News

You could have the eyesight of a Moray and still see clearly that the reef aquarium hobby is growing. It’s been growing steadily for nearly a decade and a large portion of that growth is thanks to the popularity of nano aquariums. The exact definition of a nano aquarium is as fluid as the water within them, but they’re generally understood to be aquariums in the 30 gallon and under range… or thereabouts. In this miniature realm of saltwater splendor, one family of powerheads has pushed all its competitors out of the way. That family is known as the Tunze Nanostreams.

Smaller aquariums require equipment with smaller footprints and more size-appropriate specs, like rates of flow and energy use. Tunze’s Nanostreams were designed and produced with these exact goals in mind. Starting with the smallest member of the family, the Nanostream 6015, and moving up to the big brother, the controllable, wide flow 6095, all of the Nanostream powerheads have very impressive stats. The 6015, for example, moves 475 GPH while consuming a mere 3.5 watts, while the next in line 6025 moves 740 GPH at a cost of only 5 watts. The 6045 has a unique flow adjusting outlet and can push from 400 to 1190 GPH using 5 to 7 watts.

Energy cost is one thing, pocketbook and wallet costs are another. The Nanostream powerheads are still assembled by hand in our factory in Germany with the precision and high quality materials for which Tunze is known… but we’ve kept the prices low. Three of the Nanostream pumps (6015, 6025 and 6045) retail for less than $100, the smallest of which will set you back less than $39. The next time you see one online or at your LFS, grab it. Your corals and fish will thank you. Remember: just because they’re small, doesn’t mean they don’t deserve the best.

Nanostream Features:

• Propeller technology, wide flow powerheads.
• High efficiency, silent motors.
• Magnet holder with 3D adjustable aiming clamp.

2010 provide us with the hottest summer and the coldest winters recorded to date. This creates a huge issue for coral reefs around the world. We’ve already discussed the fact that Global Warming Threatens Coral Reefs, but what is harder on the reefs, extreme cold temperature swings or extreme warm temperature swings? This question was studied in a report posted in the Scientific Reports February issue coauthored by Scripps researcher Ralf Goericke of the Integrative Oceanography Division. The studied provided interesting results. For short periods of extreme temperatures corals could handle warmer waters better than they could cold. But over time the corals on the reefs were able to adjust to the colder climate and were unable to make the adjustment to longer sustained warmer waters.

Picture provided by nature.com

(a) Coral linear extension (mm day−1; mean ± s.e.m.) during days 0–5 (N = 15−19), days 5–9 (N = 10−14), days 9–12 (N = 5−9), and days 12–20 (N = 4−5).
(b) Coral dinoflagellate density (x106 cells cm−2; mean ± s.e.m.; N = 4−5) over time during the experiment.
(c) Single image of 3 representative corals after 20 d thermal stress. The heat treatment coral has bleached, a discoloration from the reduction of endosymbiotic dinoflagellates resulting in transparent coral tissue and visible white skeleton. Two-way ANOVAs of growth and dinoflagellate density revealed significant effects of treatment (P<0.0001), time (P<0.01), and treatment x time (P<0.01)

PBMAS puts on a great frag swap, with lots of deals to be had. If you are in the South Florida area it is well worth the trip!

Where:
Knights of Columbus
1155 So. Congress Avenue
West Palm Beach, FL 33406

Date:
Saturday, March 31.
11:00 am to 3pm
Setup starts at 8:30 – 9:00 am

Entrance fee:
5.00 at the door unless you are a current marine club member.
(card must be presented)

Directions:
Click Here

Table Space:
1/2 table (Non-Commercial) – Free to PBMAS club members
$15 for non-members that have valid memberships to surrounding clubs
Full Table (Non-Commercial) and Commercial space please contact PBMAS’ President
Jeff : http://www.pbmas.

Power will be provided to venders, however you must supply your own extension cords.
Salt Water will also be supplied.

Photo by Zach DeSart

Esquire Magazine teams up with the DIY Network to pick and film the $19 million bachelor pad. The reason I bring this up is due to the fact that there are a few short clips in the TV show showing an Elos System 70 being set up and the finished product. Elos’ spot lights on the show are short, but nevertheless it is good media cover for them. The show also takes a visit to the Manhattan Aquarium.

The show was originally aired on January 19th and will be replayed on March 03, 2012 @1:00 PM e/p.

The $18.9 million dollar home consist of 4 floors with a total of 9,000 sf. The bachelor pad consist of 11 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms including a $200,000.00 flight simulator for the closet pilot and a $500,000.00 music studio for any wanna be record producer. In the media room yoou will find a 65” multi-touch video wall (yeah, that’s right. A wall, not a tv). Oh, did I mention the infinity pool with a 2 story pool house?

I apparently chose the wrong career path….

Photo by: Dr. Hannes Grobe. A microphone design to record underwater called a hydrophone.

