by AquaNerd | Apr 25, 2014 | Conservation, Invertebrates, Reef
Image Credit: Getty Images The crown-of-thorns starfish has been one of the single most destructive threats facing Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Its voracious appetite for hard coral flesh combined with its accelerated life cycle have caused massive losses to the tune of nearly 50% of all corals along a 1,500-mile stretch of the Queensland coast over a few decades. This has caused some drastic measures to be taken by wildlife officials, most of which has been centered around an ineffective 20-point injection method that kills the starfish. According to multiple news stories, however, that method was replaced with a much more effective single-injection method that has led to more than 250,000 starfish deaths over the last two years alone. The new injection method is also more effective in that it kills the starfish in just two days and is supposedly harmless to other marine life. Previous methods consisted of injecting acid into each of the starfish’s arms, which could obviously do some pretty significant damage to nearby corals as well. According to the Daily Mail’s coverage of several interviews with Australian officials, the Australian government has already provided £560,000 of funding towards removing the starfish, with another £1.1million in the budget for future starfish destruction. by AquaNerd | Apr 24, 2014 | Corals, Equipment, Industry, Tanks
Reef Octopus is breaking out the DC skimmer pumps once again in this new protein skimmer release. Called the Regal Skimmers, this line of foam fractionators looks quite similar to the Super Reef Octopus Space Saving skimmers of recent memory, but will feature Reef Octopus’ own brand of DC controllable pumps. The pumps, which RO has been marketing extensively since MACNA last year, are becoming more incorporated into the product line, and for good reason. The controller allows for fine tuning of the pump’s speed, which affects things like air draw and the all important air-to-water ratio. Unlike the SRO skimmers, the new Regal line will feature red accent pieces laid over clear and white arcylic. This color scheme falls in line with the rest of what Reef Octopus has been doing, as their Prime skimmers sport a hefty amout of red as well. In terms of tank sizes, pump ratings, prices, and the like, we don’t fully know what the Regal skimmers will offer by AquaNerd | Apr 21, 2014 | Equipment, Industry, Tanks, Technology
What do you get when you combine the elegant shape of a wine glass bodied skimmer with the performance and controllability of a DC powered pump? The new Reef Octopus Elite skimmer, that’s what. Reef Octopus has taken their Prime protein skimmer line and given it a big boost with the addition of a DC pump, marrying two of the hottest features in protein skimmer technology into one product that is sure to perform. The RO Elite skimmer will come in two models, the 220-INT with a filtration capacity of 530-gallons and the 200-INT for aquariums 400-gallon and less. Both models will feature the popular wine-glass body, which is comprised of soft curves that gently bottleneck bubbles into the collection cup, along with tons of other nice features outline immediately below. Turbulence Reducing Super Cone Body Solid Cast Acrylic & Machined PVC Construction Bubble Dispersant Plate Vented Output Valve with Adjustment Dial Controllable RO-DC Pump “Twist & Lift” Collection Cup Efficient & Quiet Operation Disassembles for Easy Cleaning & Maintenance As for individual product specs, the largest of the two models is the 220-INT. It sports a 16.5″ x 12.2″ footprint and draws in air at a maximum rate of 2000 lph depending on the DC 5500s Pinwheel Pump’s settings. The smaller model, called the 200-INT, takes all of the same features and crams them down into a 15″ x 11.2″ footprint. It’s DC 3500s pump has an air draw of up to 1200 lph, but like its big brother, these numbers can be dialed back to fine tune performance. by AquaNerd | Apr 18, 2014 | Equipment, Industry, Technology
As part of the continued effort to integrate the VorTech pumps into EcoTech Marine’s EcoSmart Live system, an update to the EcoSmart Live app has been released that allows users to control their VorTech pumps via any iOS powered device. Just last month, EcoTech added VorTech control to their Reeflink, for the first time allowing the ReefLink and EcoSmart platforms to live up to their promises of simultaneous wireless control of the Radion XR30w LED fixtures and the popular pumps. The update app has the same look and feel of the previous verions that only offered Radion control, but adds the touch sensitive wheel right alongside the Radion controls. This touch sensitive wheel is dual purpose, allowing the speed of the pump to be adjusted, as well as the flow mode. This app is free to download from Apple’s App Store and an Android friendly version will shortly follow. by AquaNerd | Apr 17, 2014 | Conservation, Invertebrates, Science
Here is a very troubling story out of Malaysia. According to The Star Online, a group of nine Vietnamese fishermen were arrested for illegally harvesting dozens of giant clams whose combined weight totalled nearly 20 metric tons (almost 44,000 pounds). The arrest is reportedly the first of its kind, but officials strongly believe that this isn’t the first incident for these fisherman, who were arrsted on Monday. The clams have a value of RM500,000, which roughly translates to somethine like $150,000 US, as their shells are valuable in the curio trade as well as in the cosmetics industry. The giant clams, which are probably of the species but could include several others, are obviously endangered and protected marine species that require specialized permitting to collect. It is even illegal to sell the clam shells without special permits. In addition to the fishermen, the boat company is also under investigation, as it is believed that they entered into a joint venture with the fishermen to harvest the clams
