News

NOW AVAILABLE - Only form iQuatics

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:10:15 +0000

We have now released two of our most popular bulbs in Juwel and Aquatlantic Aquarium compatible sizes.

Aimed at the large installed base of Juwel aquariums who are looking for these unique coloured T5 bulbs. We are now manufacturing Blue Plus and Aquablue 50:50 bulbs in Juwel sizes.

We are the first manufacturer on the to offer these upgraded bulbs as compatible for Juwel aquariums. These new tubes are avilable in the following sizes.

24w 438mm – 28w 590mm – 35w 742mm – 45w 895mm – 54w 1047mm – 54w 1200mm

Click here to view the range.

Will an increase in aquarium water temperature affect biological filtration?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:00:36 +0000

Yes… As with fish and inverts, most bacteria require a certain amount of dissolved oxygen to perform effectively, rapidly increasing temperature reduces the waters oxygen levels causing the bacteria to die/loose ability to function. The remaining bacteria will endanger livestock by competing for the available oxygen. Therefore a stable aquarium temperature is essential for an efficient biological filtration system to be maintained.

Temperatures have increased and my fish are gasping at the surface, what has happened?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:20:07 +0000

The warmer water becomes, the less dissolved oxygen it can hold although carbon dioxide can still rise dangerously higher than normal. An increase in water circulation is vital as oxygen-depleted water will be more frequently presented to the surface to absorb oxygen and disperse unwanted carbon dioxide.

Will a chiller affect the quality of the aquarium water in any way?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:36:49 +0000

No, apart from lowering the temperature buy the required amount, a chiller cannot alter the water passing through it.

What is the optimum marine aquarium temperature?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:17:00 +0000

Yes, 25°C (77°F) suits most aquariums but some setups vary. Livestock will suffer below 22°C (72°F) and above 27°C (80°F).

Custom Aquarium Builds - How thick should the glass/acrylic be?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 13:09:57 +0000

The aquarium sizes will dictate the optimum glass thickness for safety. In general, the deeper the aquarium, the thicker the material used. Always invest in a decent quality aquarium material or even better, use a reputable aquarium builder.

What is the smallest volume of water recommended for a marine aquarium?

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 12:41:35 +0000

If your aquarium is to house fish only, then we recommend at least 20 gallons net excluding live rock/other substrates. An invertebrate aquarium would need to accommodate more water for greater stability and we would recommend at least 30+ gallons net as a starting point.

T5 Unit won't start?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:12:47 +0000

There are several things this could be, it all depends on the manufacturer of the lighting unit/controller that you are using but here are a few possible causes:

Check the fuse in the power supply. This may have blown if you have had a power surge or got any water in the fitting.
Most ballasts run 2 tubes at once therefore you may find one of the bulbs isn't working and the other will not start because of this. Try changing the bulb.
The bulb you are using must be compatible and the same IEC standards as the ballast.
^*The ballast may have overheated and may have cut off therefore may start again after it has fully cooled down.
Please refer to the user manual provided with your fitting.

What's the most cost effective way of lighting a tank?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:12:11 +0000

There are many factors to take into consideration when looking at the most cost effective lighting. Firstly the type of lighting required for your tank. For instance, if you have a marine tank with fish only then it wouldn't be ideal to use Halide lighting but if you have corals in your tank then ideally you would look at using T5, halide or LED.
LEDs in general use less power than the typical Halide pendant although the initial outlay can be somewhat higher.

However with halides and T5 lighting, you have to change the tubes quite often so you will have the ongoing costs.

Are all halide bulbs the same?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:10:22 +0000

There are many differences between halides. In general all 150w halides will be of the same technical specification across the industry in terms of size, fittings and lifespan. This goes for the 250w double ended and single ended bulbs.

If referring to the colour temperature of Halides(Kelvin Rating) these can differ from one manufacturer to the next as it all depends on the makeup of the pill used on the inside of the halide during manufacture. Therefore no 2 manufacturers 10k halides will look the same.

