by AquaNerd | Jul 15, 2014 | Science, Tanks
#3 of 10 in Esquire’s 10 of the World’s Coolest Aquariums The internet is rife with lists. People just love them. Lists featuring the top ten of this or top five of that summarize their points in a very concise, easy to read format that people with short attention spans can actually make it through without getting sidetracked. We can’t say that we dislike lists, in fact we love them just like everyone else, except for those cases where the list isn’t at all researched or just hypes up something normally quite mundane. Recently, we came across a list of “10 of the Word’s Coolest Aquariums” in the UK version of Esquire, and suffice it to say, we were less than impressed with their featured tanks. While we certainly welcome a bit more of the positive spotlight on our hobby, we could easily have thought of ten far better aquariums than those that made the list. So, to help fix their list, we’ve come up with a few notable tanks that should top Esquire’s compilation… 1. Chingchai’s 1000-gallon DSPS Tank Chingchai’s world famous reef aquarium 2. David Saxby’s massive L-shaped aquarium David Saxby’s massive L-shaped reef tank 3. by Admin | Jul 1, 2014 | Conservation, Science, Tanks
Figure 1. Culture of bacteria (Pseudomonas sp.??) on marine agar isolated from larval rearing tanks at OI.Aloha everyone!It’s been a while since my last post, but it’s been a busy few months. Though it's the kind of busy you don't realize until you sit down and catch your breath. It’s been a lot of fun spending my days in the lab working with everyone learning new things. Figure 2. Sample of Parvocalanus nauplii on TCBS agar that was fed to yellow tang larvae. Since we are still observing relatively high mortality just past first feeding, my work at the Oceanic Institute is focused on bacterial population analysis and application of probiotics to our yellow tang larval rearing tanks. The first month of summer was spent looking at the growth of our live feeds with the addition of probiotics, which appear to have no effect on their survival or growth. This is great news for us by AquaNerd | Jun 26, 2014 | Science, Tanks
Aquariums stands are every bit as crucial to the overall process as the aquariums themselves. They provide a place to out the tank as well as store all of the other gear necessary to keep the tank functioning properly. For years, aquarists have relied on various types of wood to serve as the structure of the stand, with particle board (MDF) and plywood making up the largest portions. In more recent times, metal stands have been put into service, but these huge and heavy stands had to be built by welders and they often cost a small fortune. While these two options have generally been the only ones available, the guys at Primo Reef are looking to shake things up a bit by introducing their T-slotted aluminum stands. These metal stands are made from aluminum, a real shocker huh, but they don’t assemble like other metal stands. Instead, these stands piece together with aluminum tubing that is slotted down the middle and fastened together with nuts, bolts, and angles brackets. It’s a whole new way to look at aquarium stands, and they can be pieces together by any hobbyist with even the slightest amount of mechanical skill. As for the benefits of using these slotted aluminum stands, for one, they look pretty slick by AquaNerd | Jun 25, 2014 | Science, Tanks
When it comes to reef ready aquariums, hobbyists gernally have two choices. Those are to either accept the typical huge black box style internal overflows that dominates the pre-made reef ready aquariums, or to add one of a number of different custom overflows to an existing tank that wasn’t previously reef ready. For the latter option, aquarium keepers have been limited only by their imagination, but there are few pre-fabbed choices on the market short of those unreliable HOB overflows that we all know and hate. Thankfully, the crew at Custom Aquariums has a different take on the retrofit overflow design with their including this H2Overflow. This take on the overflow box uses a small surface skimming intake attached directly to PVC plumbing that runs out the back of the aquarium. The surface skimmer sits high enough in the water that it is hidden from sight by the trim of the aquarium (assuming your tank isn’t rimless), which also helps hide the water line. The H2Overflow can handle up to 1200 gallons per hour and it measures 7.25 inches long by a mere 1.75 inches wide. And to add to the versatility, the overflow can be positioned in numerous different ways, as it can rotate a full 180 degrees. To keep the trash out of your sump, and potentially out of the intake of your protein skimmer or return pump, a removable lid sits atop the H2Overflow. To prevent clogging, the teeth of the overflow are tapered so that as water levels and/ or flow rates increase, the overflow can handle more flow by AquaNerd | Jun 18, 2014 | Science, Tanks
Announced just moments ago, EcoTech Marine is giving their EcoSmart Live (ESL) platform a huge update that will allow users more extensive control of the VorTech wireless pumps, give the entire interface a fresh new look, and even incorporate a webcam into the mix that will allow users to check on their tanks from a PC or smartphone. While still only in Beta testing, EcoTech Marine is offering up limited spots for everyday users to test out the updates and help them create a more polished and functional product. The ESL update will release today and all you have to do to be part of it is log into www.ecosmartlive.com and check the “Participate in Beta Releases” checkbox from the Settings & Manage Account page. If you don’t make it into this beta release, more spots will be made available as time progresses. As for all of the new features coming with the EcoSmart Live update, take a look at these: All new web design provides quick and convenient access to your Radions, VorTechs, and device settings. VorTech control! Import pumps, upgrade them, schedule modes, adjust settings, and demo your VorTech pumps to dial in and wow friends, family and house guests from the website. Creating gyres has never been easier by pairing master and slave pumps visually in ESL. Create, preview, and save waves for your VorTechs. Call various saved waves with the click of a button
