Author Archives: Marcin Smok

About Marcin Smok

Marcin Smok is a reefer and aspiring photographer. He has been keeping freshwater fish tanks since he was 9. About three years ago he put his snorkeling mask on in Florida Keys and that's how his journey with saltwater side of the hobby started. He is also a SCUBA diver. You can check his photography site at www.photoreef.com

MACNA Corals Photographs Pt.1 (and free wallpaper, too!)

by Marcin Smok on November 16, 2012

All photographs by author 2012 MACNA in Dallas welcomed many coral&fish vendors from every part of United States and they didn’t disappoint show attendees by bringing some of the most beautiful and healthy marine creatures, including sponges, photosynthetic and non- photosynthetic corals, clams, anemones and other sessile invertebrates. I don’t know if you agree with me, but… More:

Posted in Corals, Events, Eye Candy, Photography | Tagged lps photos, MACNA, macna corals, macna photographs, macro photography, sps photos | Leave a comment

MACNA Coverage: Reef Octopus “Luxury” line of aquariums

by Marcin Smok on November 15, 2012

Coral Vue, the company behind Reef Octopus line of reef equipment, recently debuted with their own line of glass aquariums and showed them at 2012 Macna floor in Dallas. They’re called Reef Octopus Luxury Systems and advertise as fully functional saltwater systems with a large degree of customization. Let’s take a closer look on what Coral Vue offers with this new addition to it’s product catalog…… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry, Tanks | Tagged coral vue, MACNA, macna tanks, reef octopus aquariums, rimless tank | Leave a comment

MACNA Coverage: New Era line of fish foods

by Marcin Smok on November 13, 2012

New Era is an UK based aquatic company that specializes in fish food diets for the marine and freshwater aquarium. They recently partnered with Living Color, a custom tank manufacturer and the guys behind National Geographic reality show “Fish Tank Kings”, to promote and distribute their products on the North American soil. The company’s main focus points are fish dietary needs and it has quite a range of foods available for both the freshwater as well as saltwater side of hobby.… More:

Posted in Events, Fish, Industry | Tagged fish food, MACNA, macna dallas, new era fish food | 1 Comment

MACNA Coverage: GHL Mitras LED light

by Marcin Smok on November 8, 2012

GHL, a German company known in US mainly for their Profilux Aquacontroller, has a brand new LED light that has been already labeled as one of the most advanced, high-end fixtures available on the market today. Although GHL didn’t have a dedicated booth at 2012 MACNA, one of the coral vendors had the new light on display and I managed to learn some interesting things about this new product.… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged dimmable light, german led, ghl mitras, led light, MACNA | 1 Comment

MACNA Coverage: Red Sea new line of large aquariums

by Marcin Smok on November 6, 2012

Red Sea plug-and-play family of aquariums grew with a whole new line of large systems called Max-S series and Red Sea’s MACNA booth had one on display. This beautiful, modern design aquarium comes in three sizes, 400l (110g), 500l(135g) and 650 (175g). Built of 1/2″ glass (5/8″ for the 650l) with low-iron glass front and side panels, the tank is a true head-turner.… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged glass tank, MACNA, max-S aquarium, red sea aquarium, starphire aquarium, [dallas macna | Leave a comment

MACNA Coverage: Deltec New SC1350 budget skimmer+other equipment at the booth

by Marcin Smok on November 5, 2012

There is no doubt that German company Deltec is a staple of aquarium industry and synonym of brilliant engineering and highest quality of finish. Deltec products had changed the way we operate our saltwater aquariums many times and their products have been copied and mimicked by many others, never really achieving the surgical attention to details of the original. However, with quality comes price and people familiar with Deltec products are aware of the premium they have to pay for them. That can soon change with Deltec’s newest addition, the budget-priced SC 1350 internal skimmer…… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged budget skimmer, d-d solutions, deltec, deltec SC1350, internal skimmer, MACNA, macna dallas, macna2012 | Leave a comment

MACNA 2012 Coverage: Neptune Systems Apex announcements!

by Marcin Smok on November 1, 2012

Neptune Systems booth at 2012 MACNA in downtown Dallas was packed as the company had some exciting new products to announce. First of all, they’ve refreshed the company’s logo and overall design on their products, making them makes them more visually pleasing to consumers. The most important new feature is the totally re-designed Apex controller web page. The outdated black theme interface is going to be replaced soon with a brand new, fully customizable site that looks more like an iOS or Android platform.… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged MACNA 2012 dallas neptune systems apex leak detection aquarium controller | 2 Comments

MACNA Coverage: Innovative Marine Nano tanks

by Marcin Smok on October 26, 2012

Innovative Marine is a relatively new company on the US market, however they offer a wide range of products for reefkeeping enthusiasts. Their booth at 2012 MACNA in Dallas showcased, amongst other equipment, a line of nano/pico aquariums. The sleek looking, modern design fish tanks are offered in several sizes and configurations, all sharing some key features, like… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged aio tank, innovative marine, MACNA, nano tanks, pico tanks, small aquarium, [dallas macna | Leave a comment

MACNA Coverage: Sicce new Voyager line of pumps and HyperKoral SPS food

by Marcin Smok on October 25, 2012

Sicce booth at MACNA featured some brand new products, as well as their flagship LED lights and pumps. Water flow enthusiasts should check the new Voyager line of pumps and their dedicated Wave Surfer controller.… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged alternative to vortech, MACNA, macna dallas, Pump, pump controller, sicce | Leave a comment

Fish of MACNA (and free reefs.com wallpaper!)

by Marcin Smok on October 19, 2012

Marine Aquarium Conference of North America (or MACNA as we called) in Dallas welcomed some exciting new announcements from leading aquarium industry companies, but as you may suspect, MACNA is not only about new equipment. There were many beautiful tanks teeming with reef life on display and this two part photo article aim to show you some of the most remarkable fish and invertebrates I managed to capture at the show. Plus, there’s a little freebie for reefs.com blog readers at the end of this article. Enjoy! … More:

Posted in Conservation, Events, Eye Candy, Fish, Photography, Uncategorized | Tagged fish photos, MACNA, Photography, reef wallpaper, seahorse, wallpaper | Leave a comment

MACNA 2012 Coverage: Aquaticlife new 3W Cree fixture and other LED lights

by Marcin Smok on October 18, 2012

Aquaticlife secured their brand as an aquarium light solutions manufacturer when they introduced a line of affordable T5 fluorescent fixtures. It turned out their lights were not only priced right, but also reliable and equipped with interesting features. For the 2012-13 season, AquaticLife tries to duplicate this win scenario by entering the LED craze. Their product catalog expanded, featuring three different lines of LED panels, from a low power SMD diodes light to a full blown fixture using 3W LEDs.… More:

Posted in Equipment, Events, Industry | Tagged 3w led light, aquaticlife, Cree, LED, led panel, MACNA, marine aquarium conference | Leave a comment

MACNA Coverage: Reef Savvy booth

by Marcin Smok on October 17, 2012

The South Florida-based aquarium manufacturer Reef Savvy came to MACNA with the intention to show their work and I must say they’ve had some great looking tanks at the conference’s floor.… More: