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The top 12 most energy efficient aquatic products!

The cost of living is in the news every day now, and with good reason.

It’s getting increasingly expensive to do all the necessary day-to-day things everyone needs to do.

This is not only affecting every one of your stores, but it is also massively affecting your customers. Meaning that in some extreme cases, they have resorted to turning off parts of their aquatic set-ups completely as they use too much energy!

With this in mind, we wanted to highlight what we feel are the most energy-efficient products on the market today. These would prove to be great alternatives for your customers who want to keep their aquariums running but lower their energy bills.

Look at our list below of the top 12 most energy efficient aquatic products!

Starter Kits:

(Without heaters)

Ciano Aqua 20 – 6.5W

The Ciano Aqua Classics are small, stylish, and durable glass aquariums primarily for first time fish keepers. They are available in two sizes, 13L (35cm long) and 17L (40cm) and come with a filter and protective cover. Dimensions (LxWxH): 400mm x 200mm x 260mm.

Tropical Kits (with heater):

Eheim Aquastar 54 – 61.7W

The Eheim aquastar 54 LED aquarium is the ideal starter kit. It measures 60cm long, holds 54 litres of water, and comes complete with lighting, filter, and a heater. The aquarium is made from high quality transparent glass with a slim, hinged cover and bottom trim to improve the appearance. Available in black or white. This is the perfect size for the first time fishkeeper. It gives you the scope for successfully keeping a wide range of fish, invertebrates, and plants. Dimensions (LxWxH): 600mm x 300mm x 300mm.

Larger aquariums with cabinets:

The entire Eheim Vivaline range – Between 116.6W – 174.5W

With a vivaline, a fish tank becomes a piece of furniture. The modern, stylish, ‘straight-edge’ designed Eheim vivalineLED aquarium sets come complete with matching cabinet, filtration, heating, and lighting. There are twelve models available, featuring three popular colours across four assorted sizes. Whether you choose to have a peaceful tropical or even a lively Goldfish set up, one of these combinations will really look the part anywhere around the home. Dimensions (LxWxH): 600mm x 500mm x 500mm (total with cabinet 610mm x 510mm x 1240mm). Volume 150L.

External Filters:

Up to 300L, the entire Eheim Ecco range – Between 5W – 8W

The Eheim Ecco Pro external filters have so many qualities. They give outstanding filtering performance, have powerful yet energy efficient motors, built to a high standard, easy to use, and inexpensive to buy. Ecco Pro filters are a particularly excellent choice for tropical community and planted aquariums.

Up to 600L, Eheim Professionel 4+ 600 – 16W

The Eheim professionel 5e’s are the most advanced external filters on the market. In fact, they are so advanced, they almost run themselves! These Wi-Fi controlled filters have many features including different operating modes, service indicators and a large filtration capacity. Available in four models, to suit aquariums up to 700 litres, including a thermal filter with an integrated heater.

Up to 1200L, Eheim Professionel 3 1200XL – 25W

The Eheim Professional 3 1200XL is the largest of the Eheim filters that we offer. In fact, it is so big, it has its own wheels and two inlet pipes! It can hold over thirteen litres of filter media and is suitable for aquariums up to 1200 litres!

Betta X-30 – 40W

The Betta Choice X-30 Aquarium Canister Filter is easy and simple to use. It features a high output pump, an easy-to-clean multi-stage canister with large pre-filter and built-in drain valve to assist with maintenance. This quiet and reliable filter has class leading, low energy consumption whilst still providing a high flow rate and good filtration. The water flows into a multi-stage filtration system, passing through the media trays containing mechanical and biological media before being pumped back into the aquarium.

Internal Filters:

Small filter (up to 60L), Eheim Pick Up 60 – 4W

The Eheim Pick-Up filters have been a practical, excellent value, entry-level internal filter since they first became available over 25 years ago. As the name suggests, the filter simply ‘picks up’ dirt and waste and collects it in the filter. Perfect for beginners, they are available for small and large tanks with four models suitable for different volumes of water up to 200 litres.

