Held at The Aquarium at Cockfields Farm on the weekend of 17/19 May, this years’ ‘ReefFest’ gathering proved to be a busy event attracting hobbyists from various UK online communities and several major organisations involved in the marine aquatics trade. We attended on the first day and despite spending most of the time chatting to hobbyists and trade contacts we also managed to take some images and gather some intel. So first let’s report on what our trade friends brought to the show. 
Behind Cockfields beautiful Red Sea Max S650 display tank (which was looking as stunning as ever), Red Sea had laid out their stall with their various salts, substrates, kits and supplements (while we are on the subject, keep your eyes open for our review of their Coral Pro salt in the near future). Reps Steve and Kev were also on-hand and it was great to see Kev meeting customers face-to-face that he has tirelessly supported on-line. It’s always nice to put a face to a name! Steve was happy to chat as ever and even promised us another ‘scoop’ just before Interzoo. We can’t say anything else at this time but we think it’s going to be as good as the exclusive first pics of the Max-C we brought from Aqua Telford last year. 
Next to Red Sea, ITC Aquatics were displaying kit from the various manufacturers for whom they act as distributors. Most obviously we spotted offerings from EcoTech with the ‘must-have’ coral propagation kit and a sleek black Radion Gen 3 pro immediately jumping out at us. Those Gen 3 Pros certainly look the business over Cockfields frag tanks too and are evidently up to the task of keeping even the most light demanding species happy and healthy. As well as some lovely pieces of Real Reef Rock (all the benefits of live rock but without the algae and pests), we were also drawn to the Nyos Quantum skimmer, on its first public outing. This ‘highly evolved’ skimmer looks stunning with its transparent construction. Due for imminent release we wonder how these wine-glass design skimmers will stack-up against similar offerings like the Vertex Omega that we’ve already tested. On paper they certainly look interesting and the build quality also felt great. 
All the way from Somerset, Rob Massey from wholesalers J&K Aquatics (who supply lots of shops throughout the UK) was showcasing some new Bubble Magus products. … More:
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