The Liopopoma fasciatum above and the Achilles Goldrim Hybrid surgeonfish below are evidence that it was possible to get very neat and rare fish even if you were an aquarist working at the Steinhart Aquarium back in the 70s and 80s. The aquariums might look different but the species are the same. Sure the bare coral aquascape might leave a lot to be desired but dead coral skeletons was the norm back then. Gotta hand it to the Steinhart though, we’ve seen dozens of wrasse basses before but never it’s giant counterpart L. fasciatum from the Pacific before and the goldrim x achilles hybrid below is probably the oldest known photo of that particular cross. Let’s hope these photos can inspire Matt, Rich, Charles and Bart not only top these exhibits but perhaps they can even recreate a nostalgic tank with the huge L. fasciatum, giant jawfish and the falcifer butterflyfish. Kevin Cheung is an enthusiastic photographer and he recently saw fit to scan his slide film images of these very neat historical photographs. We’ve selected a few of the more interesting images which are posted after the break, huge thanks to Kevin Cheung for granting us the use of his images to share with you, many more in his flickR album.

This adolescent cortez angelfish, Pomacanthus zonipectus is at the point where it’s changing colors are at their best.

Not sure who thought this pair of fish would work out but guess they did, at least for a while. The Giant Jawfish looks like he could snack down this falcifer butterflyfish with one snap of his jaws.

The color on this bicolor anthias isn’t half bad considering the food that was available back then. Can’t say the same for the faded clown triggerfish in the background though.

We can’t have a retro marine fish photo shoot without the old favorite, the Orbic batfish, Platax orbicularis.

Hey guess what? this regal blue tang is one of the most exotic fish in this photo session at the 70s-80s steinhart.

You know we had to throw in at least one freshwater fish in the mix. What we love about this image is that this is a wild-type discus which are all but absent in the discus hobby these days since all the solid blue diamonds, pidgeon bloods and red discus took over.

1″ and 1.5″ Loc-Line and modular tubing in those diameters are the unicorn of aquarium plumbing: surely they must exist in some form for industrial applications but whatever the case, these holy grail outlets have never made an appearance in the aquarium hobby. The Omni Flex Nozzles from Oceans Motions aim to fill the gap where 1″ or larger modular fittings would be very welcome on large aquarium construction. Omni Flex nozzles are available in 1 and 3 piece sections that can articulate from 0 to 135 degrees depending on how many sections are used; they come with slip, male thread or female thread adapters and prices starting $16-26 for the 1″ OmniFlex and $20-40 for the 1.5″ sections. If you are cranking a lot of water volume through your reef you might consider the dual nozzle which is only available in 1″ at a $5 premium to the configuration you choose. The price of the Omni Flex Nozzles might seem to be somewhat high per piece but if you consider how many 3/4″ loc-lines you’d be using to push the same amount of water the cost would add up quickly and DIYing similar pipes would probably just look tacky. The Omni Flex Nozzles are not exactly new but we thought it’d be worth to bring these little known devices to your attention. Any long term users care to chime in on their performance?

NanoTuners may have just started carrying the Meanwell ELN 60-48D dimmable LED driver but their initial order must have been meager because they are already sold out. The meanwell ELN 60 can power up to 13 high power white or blue LEDs running at up to 4 watts each, or a total of 60 watts of LED power, hence the ELN 60 model name. The D denotes that this Meanwell driver is dimmable with a adjustable voltage from 1.1-10 volts. Standalone this dimming feature is not much more than a fancy analog adjustment but when paired up with capable controllers like the ReefKeeper, Apex and GHL Profilux, the Meanwell ELN 60-48D can be used for full LED lighting control. At 60 watts this dimmable driver is currently the largest available LED driver so if you need more LED power you’ll have to double up or more. NanoCustoms is slinging the Meanwell ELN 60 for $39 which is expected to be back in stock this coming week. Time for LED DIYers to start warming up the soldering iron.

NanoTuners may have just started carrying the Meanwell ELN 60-48D dimmable LED driver but their initial order must have been meager because they are already sold out. The meanwell ELN 60 can power up to 13 high power white or blue LEDs running at up to 4 watts each, or a total of 60 watts of LED power, hence the ELN 60 model name. The D denotes that this Meanwell driver is dimmable with a adjustable voltage from 1.1-10 volts. Standalone this dimming feature is not much more than a fancy analog adjustment but when paired up with capable controllers like the ReefKeeper, Apex and GHL Profilux, the Meanwell ELN 60-48D can be used for full LED lighting control. At 60 watts this dimmable driver is currently the largest available LED driver so if you need more LED power you’ll have to double up or more. NanoCustoms is slinging the Meanwell ELN 60 for $39 which is expected to be back in stock this coming week. Time for LED DIYers to start warming up the soldering iron.

Mirko is our European reefing correspondent and currently the front man behind the premier Croatian reefing website, CroReef.

Aquatronica is pleased to present you its new module in preview, the Tunze Pumps Module (ACQ460). This module will provide yet another function for the Aquarium Controller system: the “Turbelle Tunze” movement pumps control-inside the aquarium. With the ACQ460 connected to the Aquarium controller unit you will be able to set up one or more programs for the dimmable movement pumps, reproducing tide or wave effects as well as many other effects using various combinations of pumps at different times of the day; with the Tunze Pumps Module you could also add a day/night light sensor to the system (optional) to synchronize the lights and wave effects. ACQ460 will be on sale from March 2010. Sorry, still no photo available.