Is there a difference in bulb quality?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:08:40 +0000

There can be a difference in bulb quality across the industry. It depends on the quality of glass, end cap quality, adhesive and any other material used during the manufacture; however iQuatics use high quality raw materials for all of their bulbs to ensure they are long lasting and provide your aquarium with the correct lighting to sustain a healthy setup.

Which way around do my bulbs go? (White at front, blue at back or vice versa)

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:07:51 +0000

The industry is built up a lot on peoples personal opinions. This can depend on the positioning of your corals if you have a marine tank. The easiest way is to place the bulbs in any order you wish and over time alter the bulb positioning to give you maximum growth and an aesthetically pleasing appearance for you.

What is a ballast?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:07:21 +0000

A lighting ballast is a complex piece of equipment required to control the starting and operating voltages of electrical gas discharge lights. Examples of gas discharge light sources include fluorescent and neon lights and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps.

There are many different types of ballasts available in today's market so it is recommended that you speak to an expert if you are thinking of replacing a ballast in one of your lighting systems.

Can you use a smaller bulb with a bigger ballast or vice versa?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:06:48 +0000

In general the simple answer is NO.

A 150w halide would require a 150w ballast, and would not work on a 250w ballast.
Now with fluorescents this can get a little more complicated. You can overrun certain tubes on a larger ballast to get more output from a tube but this will reduce the life of the bulb and the fixture. You would also be risking your safety by not running the correct bulbs in the correct ballast to the manufacturer's specification. Any warranty would be void.

If you wish you can for example run a 39w T5 on a 38w T8 ballast with the use of T8-T5 converters, however the ballasts are a different type and it is not recommended.

Best lighting for corals

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:06:15 +0000

This is a topic which is full of mixed opinions as different tanks have different outcomes from each type of lighting. Ideally keep to methods which are proven to work in the industry. T5, T8, Metal Halides and LED's. As technology changes, so do the types of light available on the market but there are pros and cons of each type of lighting.

Do I need actinics with a halide?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:05:39 +0000

There are many factors which can help you decide but in general the lower kelvin halides (6500k, 10000k, 14000k) would look better with supplemented lighting running alongside. Using an actinic (on a marine tank) would help balance out the yellow hue given from the halides to give you more of a natural looking appearance across the tank. Other blue tubes can be used for doing the same job but the actinic will also bring out certain fluorescence in your corals.

Should I change my lighting schedule when the clocks go back/forward?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:05:02 +0000

This is down to personal opinion. The effect this will have on your corals will be minimum or not even noticeable. You could go into more detail and when the hours of sunlight are shorter, decrease the number of hours you have your lighting on for but as we all know, the more lighting in general (to a certain extent) the more your corals will thrive.

Is your water turning cloudy in your new aquarium?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 15:04:03 +0000

This can be due to several factors.

Firstly if you are new to the hobby, one of the mistakes that we have all made is overfeeding your livestock.

When the food breaks up in your tank, depending on the food, it can make your tank look murky and cloudy. Try to keep you food to a minimal. Put in your tank what the fish can consume within a couple of minutes and no more.

• If you get a bacteria/algae boom, this can cause your tank to look cloudy and grey. This is down to the Nitrogen cycle. This is one of the most important parts of fishkeeping you should defiantly learn about. Below is a simplified table to show how the nitrogen cycle works within your aquarium:

• Replacing all of your filter media is a no go when performing maintenance on your tank as it is here where all the good beneficial bacteria is living. Try and only swap half of your filter media at a time.

• When performing water changes in your freshwater tank make sure that the water isn't cloudy as this can cause a pH swing and cloudy water. The best way to prevent this is to let the water age a day or two before perform the water change.

Are your salt levels too high? A few useful tips on lowering your salt levels

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:34:53 +0000

The easiest way to lower the salt levels in your aquarium if your hydrometer is reading higher than expected is to perform a partial water change. Depending on how much higher than it should be depends on how much water you need to replace.