A team of biologist from the University of Massachusetts Amherst has published recordings of sounds believed to be made by deep sea fish. The recordings were made in the North Atlantic Ocean approximately 2,237 feet below the surface. It is reported that some species of fish have been found to use “sonic muscles” to create sounds in the deep. These studies are in the early stages of observation; it will be interesting to follow these
developments.

I dug up an article dating back to September 24, 2008 reporting the discovery of several specialized muscles found in cusk-eels which are believed to be used to make sounds. It is (or was) believed these sounds were used for mating calls. Read more on the cusk-eels here.

You can hear the recently released recordings here.

It is important that to note that all of these sounds are labeled as “unkown deep sea sound”. You may read the rest of the story here.

A user sent us a link to a recently uploaded video of a bubble coral shrimp (Vir philippinensis). A unique shrimp that primarily is only found in the bubble coral. The shrimp can be identified by its clear body and solitary thin purple stripe running the length of its body and claws, including purple antennae.

In doing research I came across an additional video of the bubble coral shrimp. It is difficult to determine if this video was taken in a captive reef tank or in it’s natural environment, what ever the case, this poor coral is infested by flatworms.

Vertex has just come out with three new products, a magnetic probe holder, and two magnetic cleaners.

The Sensor-Mag Titanium is a 3 probe holder, utilizing a total of 6 magnets to keep the probes (or sensors) in place. The probes are held in place with through 13mm holes, using Titanium screw fasteners. This little gizmo makes it very easy to place probes wherever it is most convenience, move them around if needed, and of course remove them for cleaning.

Dimensions inside piece:
Length (X): 68mm/ 2.7”
Height (H): 20mm/ 0.79”
Width (w): 20mm/ 0.79”

Dimensions outside piece:
Length (X): 68mm/ 2.7”
Height (H): 20mm/ 0.79”
Width (w): 26mm/ 1”

The Vertex Simplex is a small, sleek circular magnetic glass cleaner. The outside of this Acrylic glass cleaner is a low-profile acrylic cylinder, while the inside piece is square, to allow the hobbyists to get algae out of those pesky corners and edges. This magnetic algae cleaner uses a white satin fabric to prevent scratching of the aquarium, while a coarse white fabric is used to clean the inside of the glass. The Vertex Simplex can be used on aquariums with glass thickness up to 6mm.

Dimensions inside piece:
Radius (R): 28mm/ 1.1”
Height (Z): 14mm/ 0.55”

Dimensions outside piece:
Length (X): 19mm/ 0.75”
Height (Z): 8mm/ 0.31”
Width (Y): 19mm/ 0.75”

The big brother of the Simplex is the Vertex Duplex. This algae cleaner uses rectangular pieces for both the inside and outside parts. Again, a smooth white satin fabric is used on the outside, and a coarse white fabric on the inside. The Vertex Duplex can be used to clean algae on aquariums measuring up to 8mm in glass thickness.

Dimensions inside piece
Length (X): 42mm/ 1.65”
Height (Z): 22mm/ 0.86”
Width (Y): 9mm/ 0.35”

Dimensions outside piece:
Length (X): 42mm/ 2.7”
Height (Z): 22mm/ 0.86”
Width (Y): 14mm/ 0.55”

Here is a shot comparing the two magnetic algae cleaners side-by-side:

Any aquarist with live rock in their tank has had at least one aiptasia. Normally if you have one you will soon seen many. There are lots of products on the market as well as several home remedies to help combat aiptasia. Some require injecting a syringe into the aiptasia and pumping it full of some type of concoction whether it is lemon juice, pickling lime or a store bought product. This process is difficult since the little nuisance can easily draw back and become virtually impossible to see or stab not to mention barbaric. Electrodes have recently hit the market that will, with luck, shock the little critter to death. One of the oldest remedies is to introduce peppermint shrimp to your tank to eat the aiptasia. I’ve seen many forum threads debating the fact that this is an effective method. My personal experience is that it works and works well. I will admit that it doesn’t happen immediately. If you have a large system with lots of available food for a peppermint shrimp it may take him a while to find his way to aiptasia. But, in time, it will find and eat them. The upside is you have just strengthened your reef safe clean up crew at the same time.

Here is a video with undeniable evidence that peppermint shrimp will and do eat aiptasia.I have never witness peppermint shrimp this hungry and aggressive.

The Australian Institute of Marine Science recently conducted experiments on water temperatures on zooxanthellae. Historically it was believed that corals with a variety of zooxanthellae types could only with stand temperature changes. The results of these experiments leave researchers to believe that corals with a single type of zooxanthellae can handle thermal changes occurring in the ocean.

Good news. Further reading can be found here.

Fox news recently ran a story discussing the importance of pharmaceuticals drugs that are developed or under development from sources found in the sea. I was amazed at the amount of life saving drugs that have been discovered from ocean inhabitants such as Caribbean sponges, Indian Sea Hares, green algae and sea squirts just to name a few. The drugs are used for a wide variety of human conditions like anti-tumor agents, lymphoctic leukemia, Alzheimer’s, AIDS, lung cancer and many more.

For more details