by Todd Gardner | Oct 5, 2013 | Conservation, DIY, Eye Candy, Fish, Science
As the days shorten and the nights get colder in New York, the beach crowds and SCUBA divers give way to cold north winds and bundled-up fishermen, cashing in on the fall striped bass migration. Â Between the less-than-favorable weather, and the need to return to... by Francis Yupangco | Jul 31, 2013 | DIY, Eye Candy, Home Decor, Tanks
In the first installment of this series I gave you a quick glimpse of some of the awesome Mega Home Aquariums that have been built-in the Middle East over the past decade. In this final article of the series, I will provide a little more insight into how these large... by AquaNerd | Jul 22, 2013 | DIY, Fish, Science, Too Cute
Unless you’re a heartless Snorkel Bob supporter, you are really going to enjoy this heartwarming story about a beloved goldfish. Einstein, the fish, was stricken with a dibilitating disease that prevented it from being able to swim. All the fish could do was go belly up and sink to the bottom. The fish’s owner, Leighton Naylor, couldn’t sit idly by while the fish suffered, so he fashioned a life jacket out of air tubing to keep the fish swimming upright and off the tank’s gravel bottom. Naylor claims that the fish wasn’t too efficient with the buoyancy aid at first, as Einstein would swim into objects and get stuck. Because of this, Naylor made the aquarium a little more disabled fish friendly by removing a lot of the decor that only served as obstacles. Since the implementation of the life jacket and rearranging the decor, Einstein has been doing well. He cannot swim to the surface to eat, but is fed through a tube that is lowered into the water. It’s stories like these that show the more loving side of aquarium keeping. Most of us take great pride in our tanks and get attached to each and every fish we keep, regardless of what type of tank you have or how long you’ve been in the hobby. Story via: I F*cking Love Science and Buzz Patrol by AquaNerd | Jun 26, 2013 | DIY, Fish, Tanks
Picture from Kenosha News Just when you thought you’re 300-gallon beast of a reef tank was something to be proud of, some dude goes and builds a tank large enough to rival the display reefs of your local public aquarium. A recent Kenosha News story highlights the 20,000-gallon living room reef of Bill Wann, a local entrepreneur who may have never been diving, but has expressed his love for marine life in a very bold way. In terms of size, to say this aquarium is massive is almost an understatement. It measures 24-foot-long, 10-foot-wide and 10-foot-deep. Holding the water back are 12″ thick concrete walls and 2.5″ thick acrylic viewing windows that measue 6 feet by 10 feet. The 20,000 pounds of live rock was sourced from a mine in Montana, with almost a ton of sand coming from the Bahamas. The 20,000 gallon reef tank, which is the largest privately owned residential aquarium in North America according to the news story, was started back in 2006 when Mr. Wann started to build his home. Like most aquarists, he had to design the house with the aquarium in mind, but obviously the planning for this tank had to be a bit more intensive. He literally built the house around the tank, making sure to include a very elaborate and nearly self sufficient filtration system. The entire system is controlled by a computer system that Wann built himself, and it features redundancies and backups in the form of huge backup generators to make sure the aquarium never stops functioning. Below is a video from the news story. It isn’t of the best quality, but it does give some behind the scenes footage of the tank’s filtration system. by Robert Loren | Jun 7, 2013 | Corals, DIY, Equipment, Fish, Science, Tanks
The majority of us know at least one fellow reefer who swears by dosing his/her reef aquarium with vodka. This seemingly counterintuitive act is often believed to have beneficial effects on the overall health and appearance of one’s reef aquarium.… by AquaNerd | May 9, 2013 | DIY, Equipment, Industry
After more than a year of designing, building, and testing, AVAST Marine Works has finally put their CS3 Cone Skimmer into production. This DIY kit skimmer is the big boy of the AVAST lineup, sporting a 10″ diameter cone body and twin Sicce PSK-1000 needle wheel pumps that crank out a combined 2200 lph air. The impressive array of features allows the CS3 to handle marine aquariums ranging from 300-500 gallons, and its recirculating design means it can operate at just about any water depth. While we’re always excited about new product releases, we’re really looking forward to what AVAST Marine Works is currently in the process of testing. Like many of the different protein skimmer manufacturers, AVAST is currently tinkering around with controllable DC pumps. A few models have been built around the Waveline DC5000 and DC10000 water pumps, and at some point those pumps should be optional equipment for the AVAST skimmer line. We’ve been told that a larger CS5 skimmer might be coming out really soon. We have really liked our Waveline DC pump driven skimmer that we’ve been using long term, as the pumps are solid performers and run very quietly. The pumps will definitely benefit this skimmer lineup. Technical Details of the CS3: Tank Rating: 300-500 gallons Footprint: 16″x16″ Height: 25″, with Swabbie 27.75″ Cone Diameter at Base: 10″ Neck diameter: 5″ Collection Cup Diameter: 10″ Collection Cup Drain: 1/2″ Union Disconnect Air Silencer: Over sized 2x Sicce PSK1000 performance: 2200 lph @ 46w For in sump use only. 0″-16″ depth. The standard recirculating configuration allows the skimmer to run in any depth up to the level of the neck union. Water feed required (recirculating mode only): 300-500gph Pump Warranty: 1 year. « Previous post
Next post »