If you remove 10% of the aquarium water and add RO water (Reverse Osmosis) in its place then re-measure you salinity with the hydrometer. If you find you have replaced slightly too much and the levels are low. Mix a small tub of RO water with your salt and add small amounts slowly.

Ensure than you never add the salt directly to your aquarium as this can have serious effects to your live stock due to a built up on concentrated salt in specific areas of the aquarium.

Over time you will become used to the amount of salt you use when performing a water change and it will become natural to you. Try and monitor how much water you are losing through evaporation on a weekly basis as this can affect your salt content in your aquarium.

Do I need a sump/refugium?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:33:17 +0000

It is not compulsory to use these if you have a fish only aquarium however they can be beneficial to help hide all of your equipment and they are also beneficial to help the movement of minerals around your tank.

Using a sump can increase the volume of water in your tank in tern making it easier to control your parameters. The smaller the tank the harder it is to control these as any slight + or – can affect the tank dramatically.

Some aquariums may appear to be overstocked but more than likely there is a hidden sump which is doing all the hard work.

Do I need an RO unit?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 13:11:07 +0000

If you have a small tank it may be beneficial to purchase your RO water from your local fish shop as it costs around £2.50-£3 per tub. However if you have a large tank it will be a wise investment to purchase your own unit as over time the little £2.50's could soon mount up.

Always remember to do regular tests on your own RO water as the membrane may need replacing without you realising and it won't be RO water that you are adding to your tank.

With this in mind it is also wise to test the water you purchase from shops as it has been known that they haven't changed the membrane on their units either which can have severe effects on your livestock.

RO water is more important in your marine setups if you are keeping or plan on keeping corals and anemones. All tap waters consist of different quantities of minerals depending on the area you live in so it is advised that you don't take the risk of not using RO water.

Coming January 2012!

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:26:15 +0000

24w 438mm – 28w 590mm – 35w 742mm – 45w 895mm – 54w 1047mm – 54w 1200mm

Get ALERTED for pre-order? Visit this link and sign up to get notified when the product is in due in stock.

Information for Existing iQuatics Customers

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:23:39 +0000

Our new website uses your registered email address as the new username. Please go to the following link where you can be generated a new password which can be changed to whatever you wish from the account maintenance section once you login using the automatically generated password.

We have found that most people remember their email address more than their usernames so we have automatically upgraded all of the old accounts to use the email address as the username on our new website. As ever, for any support and help logging in please call us on 0845 269 7417 or click here for live support

Write a review to WIN an AquaLumi Lighting Unit

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:05:18 +0000

One of the great new features of our new website is the ability to publish reviews against products that you have purchased. To encourage our customers to go online and complete these, we are offering a free AquaLumi lighting unit to a randomly chosen customer from all the product reviews submitted before December 18th 2011.

Simply click on the product you purchased on our website, click on the Reviews tab and complete your product review and rate the product. You need to be logged in to your account to do this. We will then pick one review at random on December 18th to win an AquaLumi light unit of your choice for delivery before Christmas.

New Juwel Compatible Bulbs Coming Soon

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:03:34 +0000

Our most popular T5 fluorescents to date are the Aqua Blue 50:50 and Blue Plus ranges. We have decided to release these popular bulb variants in the Juwel sizes from January 2012.

Want to be alerted? Visit this link and sign up to get notified when the product is in stock.

80w Marine White T5's Coming Soon

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:02:03 +0000

80w Marine White T5's Coming Christmas 2011!

Following massive demand, in December we will be producing our 80w Marine White T5 bulbs.

These will be available just prior to Christmas 2011 to buy exclusively on www.iquaticsonline.co.uk

Want to be alerted? Visit this link and sign up to get notified when the product is in stock.

iQuatics Gift Vouchers Now Available

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 14:00:11 +0000

iQuatics Gift Vouchers Now Available

As it is coming up to Christmas, we have now made available iQuatics gift vouchers on our website. These are available in denominations of £5, £10 and £20 and are valid on our online store. If you are looking for something different to give to someone who is a hobbyist fishkeeper, iQuatics vouchers make an ideal gift.

