MACO Marine Aquarist Courses Online: back by popular demand!

[wade1]

MACO (Marine Aquarist Courses Online) is proud to present:
http://aquaristcourses.org

Acrylic Fabrication (Kalkwasser Reactor) Course
(Online registration opens Jan 16th | First online chat: February 20th)

This course is designed for the aquarist who wishes to learn the basics of acrylic fabrication. The principles and details taught in this course will allow you to create anything from a sump, to a reactor, to a display tank. The course covers basic safety, equipment, handling, and fabricating with acrylic as a medium. The course project is a kalkwasser (calcium hydroxide or limewater) reactor. For more information, click on the link for schedules and payments on the website.

Reef Lighting Course
(Online registration opens January 30th)

This course is taught by Sanjay Joshi, a professor of engineering and one of the leading hobbyists regarding the intricacies of lighting in a reef setting. This is a repetition of the course he offered in 2003 which was a resounding success and covered the fundamentals of metal halide lighting. Sanjay has recently put up a new website detailing his findings from the metal halide studies at: http://lighting.reefs.org. Stay tuned and check out the site for more details.

Woodworking for Beginners (Canopy) Course
(Online registration will open in March)

This is a basic fabrication course that takes the participant through the basics of woodworking, including safety, equipment, cutting and joining, and basic design. If you are new to woodworking, but always had an interest, this is the course for you! The class culminates in the creation of a canopy/hood for an aquarium or a project of your choosing.

Coral Reef Conservation and Restoration Course

This course will be taught by the staff of the ReefBall foundation. An organization dedicated to restoring the world’s reefs (with tons of practical field experience) by the use of artificial structures and strong science. The course will offer ReefBall certification at its conclusion to participants and will teach on the topics of restoration and conservation. Stay tuned to the website for more details.

What is MACO?

MACO is a system by which interested people can become students and learn everything from introductory fabrication or science to the most advanced techniques in aquarium husbandry. We draw upon university professors, professionals, and hobbyists of all levels to instruct courses designed around providing you the most current knowledge in a given topic. Courses in the past have covered the basics of fabrication, lighting measurements and regimes, biology of reef organisms, and much more. The 2005 series opens in February and we have a whole host of courses available. For more information see our website at:

http://aquaristcourses.org.

 

[EmilyB]

Does this mean ChristyF5 will finally get the prize she earned from Eric B?
:?

 

[wade1]

I've heard of similar problems with prior instructors and the MACO courses. Unofrunately, I was not involved in those courses and do not know what prizes were on offer for what. If it was something the instructor promised, then that will have to be taken up with Eric. If it is something that MACO offered, then we can certainly look into what it was and what we can do to make reparations.

Wade

 

[wade1]

Just to show everyone what it is the first (acrylic) course will be making.. and to stress the point that these are not DIY (in terms of do it as cheap as you can)...

 

[wade1]

Just a reminder that the courses are available for signup!! We've given an unofficial extra day or two to the kalk reactor (See above) signup in case you were a little late!

Don't miss this course, it will be awesome for teaching you how to manipulate acrylic!

 

[wade1]

Sanjay's lighting course registration is still open! Sign up now for the best seat! (Ok, not true, there are no seats, but signing up early would make your mother proud.)

http://aquaristcourses.org

He'll give you the breakdown on what light is, how it works, how it moves, and why its important to the reef environment. Great course!

 

[Anonymous]

I was interested in taking Sanjay's course - is there anyway we can find out the day of the lecture? I work 50+ hours a week and take a full course load currently - need to know the times before I plunk down cash.

Also wade have you asked Scott Michael if he's interested in teaching another fish course? Had a lot of fun with his last one a couple years back.

 

[wade1]

technoshaman
The day of the chat has not been set, I would recommend you contact Sanjay directly. I can give you his email address if you do not have it. There will be a transcript available for each chat as well on the MACO site.

As for Scott Michael, I have been trying to get in touch with him, he has a pretty busy schedule. I will try again, thanks for the reminder.

