes do.Your success may sometimes be your curse .We should leave the general info gathering to reading books and ask your advice your many experiences. Does that make any sense? Example on the prop thread you got to talking about the anemone thing and responsibility we have to keep the proper things together.Thats awesome where do you read stuff like that. I know I have kept things together and shouldnt have. I think a lot of us would be willing to do the right thing if we knew where to find the RIGHT info,which is not the LFS or online stores, how ironic. I guess what I am saying is, and maybe wrong, but there are a ton of books (and a lot of opinions-myth info)out there and one could spend a ton of money on them as well. some of the ones I have read seem to be outdated or just full of cool pics(not always a bad thing) maybe sometime (in your spare time)HA! you could make a list of the books that you would like everyone to read and our questions might be more productive. Reading a book is easier anyway.Reading off the computer and typing sucks I dont know how you do it so much. AAAAnyway thanks again for all your efforts

[NicoleC]

I could be off the mark, but am I guessing Anthony will *highly* recommend two particular books right off the mark:


Book of Coral Propagation Vol 1
Reef Invertebrates


I will recommend:
Aquarium Corals
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist
and anything on this page:
Florida Aqua Farms book list

[Anthony Calfo]

No way Nicole (BOCP1, NMARI)... he asked for good books

Books of freq use for me include:

Fabricius and Alderslade 2001 Soft Corals and Sea Fans

More than a few of the Atlantic and Pacific dive guides from Paul Humman

Veron of course for stony corals (Corals of the World)

Still revisit Sprung and Delbeek often... great lifespan to much of what they wrote. Pioneer hobby lit.

For plants and algae... several works by the Littlers

"The Living Aquarium" for a fab old and obscure book with unique biotope and DIY info

More than a few by Allen, Steene and Randall

I get a majority of these books from www.seachallengers.com (really cool dive, natural history and aquatic titles there)

[killerwhale]

Wow! A new Christmas list.Hey thanks again and have a great holiday

[rjhall]

I noticed that Anthony recomends the brand Ozotech for ozone generators, but I can not find anyone who sells them in a small enough unit for home use. I am looking for a unit to put on my 125gal reef with a total water volume of about 150 gal. I know ozotech makes a model which is adjustable from 20mg to 220mg that looked like the one for me. I believe it is the posiedon model. Marine Depot, Dr. Foster and Smith, Champion lighting, Preimium Aquatics my LFS no one carries the ozotech brand and if you can order at ozotech.com I didn't see how to. So my simple question is where do I get one of these from? Any help is appreciated. Thank You, Ricky

[Anthony Calfo]

custom aquatic for Ozotech... they are one of the RC sponsors and have a banner/easy link.

[captbunzo]

Anthony -

I ran across this "Glass Hydrometer - Lab Style" on saltwaterfish.com today. It's only $14.99 and claims to be "very accurate". I know you have commented that glass lab hydrometers are more accurate then refractometers. Any chance this one would qualify. It doesn't seem to be expensive enough, as you had said (I believe) that they would run a little more.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11...12e081343150d3

[NicoleC]

"Lab style" means nothing in terms of accuracy, and you can't even see the thing in the photo or discern the manufacturer or model number so you can look up for info. Nor is the claim of accuracy quantified.

I'd go with an "education grade" hydrometer from a lab supply place for half the price, if one didn't want to cough up the dough for a lab grade. At least you will have a good idea how accurate it is.

[captbunzo]

Okie dokie - just curious.