The NEW iQuatics Website

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:35:00 +0000

Following the successful launch of our website back in 2009 and us winning the Online Retailer of the Year award from Practical Fishkeeping in 2010, we have taken all of our customer feedback and after months of work have launched our new website. A similar look but with a change in functionality/customer experience.

The new website has been redeveloped from the ground up to be even easier to use, incorporating new customer interactivity areas such as :

testimonials,
tank photos
product reviews
common Q&A
product instructional videos
gift voucher availability
improved delivery options
easier navigation
product advice
and much much more..

Let us know what you think of the new website - email sales@iquaticsonline.co.uk

Having problems keeping your aquarium cool in this heat?

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 09:26:10 +0000

Be prepared for the heat!!

Keeping your aquarium cool during the summer
- Andrew Latham (iQuatics LTD)

There are many factors that can affect the temperature of your aquarium through the hot summer months. In this article we will explore what problems you may encounter and the various methods of fixing the issues. The temperature control is more important in reef/coral tanks than fish only setups but the issue needs to be taken into consideration with any aquarium setup you may have.

Position of your tank/aquarium:

If you tank is located in an alcove or similar position where it is included by several walls, this can increase the temperature of your Aquarium. Air is a great conductor of heat therefore restricting the flow of air around your tank can slowly increase the temperature in the summer.

The simplest way to overcome this is to position your aquarium in a location away from the window/natural sunlight with as much fresh air movement around your tank. Depending on the size of your house this option may not be possible.

Lighting up your tank:

Your aquarium lighting may make a dramatic effect on the water temperature of you aquarium as you are probably aware the HO T5’s and Metal Halide Aquarium lighting most commonly used, can become really hot. This is especially when you are running them both together. Some aquarium lighting units come with built in fans, especially with Halide units. The fans are quite efficient when it comes to keeping the ballast and the electrical components within the light unit cool however when it comes to keeping the water temperature down, it is a different matter. Metal Halides give out a lot of direct heat which is aimed towards your water usually with the help of an aluminium or tin reflector. Even if it is a cold day outside you will notice that the water temperature rises.

In regards to HO T5 aquarium lighting, these generally do not get anywhere near as hot as halides, however if you are running several tubes together you can find that they get quite hot. The heat, like the light is spread over the whole length of the tube therefore no specific spot is increasing in temperature as the little air movement you have will do a good job of removing this slight heat above your tank. In hot temperatures, T5 aquarium lighting can cause an increase in water temperature.

There are several options to reduce the heat provided by metal halide and T5 aquarium lighting. The cheapest method which can be most useful on the smaller reef tanks/nano tanks is a standard clip-on fan. You could invest in a general clip-on fan from your local DIY store for between £5-£10 which, or you can invest in a fan which is designed to clip onto your aquarium and to give the maximum effect for the wattage they consume. These range from £15-£50. Be careful if you buy these as some of the manufacturers make them look good but the output is poor and really wouldn’t help you if you were to increase the size of your tank.

Below I have put a couple of example of aquarium and clip on fans available on the market:

The negative side of these fans is that they will promote the rate in which your water evaporates from your tank therefore you would have to keep on top of the water levels throughout the summer, otherwise the salt content will increase thus causing other issues besides the temperature of your tank.

The next option is to invest in an aquarium chiller. These can prove to be quite expensive, especially if you have just spent a fortune on setting your tank up. They are quite efficient but yet again they will add to the overall running cost of your aquarium as they consume a lot more energy/electricity than the standard clip-on light. Chillers can be ok for the medium size aquarium but with larger aquariums it can be difficult to find a chiller large enough to do the job without it being constantly on. Chillers can vary between £200 for a budget range to £1200 for the high end range. They will also contribute quite a lot of noise which can be difficult to come to terms with especially if you are trying to relax.

