by Marc Levenson | Oct 23, 2013 | Equipment, Fish, Tanks, Technology
A new resource is now available to help aid in routine fish tank maintenance such as checking water parameters, monitoring livestock behavior and growth, and keeping track of your aquarium's monthly and fixed expenses. This new resource is a free online program called Reefware. The official site URL: www.reefware.com I spent about 45 minutes on the website to see what it can do and where it is going. The first thing you'll need to do is log in.Once your email activation has been confirmed, you'll be able to start entering whatever data you know now, and you can log back in for future entries. I created a tank profile for the 400g as well as another profile for the 10g frag tank. Profiles ask for name, gallons, dimensions, fresh/saltwater, and the date of inception. Entering water parameters is easy, and for precision use the Up and Down arrows on your keyboard.Any regular media changes can be entered to stay on top of this task. Check when you changed it last, as well as when it expires (based on a date you've set yourself). Carbon lasts a week, and biopellets need replenishing every couple of months for my system.The dashboard updates accordingly.Adding all your livestock initially would be quite the undertaking, but if you are OCD about every detail in your tank, this tab will keep you busy updating. Livestock entries include date of purchase, size of fish/coral/invert, and provides the scientific name. by Tami Weiss | Oct 22, 2013 | Conservation, Seahorses, Technology, Travel
Background Photo by Anthony Pearson. Are you a diver? Or perhaps just near the ocean and have the occasional sighting of seahorses in the wild? Project Seahorse launches iSeahorse.org to track seahorses spotted around the globe. And they have an iphone app for those world travelers on the go. This is citizen science at it’s best, and a great opportunity to help understand the biology of seahorses along with population information that can be used in confirmation efforts. Heather Koldewey writes; Dear friends and colleagues, We have some exciting news: Today marks the launch of iSeahorse, a brand-new citizen science initiative that allows anyone, anywhere in the world to contribute to seahorse science and conservation with just a few clicks of a mouse or taps on a smartphone. A collaboration among University of British Columbia, Zoological Society of London, John G. Shedd Aquarium, and partners all over the world, iSeahorse allows you to share your seahorse observation anytime you spot one of these mysterious and threatened animals in the wild. Scientists from Project Seahorse and the iSeahorse network will use your vital information to better understand seahorse behaviour, species ranges, and the threats seahorses face. We will use this knowledge to improve seahorse conservation across the globe. Whether you’re a diver, a fisher, a scientist, a seahorse enthusiast, or just on a beach holiday, we want to hear from you! Sharing your seahorse observations is fast and easy. Visit www.iseahorse.org or download the iSeahorse app for iPhone to get started. On the iSeahorse website, you can view interactive seahorse maps and species profiles, contribute species identifications, learn about conservation threats, and advocate for increased conservation measures in your ocean neighbourhood. For more information, visit http://www.iseahorse.org/?q=about or email us at [email protected]! The Project Seahorse Team http://www.projectseahorse.org So go to the website, download the app, and help make science happen! This entry was posted on Saturday, October 19th, 2013 at 12:59 am and is filed under Diving. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed. by AquaNerd | Oct 22, 2013 | Fish, Reef, Tanks
CaribSea has a new product that is just perfect for hobbyists in need of some live rock rubble. The Rubble Zone is box full of calcium carbonate based rock rubble that can be used to fill a refugium, as mounts for new frags, as building material for various fish (e.g. jawfish), and even as freshwater pond filtration material. Personally, we love to use rubble rock in the rear chambers of nano aquariums instead of those awful bioballs and ceramic rings. The Rubble Zone will be sold in one gallon boxes priced at $16.99 each, and they are available at online stores like Marine Depot. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve gone to the fish store or broken out a hammer and screwdriver just to get our hands on some live rock rubble. There are just so many uses, as it is the best and most natural material to use for things like coral fragging or creating hiding places in the tank for small creatures. We just aren’t sure why nobody has really thought of this before. Thanks to our pal Joe Savoy for inadvertently turning us on to this product. by AquaNerd | Oct 22, 2013 | Aquaculture, Fish, Industry
October has been a big month for Oceans Reefs & Aquariums, as they’ve officially released two long awaited fish for hobbyists to finally enjoy. Besides the Gold Nugget Maroon Clownfish starting to be circulated, which took more than a year to reach the market, ORA is also making their Randall’s Assessors available to fish retailers around the world. Announced in December 2012, the ORA Randall’s Assessor was first acquired from Blue Harbor in Japan. Given their rarity in the states, ORA immediately placed these fish into their breeding program, experiencing a great deal of success along the way. With the conquest of breeding the Randall’s Assessor, ORA has officially bred all known species of the Assessor genus. That’s quite a success, especially given the Randall Assessor’s limited availability for such a long time. We can’t wait to see how well they fill out the tanks of US hobbyists, and we’re definitely excited by this news. Just don’t expect the price to be as low as other assessors. Chances are this fish will tip the scales well over $100, though we don’t have a firm price as of yet by Admin | Oct 21, 2013 | Corals, Fish, Tanks
Aquascaping is a challenge in itself. The ability to place rocks in an aquarium in a way that looks appealing, that provides plenty of surface area for the planting of corals, that offers hiding spots for the fish, and that doesn't look unnatural -- it's almost too much to consider. If all else fails, I'd strongly urge you to find a female to add her perspective because for some reason they have an incredible knack for this task. Ask your spouse, your significant other, or even a female friend for their input... trust me. You want to avoid a man-made pile (brickwork looking), as well as straight horizontal lines since these aren't common in nature. With your counterpart chiming in, you may only need to make a couple of tiny changes to get a great looking reef.Once the aquascape has been perfected with nooks, crannies, tunnels, overhangs and interesting structures, it is possible that all your hard work can come crashing down
