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Author Archives: Marc Levenson
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Product Review: EcoBak by Warner Marine
Quite a few people recommended Warner Marine’s EcoBak media when it comes to nitrate & phosphate reduction in the aquarium. This was one of the first brands to come to market initially, and for a period it was almost always out of stock. If you’ve been on the fence, unsure if it is worth the effort, let me assure you that it replaces other choices like vodka dosing… and it does so nicely. 
Biopellets need to be run in a specially designed reactor. Two that I’ve used are by NextReef and by AquaMaxx. These reactors force water to flow strongly through the media, causing it to tumble at all times. Water shouldn’t channel or flow through clumped media, and using the right reactor will assure that it moves adequately.… More:
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Tagged carbon source, eco systems, invertebrates, pasta noodles, surface area
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Product Review: AquaMaxx biopellet reactor
When I first got the AquaMaxx Biopellet Reactor, I was very interested in how it worked because the demonstration unit on display showcased something unseen by other similar devices. Unlike its counterparts, this one causes the media to spin at a strong rate — the pellets orbiting a vertical riser tube provide one-way directional flow. It looked really neat, but I didn’t know how the media would do under such conditions. The reactor itself is made of acrylic and PVC fittings. The inlet and outlets are glued into place, which I personally don’t like as it forces the hobbyist to plumb it specifically to its configuration. I’d rather have the freedom to run lines as they suit my needs, but I’m quibbling over a very minor design decision. The fittings use hose barb connectors, and I used two different sizes of flexible vinyl tubing to match that connection. If you’d prefer to hard plumb it, the hose barbs can be omitted, but you’ll have to use unions with nipples to remove the reactor for maintenance. … More:
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Tagged demonstration unit, design decision, directional flow, flexible vinyl, plastic screws
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My "Reef Friendly" Quarantine System
I haven’t been involved in this hobby very long compared to other folks but learned very quickly how much of a pain it can be to eradicate, or try to eradicate pests such as Aiptasia, Majanos, Bubble Algae, zoa eating asterinas, and Marine Ich. When I started, I did what I’m sure all of us have done at one time or another: just drop things in the tank and hope for the best. I recently upgraded from a 70g to a 260g tank and decided never again! Unfortunately, everything I found online regarding QT setups mainly dealt with fish only setups, bare bones systems, or that were more of a temporary solution. I’ve had to treat fish in smaller systems I had setup twice for Marine Ich and went through the hyposalinity treatments using a bare bottom tank, HOB filter, and a couple of pieces of PVC
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SCUBA Certification – Open Water Dives 3 & 4
The final part of my PADI Open Water diver certification was Dives 3 & 4. Yesterday, Dives 1 & 2 were done in Terrell, Texas . Today’s took place in Glen Rose, Texas. The purpose of this documentation is to provide information to consider so your experience will go smoothly, and that is why I opt to share a number of details, including minor ones: I awoke at 8 a.m. so I’d have an hour to get myself going before my drive to Glen Rose. As soon as the alarm sounded, I jumped up but wow did I feel like heck. I could see through the closed blinds that it wasn’t
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SCUBA Certification – Open Water Dives 1 & 2
To receive my PADI SCUBA certification, I have to complete five “open water” dives with a qualified instructor. This weekend is halfway over, and I was able to get two of the five done today before we ran out of daylight. Here’s the link to the planning blog: http://www.reefaddicts.com/entry.php…-certification Yesterday (Friday), I went to We B Divin’ to pick up my gear. This includes the BCD, weights, 5mm wetsuit and 5mm Hooded Vest. Because the dive shop doesn’t have any Large wetsuits at this time, I used the LL (large-long) and an XL hooded vest. The purpose of both is to insulate me from
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SCUBA Certification – More classwork, and finals
With a heavy schedule carrying multiple responsibilities, it has literally taken me years to get SCUBA certification, or should I say the necessary training to become qualified to dive. When I designed the logo for my company, a diver was included in the artwork as a constant reminder of what I wanted to do. It was a personal goal. No matter how I tried to map out my schedule, I never seemed to have the time to take my classes. About a year ago, due to a friend’s reminder, I purchased a Groupon for classes, and even with the four month period before expiration, I couldn’t mesh my schedule accordingly. Customer orders needed filling, traveling for speaking engagements or MACNA promotion, as well as club business / events, my reef tank’s issues… my days were full. Allocating time for
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SCUBA Certification – Classwork first, then Wetwork
Two weeks ago, I paid for my upcoming classes to get PADI Open Water SCUBA Certification. I received my educational packet, which included my main workbook, a diver’s log, and a computer workbook. Between work, I studied, answered the quizzes that appeared after each subheading, and completed the chapter review test. I sat down with a bowl of popcorn to watch both DVDs that rounded out the pre-class education, and soaked up all I could. The videos were funny at times, and explained quite a number of important factors. The video quality could have been better; I was wanting HD but this is what you get currently. My class is small. There are four students, and one instructor as well as his assistant. More:
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SCUBA Certification – Various Tips I’ve Received
After my initial excitement of buying new diving gear passed, I had to deal with something unpleasant. The owner of the dive shop took it upon himself to glue a sticker promoting his shop on the back window of my vehicle. That was a mistake on his part, and I’ll never spend a dollar in his shop again. Moving on, I’ve scheduled Open Water Diver Certification classes for November. The first weekend will be three days of education: Friday evening from 6pm to 10pm, then Saturday from 9am to 6pm, followed by the same hours on Sunday. Two weeks later, we’ll drive to a lake in Glen Rose for dives on Saturday and Sunday. This is PADI instruction, which seems to be the most widely accepted dive instruction organization. For two weeks, I’ll be studying about an
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How can I grow more pods in my tank?
Hi Marc, My name is Dennis and I am still kinda new to this. I have a 90gal RR tank with a 35 gal refugium. I have a mandarin and want to be sure he is getting copepods. I can see them in the first stage of my [sump] (where the overflow and my skimmer are) – they are everywhere swimming around. But when I look in the middle section (where the cheatomorpha and Miracle Mud are) I am not seeing them as much, maybe a glimpse of one or two. The same with the return pump section,
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Getting Wet At Last: SCUBA gear
Today, I finally took the official plunge into the SCUBA world. I’ve been circling the idea for the past six years, but knew it was an expensive hobby
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Real Reef Rock Bowl
Prior to MACNA, I had the opportunity to ask the guys at Real Reef to create a Rock Bowl for my tank. I’ve wanted something to grow mangroves near the top of the rockwork, where they would be able to grow up toward the metal halides high above the water.
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Diving the Philippines: The Center of Marine Biodiversity
The Coral Triangle covers approximately 2.3 million square miles of ocean and encompasses six countries in the Indo-Pacific: Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. An unbelievable amount of biodiversity is condensed into less than 1% of the world’s ocean surface area: The Coral Triangle (CT) is home to one-third of the world’s coral reefs, 75% of known coral species (~600 species of corals), nearly 3,000 species of fish, half of the world’s seagrass and marine mollusk species, 75% of known mangrove species, six of the world’s seven species of marine turtles green ,
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