Below are a couple of examples of aquarium chillers available on the market:

If you decide to buy a chiller please take the following points into consideration:

Chillers will emit quite a lot of heat that they remove form you tank
The must not be enclosed into a tight cabinet underneath the aquarium as they need breathing space around the heat exchanger.
SAVE THE PACKAGING -You'll need it for at least thirty days from the date you bought the unit. Chillers can be easily damaged in shipping, and often that damage will not be immediately apparent.

The third option is probably the most likely method of keeping your aquarium cool during the hot weather. The price of air conditioning units has come down dramatically over the past few years therefore a lot of households have invested in them. If you have one available it is wise that you use it in the room where you tank is located. Keeping the air in the room cool will in turn keep the aquarium cool too, however again these can be pretty expensive to run.

Natural sunlight entering the room from a window can increase the temperature of your aquarium and in the long term contribute to excessive algae growth due the long hours of sunlight directly on your tank in any 24 hours. Your corals and fish will thank you for cooler conditions at some point of the day.

An easy way to overcome this is to use blackout blinds or at least some kind of window blind which can help decrease the volume of sunlight entering the room.
With just a few hours of natural sunlight the aquarium temperature can increase a few degrees which can have negative effects on your tank.

Whichever method of cooling you chose to go for make sure you DO NOT unplug your aquarium heater!. A common mistake which aquarist can do over the summer time but at night times the temperature of your tank can plummet quite drastically. For this reason the heater must be plugged in at all times. Most heaters cut off when the temperature is at the required temperature.

What effects the drastic changes in temperature can have on your tank.

Mistakes are sometimes made to what actually caused distress to fish and how they die in the hot weather. It is not always the direct temperature of the water in your aquarium it is the effect the temperature has on the levels in your aquarium. The increased temperature can decrease the dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in your water, more with the salted aquariums than the tropical tanks as the salt effects these levels too. This is the reason in general your tropical tanks can tolerate higher temperature changes.

The stock levels in your tank can affect the oxygen levels therefore the higher the temperature, the less oxygen, therefore the more livestock you have in the tank the more oxygen you require to keep them alive.

Running your aquarium at the correct temperature will greatly reduce the amount of nuisance algae that grows in your aquarium which can build up on the glass front. When you clean this off most of it will die, in tern increase the amount of waste in your aquarium.

iQuatics AquaLumi NANO T5 Light NOW AVAILABLE

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 10:06:00 +0000

The new iQuatics AquaLumi T5 Lighting Unit is now available in a nano 50cm sized unit.

Nosting only £115.99 Delivered with free bulbs! This is a unbeatable offer!

CLICK HERE to view the unit.

iQuatics Aquarium Lighting Guide Coming Soon

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 13:10:00 +0000

iQuatics Aquarium Lighting Guide Coming Soon

We have been working hard behind the scenes creating an informative brochure to help you choose and maintain the correct lighting setup for you aquarium.

This will be available for download, online and printed.

We need more videos

Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:00:00 +0000

We need more videos!

Keep sending us your aquarium videos, we will put as many of them as we can onto our YouTube channel!

Simply follow the link below to upload the videos.

All contributors will receive a discount off a future order as a thank you from iQuatics.

Click Here for the upload page

Reduced UPS Next Day Delivery

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:32:00 +0000

We have reduced our UPS next day delivery to only £1.50, a massive 80% OFF

We are now offering next day UK mainland express delivery for only £1.50*

Simply select this option at the checkout.

Over 90% of our customers are now choosing to order with our reduced next day delivery pricing. Get your products sooner and choose Next Day today!

*Terms and Conditions Apply

Thank You to you all

Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:14:56 +0000

The iQuatics team would like to thank you all for your continued support in helping us bring the quality and affordable prices that we offer throughout the year!! All your feedback is much appreciated.

