by AquaNerd | Mar 10, 2016 | Events, Reef, Science, Technology
AquaNerd and Aqua Illumination are doing a giveaway on an Aqua Illumination Prime LED fixture that will take place on April 1st. Anyone is eligible to win by liking this post on the AquaNerd Facebook page and liking AquaNerd on Facebook*. If you’ve already liked AquaNerd then all you will need to do is like the post. About the Aqua Illumination Prime LED Fixture. Optics The AI Prime® comes standard with 80 degree lenses giving you the best balance of power and spread. Our lens optics are custom designed, boasting greater than 90% optical efficiency and including a diffuse exit surface to provide improved color blending. Power Output With a spread of 30″ x 30″, the AI Prime® has a peak PAR of 260µMol at a depth by Barry Brown | Mar 9, 2016 | Reef, Science, Technology
Good morning friends, how was your weekend out there??? Still no rain here and the stupid wind is still blowing like an approaching hurricane, I say, “give us a break already”!! I did a fun dolphin dive with Aimee yesterday she was free-diving while yours truly cheated and had a tank, there’s no way I can my breath as long as she can! Our goal was to try and get some photos of Aimee using the new state of the art, shallow use, underwater housing from our friends at IKELITE. Many times taking anything new in the water with the dolphins means good luck finding the dolphins as they are not big fans of new technology. So as you see here Aimee is training one of them to stop in front of the camera and pose for a photo but not without a little attitude as you can see from all those bubbles coming out of her blowhole, she looks like an erupting volcano. by AquaNerd | Mar 8, 2016 | Fish, Reef, Science, Tanks, Technology
Innovators and entrepreneurs are always busy finding ways to tweak, streamline and improve existing technologies. And while this kind of progress is most obvious in the world of computers, smart phones and cars, aquariums come with their fair share of gadgets too. If you love to stay up-to-date on the coolest new trends, here’s a look at some of the latest advancements in aquarium tech, from simple but effective gadgets to sophisticated sensors and machines. Mess-Free Feeding Feeding by hand is not hard, but it can be messy, especially if you are feeding your fish on the run and don’t have time to stop to wash the fishy smell off your hands before heading off to work. If this describes your life, you’d by Saltwater Smarts | Feb 25, 2016 | Equipment, Fish, Reef, Science, Technology
Here’s the FishBit monitor mounted in my 125 gallon reefRegular Saltwater Smarts visitors are well aware that I’m not exactly what you’d call “tech-savvy” or an “early adopter” when it comes to the latest gadgetry (though I am intrigued by this newfangled doohickey the kids call an “eight-track player”—it’s gonna be yuuuge!). So, it should come as no surprise that I take a pretty low-tech approach to the marine aquarium hobby. Nothing in my system is really automated (unless you count the timer on my lights), and I don’t use a lot of devices beyond your basic heater, protein skimmer, and submersible pumps. And, until very recently, I monitored all my water parameters the way God intended—using a hydrometer, floating thermometer, and various and sundry colorimetric test kits.I tell people that I like to keep things natural, but the truth of the matter is, my lone functioning brain cell has always struggled with technology and figuring out how the various components of a high-tech system interconnect (how I managed to finish Air Force Crypto School with high marks back in the day is anybody’s guess!). So, when Nathan Levine, founder of Current Labs, asked me to beta test their new FishBit monitor and controller, I was a bit apprehensive. How embarrassing would it be if I had to admit I couldn’t figure the thing out or, much worse, if I somehow damaged the unit by installing it upside down or…I don’t know…accidentally swallowing it? But after hearing that FishBit is specifically designed to be easy, trouble-free, and intuitive for people like me (analog folks trapped in a digital world), I felt somewhat reassured and agreed to give it a try. FishBit allows you to monitor key water parameters in real time as well as control multiple aquarium devices, such as your lights, pumps, and heater, through an app on your smartphone or other device. by Austin Lefevre | Feb 10, 2016 | Corals, Equipment, Eye Candy, Industry, Photography, Reef, Science, Tanks, Technology
T5 lighting is still very popular among aquarists, with ATI bulbs generally being the number one choice. “What’s the best bulb combo?” is probably the most frequently discussed topic in the T5... by Saltwater Smarts | Feb 5, 2016 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Industry, Photography, Reef, Science, Tanks, Technology
Actinic lighting was developed and used in other industries before reef aquariumsWe marine aquarists use a variety of tools to help keep our tanks healthy by either changing or removing the waste products of the animals we keep. But did you know virtually all of the devices we use were originally designed for other industries? OzoneFor instance, ozone is a naturally forming gas found in our atmosphere that helps protect us from the damaging effects of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. It was discovered in 1839 by Christian Friedrich Schönbein. Ozone was originally used to purify drinking water and as a health-giving gas. Unfortunately, that health idea produced just the opposite result because the oxidizing effect we can use to purify certain things will also oxidize us, especially our lungs.
