I went to Aquatic Experience today hoping and expecting something better than what it was. I was hoping one of the tank manufacturers would have have a tank that took things to the next level. My must have tank is a peninsula tank. You won't find any of those at the show. They are all standard tanks that the same manufacturers make. If there was a single tank that caught my attention, it would have to be one of the Red Sea Reefer tanks. But even those tanks if you strip out the overflow box, it was just like all other manufacturered rimless tanks, except turnkey. When will manufacturers expand their lines to include peninsula style tanks in different sizes. Planet Aquariums had a tank on display with the ghost overflow version 1. To me personally that's not a huge improvement just because I can and have taken a more budget friendly tank and installed that very same overflow box on it without the huge markup.
In the lighting department, it was cool to see the soon to be released Reefbrite T5/Led fixture. Finally got to see the Kessil Ap700 in person as well, it has some serious coverage.
Other than that my overall impression was far more freshwater in your face than reef. You want to excite a crowd, raffle off a Kessil Ap700, raffle off a Red Sea Reefer System, maybe even a patio pond, raffling off a maintenance package isn't exactly thrilling, just reminds you that water changes suck.