We have been working hard to develop relationships with many of our customers and our colleagues in the fishkeeping industry both at other manufacturers and also with forums/magazines who feature industry news. If you subscribe to Practical Fishkeeping you will also see our products featured in there in the past two issues, and currently if you are looking to subscribe they are offering iQuatics bulbs as the readers offer of the month.

Coming Soon

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:50:10 +0000

COMING SOON

iQuatics have a lot of new products in the pipeline for 2011.

We will be discontinuing the 10000k T5 range in the near future due to the popular demand of our other ranges. In addition to this we are trying to make it simpler for our customers to choose the combination of tubes they require.

In addition to that, we will be launching our new iQuatics AquaBlue 50:50 hybrid T5 range in 24w, 39w, 54w and 80w standard length tubes.

Following customer demand we are also planning the production of 80W T5's in the 50:50 hybrid and the blue plus colours. To be on sale in the next few months.

iQuatics Aqua Blue Special 50:50 Hybrid T5

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 15:33:20 +0000

The iQuatics Aqua Blue 50:50 tube combines the phosphors of a Blue Plus tube with a 10000k full-spectrum daylight bulb. This bulb is great as a standalone bulb in smaller tanks or running alongside an iQuatics Blue Plus or the Actinic range in larger setups

* Good choice of standalone tube

* High Brightness

* High volume of usable light for maximum photosynthesis

* Blue output peaks to allow natural coral viewing pleasure

* Popular for Freshwater and Saltwater setups

These tubes, along with our very popular range of T5's, will be part of the promotion of buy 2 get 1 free that iQuatics offer. And free delivery by UPS if you purchase 2 tubes or more.

Aquarad Update

Sat, 05 Mar 2011 12:46:13 +0000

In our last newsletter we brought to you the launch of the iQuatics Aquarad. These have been flying off the shelves at an unbelievable rate.

If you would like to see some of the latest reviews of the Aquarad then please feel free to look at a couple of friendly forums:

These are friendly, free forums which are always happy to help no matter how big or small the question you have may be - a great source for any non-biased help and advice.

We LOVE Your Feedback

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 10:31:45 +0000

As you may be aware iQuatics thrive to bring you the best customer service in the industry and are always looking for other ways to improve this and make your shopping experience a fast and efficient experience.

If you have any ideas which you would like to see implemented for iQuatics to improve your experience please feel free to leave us any feedback.

Keep a look out for more products coming soon:

Aquarium Magic

Digital timer – Aqualumi series 2

Keep up to date with our latest LED lighting prototypes.

And much much more!

Many thanks for taking the time to read our newsletter and contact us on 0845 269 7417 if you have any questions or to place an order.

The iQuatics Team

New Product - iQuatics T5/T8 Reflectors

Wed, 05 Jan 2011 14:30:24 +0000

We have now launched our new range of T5/T8 reflectors.

Unlike most reflectors on the market, once you have purchased the main reflector, changing them couldn't be cheaper. Rather than changing the whole reflector all you have to do is purchase a replacement strip for just a couple of pounds.

This is an ideal cost effective method of increasing your light output without it costing you the world.

Using an iQuatics Reflector alongside your fluorescent Tubes can increase the output by up to 100%, thus making your fluorescents more efficient without any increase in power consumption.

Each box contains

T5 stainless steel tube holding clips x 2
T8 stainless steel tube holding clips x 2
PVC extruded long life reflector support x 1
Non fibrous reflective strip x 1

The iQuatics Team

Practical Fishkeeping Online Retailer Of The Year 2010

Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:24:50 +0000

Hi Everyone, we would like to say a very big THANK YOU to all of our valued customer and everyone who voted for us in the Practical Fishkeeping Poll!

We won Online Retailer of the year!

Winning this award has shown us all at iQuatics that providing industry leading customer service and great quality products at fantastic prices really does get noticed.

Thank you all once again for your continued support! :)

The iQuatics Team