3reef Aquarium Forums

THE Cancun and Isla Mujeres Underwater Art Museum just got even cooler with some amazing new sculptures from artist Jason de Caires Taylor. "Dream Collector features dozens of bottles containing messages of encouragement sent from around the world, while Man on Fire has 75 holes planted with fire coral... The sculptures have been created with PH neutral concrete that will allow algae and small invertebrates to flourish, boosting the local ecosystem. The appearance of the sculptures will change over time as the coral reefs and marine life grow." By next month, Jason expects to have 250 sculptures down there!



This crazy thing started back in November, you can see the old post here:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/bucket/mexicos-underwater-museum-gets-first-sculptures-76738.html

Source:
New sculptures...

Here is the latest from Colin at Morphologic- The Fire Coral Pt. 1... very nice as always Colin!





‘The Fire Coral’ Pt. 1
A feeding Balanus sp. barnacle encrusted by Millepora alcicornis
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios


Millepora alcicornis, or fire coral, is not actually a true coral, but a hydrocoral. Hydrocorals are colonies of hydroids that secrete a shared limestone skeleton, making them more closely related to jellyfish than true corals. Here in Florida, fire coral is extremely abundant on our reefs where they serve as the underwater equivalent of a sunburn to unsuspecting divers. Skin contact with fire coral will result in immediate burning pain, followed by an itchy welt that can last for several days.



Fire coral is frequently found encrusting over neighboring corals, starting from the bottom and slowly killing the coral until the colony is completely encased in living...

The new Tunze Turbelle e-jets are an exciting new item being carried by 3reef Sponsor Reef Specialty. These high-performance centrifugal pumps are a direct replacement for the old Turbelle pumps and will work with the same electronics without modification. The e-jets feature an electronic starting system, adjustable voltage and magnet mounts with vibration dampening c-clips that allow for 3-D pump placement and directional flow control.

The New Controllable Tunze Turbelle e-jet 5005

The non-controllable e-jets being are low voltage and kick out flow from 224 to 805 GPH, however of interest to this 3reefer is the controllable e-jet 5005.

The e-jet 5005 will pump up to 1109 GPH at 24 volts and features a new microprocessor-controlled motor.

"The electronic motor adapts its speed automatically to the pump load and always seeks the best efficiency at the lowest possible consumption of energy. This energy consumption is about fifty per cent lower than in conventional...

The Solar Powered Aquarium is another patented oddity in this hobby. On the surface, it piques one's interest of course. Electric bills are the Trojan horse of reef aquariums so the premise of mitigating the pain with solar panels is alluring. Even more so when you could obtain a whole aquarium kit complete with panels. However the excitement begins to wane when reading over patent 7,211,188 and then turns to dismay as what may be the true intention of the patent begins to become clear.


A Patented Solar Powered Aquarium

Beyond the small, hinged solar panels affixed to the base of the aquarium, what makes this aquarium setup interesting is the way the DC motor generates current in the aquarium. It is not done with the common impeller setup we are all familiar with. The shaft from the motor is actually connected to a ferrous metal plate in a hollow bottom that then propels a magnetic stirrer within the aquarium - a setup inspired by a common method of mixing liquids...

Press release from EcoTech today...

In our quest to continually raise the bar for product excellence and customer experience, EcoTech Marine is delighted to announce the release of the all new EcoTech Marine Battery Backup™. Thanks to our loyal and rapidly expanding customer base, EcoTech Marine continues to grow. Expanding our product line and in-sourcing our production and quality control is a natural step for us to take, and one we hope is embraced by the reefing community.

After an extensive period of engineering, the new EcoTech Marine Battery Backup is now shipping. "By bringing the Battery Backup accessory in-house, we can now better control the availability and final quality of this critical piece of reef tank insurance," said Tim Marks, President of EcoTech Marine. "We thank IceCap for their support over the years and are pleased to take this step forward."

The Battery Backup also now comes with two spare cables, instead of just one, allowing...