Eheim Pick Up, Aquaball – All 6W

To maintain the perfect aquarium, with clear water and healthy fish, you are going to require a good filter. Within the range of Eheim Aquaball’s, you have internal filters which are suitable for aquariums up to 180 litres. These filters will provide you will years of excellent, and reliable service. Aquaball’s are a superb choice tropical community and cold-water aquariums.

Large filter (up to 250L), Eheim Biopower 240 – 8W


Eheim biopower’s are advanced internal filters which have some of the benefits of an external canister unit. They have foam along with ceramic filter media which increases the filter’s capabilities. Within the range of Eheim biopower’s, you have three filters which are suitable for aquariums up to 240 litres. These filters will provide you with years of excellent, reliable service and are especially good for planted and peaceful community aquariums.

Heaters

Eheim’s Thermocontrol, Thermopreset or Thermocontrol e – Between 25W and 400W depending on heater size

Thermocontrol

The Eheim thermocontrol aquarium heater was formerly known as the Eheim JŽñger aquarium heater. These are extremely efficient, ultra-modern electronic thermal devices for heating your aquarium. There are 9 heaters in the range, which come with many features and are suitable for aquariums from 20 to 1000 litres.Thermopreset

With the Eheim thermopreset heaters, getting your aquarium up to temperature could not be easier. These are ‘pre-set’ to 25€c which is the ideal for the most common aquarium inhabitants. The compact design makes them perfect for small tanks, and the built-in heater guard protects fish such as Pleco’s which like to rest on heaters. Four sizes available, for aquariums from 25 to 400 litres.
Thermocontrol e The Eheim thermocontrol e is the ultimate aquarium heater. These are ultra-modern, electronically controlled, and extremely efficient which makes them more accurate. This means that your fish get the right temperature even more precisely. There are 10 heaters in the range, with models from 25 to 400w which are suitable for aquariums from 20 to 1200 litres.

Air Pumps

NEWA Wind

NEWA Wind is a range of compact, powerful, and extremely quiet air pumps for indoor aquarium use. They can be used for a wide variety of tasks and are compatible with many filters, air stones and ornaments. Available in 6 models, they deliver high performance and low power consumption, with pumps suitable for aquariums from 5 to 700 litres. Aeration kit included.

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Top 10 tips for keeping your pond healthy during summer (or hot weather)

Summer is great, for a lot of different reasons. It’s the season you can spend the most time in the garden, either relaxing, tending to odd jobs, or even getting the BBQ out.

However, for your pond (and the fish that inhabit it) it can be a difficult time. The hot weather can cause a few problems that if ignored can really harm the health of your pond and fish.

That’s why it’s important you take care of your pond when the weather is especially warm.

With that in mind, here are our 10 top tips for looking after your pond this summer!

1. Increase surface water movement and oxygen levels

Fish need a healthy amount of oxygen in the pond in order to survive. However, in hot weather, the water’s surface may tighten up, become still, and stagnate. This stops oxygen getting in and toxic gases from getting out.

Check the oxygen level in the pond using an oxygen test kit.

In order to increase the oxygen levels throughout the volume of pond water, you will need to increase the surface movement, which will allow more oxygen to diffuse its way in.

The best way to do this is to use either a fountain or air pump, which will break the surface, circulate the water, and allow more oxygen to get into the pond.

2. Remove as much blanketweed, algae, and other debris as possible

In addition to using nutrients from the water, algae and blanketweed can clog filters, and cause even more problems for your pond and fish.

The quickest way to remove the algae from the surface of your pond is with a catching net. Use a catching net to skim the surface of your pond, pulling the algae free and removing it from the pond. This may take a while, but it will give you immediate results.

Longer term, you will need to look at adding some pond plants to stop algae forming in the first place.

