Phytoplankton Image from Texas A&M University According to a recent Nature article, plankton levels have declined significantly over the past century. The decline over the past 50 years alone is over 40%. Phytoplankton, though extremely tiny and seemingly insignificant, play a crucial role in the ocean’s food webs. Juvenile fish, whales, filter feeding invertebrates, corals, and a whole slew of other creatures depend directly on plankton for survival. Indirectly, every other animal in the world depends on phytoplankton for their survival as well. Phytoplankton also absorb CO2; so with   read more

AVAST Marine Works DIY Protein Skimmer Disassembled AVAST Marine Works is now offering a very budget-friendly Do-It-Yourself cone skimmer kit for those who want to build a protein skimmer, but don’t have the equipment to fabricate it from scratch. All of the pieces are CNC machined and fit together very easily. Assembly will take a couple of hours and the kit allows for all sorts of modifications. A hobbyist can make the skimmer external or internal, add whatever pump he or she chooses, and even put the pump under the skimmer to minimize its footprint. To add to the skimmer’s functionality   read more

Want to get more color out of your corals? Some people, aquarium livestock retailers especially, leave their actinic lighting on for extremely long periods of time. Additionally, the main lights (e.g. metal halides) can be bluer. However, great coral coloration can also be achieved under whiter lighting, provided the system is low in nutrients and water quality is very good. Post on Google Buzz Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Share this on Technorati Share this on Reddit Add to a lense on Squidoo Stumble upon   read more

Melev's Reef-A-Thon How many times has a fellow hobbyist helped you out, asking for nothing in return other than friendship and the ability to share more with you? Well, we have a fellow aquarist in need, and this individual has probably helped each and every one of us in one way or another. Earlier this month, the very mature reef tank of Marc Levenson (aka Melev) started leaking. His gorgeous 280-gallon reef had to come down, as the seam and any repairs made to it wouldn’t last long-term. Marc is currently planning his replacement aquarium, and it looks like he’s going to get   read more

Be a responsible hobbyist. Support local fish stores that sell aquacultured fish and corals, as well as wild-caught livestock that is acquired in a sustainable way. Research your LFS and ask them what wholesalers they use. If they refuse to tell you who they purchase from, explain to them why you want to know. If they still don’t budge, walk away. Post on Google Buzz Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Share this on Technorati Share this on Reddit Add to a lense on Squidoo Stumble upon something good? Share   read more

Hydor Koralia Evolution Powerheads It seems there’s a small issue with the fairly new Hydor Koralia Evolution Pumps. According to the Hydor website, the Koralia Evolution needs a small modification to fix a backward running impeller. The issues arise on certain timers and wavemakers and can easily be fixed by cleaning the impeller bushing, bushing o-ring and bushing housing. Also fixing the issue is a modified bushing that Hydor will be issuing out for free to all Koralia Evolution pump owners. Below is the official announcement from Hydor, as well as some of their contact information. ATTENTION   read more

EcoTech Marine Logo A few weeks ago we discussed the recall involving the cables connecting the wireless VorTech pumps to both Ecotech Marine and IceCap, Inc. battery backups. Initially, EcoTech Marine would handle all of the recalls involving their new battery backup, while IceCap would be handling the recall for the original, older style backup. However, to reduce any confusion and to help streamline the recall, IceCap is letting EcoTech Marine handle all of the recalls. Here’s the models affected by the Battery Backup recall: All MP40w Pumps equipped with the WWD Any MP40 and MP20 pumps   read more

Bubble traps in sumps need to be approximately 1″ apart, or more, to be effective. If the walls are too close, the flow-through rate will be too fast and the bubbles will make it through to the return section of your sump. It will also help to use a slower return pump. The goal is to trap the microbubbles between the baffles and prevent them from entering your display. Post on Google Buzz Share this on del.icio.us Digg this! Share this on Technorati Share this on Reddit Add to a lense on Squidoo Stumble upon   read more

New Octopus Species discovered in the Antarctic I am a huge fan of cephalopods. In fact, a lot of my school research was based on them. So it should come as no surprise that I would find the following story interesting. According to an article from Discovery News, scientists in Antarctica have recently found four new species of Octopus and two types of cephalopod venom. Both the new species and venom were discovered in the frigid waters of Antarctica. The intriguing part of the venom is that it stays stable at sub-zero temperatures. The venom, which is enzyme-based, is affected by temperature   read more

It’s official, the AquaNerd Blog has reached 1000 articles! We have worked tirelessly for just a little over a year to get to where we are, but it’s our readers that make it all worth while. To show our appreciation and to help commemorate our milestone, we’ve got some prizes to give away. Grand Prize: Ecoxotic Panorama LED Module Second Place: One $75 Gift Card to ReefExotic.net Third Place: One $50 Gift Card to ReefExotic.net Fourth: One $25 Gift Card to ReefExotic.net Fifth Place: One $25 Gift Card to ReefExotic.net There are multiple ways to enter into the contest. Enter via   read more