Hey everyone. I've been gone awhile but I'm back and I'm here in Orlando, Florida attending MACNA2010. It was the first day of the conference today and a stop in Titusville and the beach delayed us just enough that I missed most of it. I did get a chance to cruise the exhibit's a bit and I attended the reception. (Crappy/blurry pics included lol). I'll be up and at it at 9 a.m. though and will get some good pics of the inside of the exhibit hall. Wish all of you could be here because so far this has been a blast!

The Grand Marriott Resort where the conference is being held.

The lobby.

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Time for a little fun for a little LED lamp! A 3reef gnome recently dropped off one of the new Marineland Reef Capable LED fixtures and - of course - we are going to give it away. This is an 18-24" model so if you have a little nano, listen up! The contest rules are easy and in 2 weeks we will draw the winner.

How to enter the 3reef Reef Capable Contest:

This contest can be entered by any one of the following three ways, AND everyone can have up to 3 entries (better odds for drawing) if you do all three!

1) By telling us on the
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The highly anticipated ATI PowerCone protein skimmers will be introduced this weekend at MACNA by USA distributor and 3reef Sponsor ReefGeek! These monsters should draw big crowds with their sleek design and great prices for the power. Did someone say power? How about 3000+ liters of air per hour while drawing only 35 watts!?! The high volume of air is made possible by an improved air intake and an innovative Grid-wheel impeller that combines the strength of a needle-wheel with the performance of a mesh-wheel.



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Attached Files

ATI PowerCone - Detailed Product Sheets.pdf (333.9 KB, 28 views)

Press Release - PowerCone Skimmer from ATI.pdf (322.6 KB, 16 views)

Dymax just joined 3reef and let us know about their new site and taking a look I noticed that the coolest pico around - the Dymax IQ3 - is now available in a few different colors and I immediately noticed the nice new lid. Something I will order from Big Al right away as I was going to make one for mine at the office. Theirs is a lot nicer. Welcome to 3reef Dymax and thanks for letting us know about the latest.


Dymax's new site and new lid for the IQ3 pico
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Some of Hawaii's coral reefs are not what they used to be due in part to agricultural runoff, silt, and invasive species. But a recent experiment conducted by Biologists produced results that exceeded their expectations. At a test patch in Kaneohe Bay, divers used a vacuum to remove non-native algae and then released 1,200 native collector urchins (Tripneustes gratilla) on half the patch. What they discovered was that very little algae grew back on the urchin side. The non-urchin side grew back thicker than before.


Native Collector Urchins being released to combat invasive algae - Photo Credit: DLNR, Tony Montgomery

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A small team of University of Arizona students have been tasked recently with figuring out why 11 of 47 fish species introduced into the 700,000 gallon 'ocean' within Biosphere 2 have survived years of neglect. Biosphere 2, a large experiment in self-sustainment that grabbed headlines back in the day has since had several owners and had fallen on hard times until the University acquired it. I actually took a tour of the place back in 2003. I was excited about the 'ocean' and it was breathtaking from above but what I saw below the waterline was shocking:


The 'Ocean' in Biosphere 2 circa November 2003

This was one large tank
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