The active carbon according to ATM is called Supernova and it’s available for marine and freshwater aquariums.
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italiano
Finally we’ve in our hands an ATM product, that is Acrylic Tank Manufacturing, the company with the base in Las Vegas well promoted by Brett and Wayde of Acquari di Famiglia. In Italy ATM is imported by Teco which manages the distribution in all Europe, except Great Britain.
After a direct in-depth chat with ATM during last year Interzoo (here), we were curious to try these products. Our idea (like someone else’s) was that they were products of a medium or even low quality. In reality, as you can see if you read the article, these products are highly qualified. And the partnership with Brett and Wayde it’s especially a business and marketing one, so that their products are used in important structures with impressive volume.
At this point our curiosity has been captured, and we’ll start today to meet ATM products starting with one of the most interesting: the active carbon.
Supernova Freshwater and Supernova Marine: the active carbon according to ATM
The active carbon Supernova, both Marine and Freshwater, is formed by bituminous carbon in raw form, so not in pellet form as you can see it in the introduction picture.
The available packages are of 226 and 453 grams. Those in these pages are both of 226 grams.
For the first time, for what I know, there’s active carbon together with bacteria that consume organic substances. In truth I don’t know how this can be possible, neither which can be the real contribute in aquarium, but it’s certainly an always positive thing. According to ATM the active carbon it’s an optimal filtering system, this leads it to block also the organic particles that otherwise would be decomposed in aquarium. But with the bacteria contained in Supernova they are destroyed.
ATM wants also us to know that Supernova is an active carbon not containing moisture. That means that with the same weight it would have a major efficiency. In fact, if we take a look at the specifications we’ll find that’s so: 114 grams per 756 liters, with a duration of two months for the filter, in normal aquariums. In case of aquariums with extreme organic conditions, 114 grams per 378 liters each month. Like an aquarium full of fish, maybe even with fake corals, so much that you have to chemically treated all the water each month. And this unless the purpose is to remove medicines or therapeutic compounds. In this case after 5 days it would have to be replaced. (Pay attention: in the italian catalogs it’s reported the wrong number, because it says it’s 14 grams per 757 liters).
I really appreciate the fact that, finally, the quantities of active carbon are expressed in grams per liter. In this way is easier to be weighed before putting it into the sump.
Before using it, the active carbon should be washed very carefully to wash away the dust formed by the friction between the grains.
The price of Supernova
Seen the peculiarity of the product, Supernova isn’t a cheap active carbon. But you have to consider that it should last almost twice the time of other similar products, making its price more in line with the market.
The package of Supernova of 226 grams costs 22,55 euro in the freshwater version and 23,90 euro for the marine one. The package of 453 grams costs 32,60 euro in the freshwater version and 34,86 euro for the marine one.
Usually, speaking of active carbon, it’s accepted an equivalence of about 2 ml equal to 1 g. Of course it’s not always true, but we need it for comparing this product to others on the market we already know. In this way we’re speaking about a cost of 4,99 euro per 100 ml in the freshwater version and 5,30 euro per 100 ml in the marine one for the smaller packages; in the bigger ones the cost considerably decreases: respectively 3,60 and 3,85 euro per 100 ml.
Equo Depuro Marino (italian review) costs 2,65 euro per 100 ml in the small package and ~1,40 euro per 100 ml in the intermediary one and until 0,85 euro per 100 ml in the monstre package of 5 kg. Carbomax di Forwater (italian preview) instead starts with 1,73 euro until 1,61 euro per 100 ml, and the packages have a content similar to ATM’s. The active coal Elos Carbon M istead goes from 4,57 euro to a minimum of 2,55 euro per 100 ml. Always based on the size of the purchased packages.
Do you have experience with Supernova? Let us know in the comments.