Wade

 

[wade1]

Sanjay's Lighting course is now registering!!! Registration closes on March 15, so sign up while you can!

For more information:
http://aquaristcourses.org/ADV1.htm

 

[wade1]

MACO registration is now open for beginning woodworking!!

Here is a summary version of the course outline:
Week 1 – Shop Safety, Common Tools and Wood Properties
Week 2 – The Design Process, Harsh Saltwater Environment Concerns, Hardware and Resources
Week 3 – Preparation, Machining and Techniques
Week 4 – Preparation, Machining and Joining Techniques
Week 5 – Joining and Finish Preparation
Week 6 – Finishing


If interested, please see the site for a full breakdown and more information: http://aquaristcourses.org/courselist.htm

 

[wade1]

MACO ( http://aquaristcourses.org ) proudly presents the next in our 2005 series of courses:

Woodworking for Reef Enthusiasts[/url]
Beginning June 18, 2005 - 6 weeks ($65)

A course detailing the contruction of a canopy to house your lighting system on any size tank. The course covers the basics of structure and wood manipulation and as a final project you build a hood/canopy or pendant system for your own tank using the knowledge gleaned from the course. Course consists of weekly chats, 24/7 access to the course’s website (and all uploaded materials), and 24/7 access to forums where students and instructor can interact.

For more information and to sign up, please visit the website:
http://aquaristcourses.org (http://aquaristcourses.org/FAB2.htm)

This course registration closes on June 10th!

 

[wade1]

Here are some images from the instructor of the type of work created in this course (which can be applied to not only canopies, but stands and other accessories as well):

 

[jkstiles]

I'm logged on Wade but couldn't find the link to any pictures for the woodworking course.

Keith

 

[jkstiles]

Apparently I WASN'T logged on. Got it now though.

Keith

 

[wade1]

We have rescheduled the woodworking course to begin on November 5th! November 6th will see the first chat session.

The course is still the same as listed on the http://aquaristcourses.org website (there is a syllabus posted).

If you want any handbuilt woodwork for your aquarium, this is the course to take to learn it! If you have any questions, please ask!

Wade

 

[wade1]

We now have a confirmed start date for the MACO Coral Reef Conservation course! The course will begin in the last week of January '06. Registration will open soon.

Mark your calendars and watch the http://aquaristcourses.org site for details!

If you browse to the course description, by clicking the links for the course, you can see the proposed syllabus. This course ends in Reef Ball certification, which they use in real life field operations around the world!

 

[wade1]

MACO is now offering a course, led by the ReefBall Foundation that covers the basics of reef restoration and conservation! Course starts in late January, sign up now!

Details can be found at the website:
http://aquaristcourses.org (click the course name for more information)

The course:

Natural marine eco-systems are the guide to successful marine aquarium keeping. In this 6 week course we will explore the techniques used in the replication and restoration of coral reef ecosystems and provide basic knowledge of Designed Artificial Coral Reef Systems (Reef Ball™). Certification of completion of this course is your first step in becoming a member of the team.

Week One
Reef Ball Module (What is a Reef Ball?)
a.) Design & Function
b.) Construction (Mold setup & Casting)
c.) Cement 101
d.) Deployment

Week Two
Marine Eco-Systems (Replication & Restoration)
a.) Coral Reefs
b.) Estuaries and Bays
c.) Aquascaping Reef Balls

Weeks Three & Four
Coral Propagation (Reef Balls Methodology)
a.) Basic Coral Biology and Reproduction Methods
b.) Asexual Fragmentation
c.) Tools
d.) Different Techniques for Different Species
e.) Choice of Species
f.) Size of Fragments Direct Methods

Week Five
Coral Attachment Techniques (used in the field)
a.) Advantages of Coral Plug Adapters
b.) Hydrostatic Methods When and How to use it
c.) Placement and orientation to current and light
d.) Coral Diseases

Week Six
Reef Ball Coral Team
a.) Field Methods & Operations
b.) Propagation table setup & Operation Procedure
c.) Reef Ball Team Ethics & Strategies

The course is $65 for 6 weeks for information derived from field experience around the world.