3. Don’t overfeed fish

Avoid overfeeding to reduce fish waste and stop any leftover food from rotting. If you have fish in your pond, you should only feed them the amount of food that they can consume in a few minutes. If you feed too much,  the excess food will drift to the bottom and rot, which can pollute water and also trigger algae growth. Excess floating food should then be removed.

It is advisable not to feed your fish when the temperature is over 30°c.

If you’re unsure about how much to feed your fish, check the instructions on your fish food for a rough guide.

Overfeeding your fish could be a massive problem in hot weather.

4. If you have been overfeeding…

If you have been overfeeding, you may get a build-up of unsightly foam or froth on the water’s surface. This is caused by excess protein in the water (from the food).

Using some NT Labs Foam Control will break this protein down and allow oxygen to get in and toxic gases to get out.

5. Provide some shade for ponds that are out in the open

Fish are no different to any other living creature and will enjoy some time in the shade if the sun becomes too much for them to handle.

Make sure that an area of your pond is shady to give your fish a well-deserved break from the constant sun.

Adding some water lilies, placing a cover, or even adding some decking over part of the pond are just some ways on how to provide some shade.

6. Maintain water levels / keep the pond full

It is important to keep ponds topped up to their correct levels during hot weather. As water evaporates during hot weather, this alters the water parameters, raising mineral content (per/L) to levels which could be too high. This can be dangerous for fish and could encourage excess algae growth.

Carefully adding some new water at this time can also freshen things up a bit which fish really do appreciate.

7. Make sure pond filters are cleaned of mechanical debris and are running correctly

Filters need to be working as effectively as possible at this time of the year. Fish are at their most active, many will have just finished spawning and they are eating lots. This puts a heavy load on filter systems.

Maintaining your filter and keeping water moving through it is vitally important. Make sure your filter medias are free of mechanical debris, not getting blocked and water is able to run freely out back to the pond. This will help keep the water clear and healthy.

Do not be tempted to clean filter media in chlorinated tap water as this will destroy the important and friendly bacteria that has colonised in there. It is best to use either some old pond water or rainwater.

Keeping curious cats at bay is important for happy fish

8. Keep predators such as cats and Herons away

As fish could be spending a lot of time closer to the surface, it’s important to keep predators at bay, so that your fish don’t suddenly “go missing”.

Adding a pond cover net will not only keep intruders such as cats and herons at bay, but also stop fish from jumping out too.

9. Test the water, checking the quality and the parameters

This will alert you to any problems. Doing this regularly enough will make sure you catch any potential issues early enough to treat them safely and effectively.

You can do this with a water testing kit.

10. Where possible, avoid using fish disease and algae treatments

While they may seem like a convenient idea to begin with, these products use vital oxygen to get them working. Oxygen which is at a premium in hot weather. It’s better to use proactive measures to prevent algae, such as adding plants, or use a net to physically remove it.

So to recap:

  1. Increase surface water movement and oxygen levels with either a water or air pump. Check this using an oxygen test kit.
  2. Remove as much blanketweed, algae, and other debris as possible.
  3. Don’t overfeed fish, remove any uneaten food after 5 minutes. Feed only in the mornings and evenings when the temperatures are lower.
  4. If you have been overfeeding……..
  5. Provide some shade for ponds that are out in the open.
  6. Maintain water levels / keep the pond full.
  7. Make sure pond filters are cleaned of mechanical debris and are running correctly.
  8. Keep predators such as cats and Herons away as fish could be spending a lot of time closer to the surface.
  9. Test the water, checking the quality and the parameters.
  10. Where possible, avoid using fish disease and algae treatments as these use vital oxygen to get them working.

Recommended products:

  1. Pond air pumps.
  2. NT Labs Foam Control.
  3. Blagdon Fresh Start.
  4. Waterlife Bacterlife.
  5. Tetra Oxygen Test Kit.