Fish & Chips
A Monthly Marine Newsletter
June 1999 Issue

From Us
By Elizabeth M. Lukan 6/21/99

Small issue this month. Sorry everybody. I've been working on an article on Tridacnid Clams. It's looking to be a two or three parter, but it's no where near finished. I'll try to get at least the first part done for next month's issue.

Time for a little shameless plug on my part. High Aspirations, Inc., the website design company I started with two friends, is open for business. We completed our website recently and I'd like to show it off to all of you. And, if you need a page or site done or know somebody who does, think of us. The address is...

http://www.HighAspirationsInc.com
HAI Logo

My friend Mark Taber is back this month. This time to announce his site, ReefsUK. Please check out what he has to say and then go visit his site.


ReefsUK
By Mark T. Taber and Elizabeth M. Lukan 6/17/99

In the January 1999 issue of Fish & Chips, I briefly mentioned that Mark Taber was "... spearheading setting up a website with the high goal of passing on as much free information on the marine hobby to UK hobbyists as he possibly can." Another of Mark's goals for this site is to help the marine aquarium trade become more self sufficient which would reduce the amount of marine life removed from the reefs. Mark's website, ReefsUK, is ready for it's debut. And, I am honored to help Mark spread the word.

Now, don't be discouraged just because Mark's site is called ReefsUK, it's for everybody, everywhere. The site is full of information on Reef Conservation, Coral and Marine Fish Propagation, a Propagation Database which contains a listing of where to find propagated corals, and much more. To give you a good idea of what ReefsUK is all about, Mark has provided the ReefsUK Mission Statement. Please take some time and visit Mark's site, it'll be time well spent. You can get to ReefsUK at the following address: http://www.reefsuk.org.

UK Flag From ReefsUK Site ReefsUK Mission Statement

ReefsUK is a non-profit organization of individuals dedicated to reef conservation. Our primary objective is to illustrate why the reefs are being destroyed and demonstrate how this can be reversed. One of our fist missions is to improve the standards within the reef aquarium trade by increasing awareness and understanding on the requirements of the marine life. We aim to ensure that the reef aquarium business within the United Kingdom and other countries propagate the majority of corals and marine fish used by this trade. ReefsUK would like to see these captive bred fish and propagated corals purchased in preference to the marine life that is currently being imported which will reduce what is removed from the reefs.

We believe that the current state on importing corals and marine fish is far from good. We are working with the reef aquarium hobbyist, the reef businesses and the reef specialists, investigating how the marine life can be farmed in the UK so that we reduce the damage inflicted on the reefs by the reef aquarium business. We are also researching the living requirements of corals to ensure that they can be maintained in the best conditions possible. Great progress has already been made and it is our intention to inform you on our research.

ReefsUK wants to ensure that we drastically reduce the importation of marine fish and corals coming into the United Kingdom and become self sufficient in as many species as possible. Although the reef aquarium business is not solely responsible for the destruction of the reefs, we can help a great deal by buying captive-bred livestock. Most soft corals can now be easily propagated so there is no real need for them to be continually imported. We aim to promote these facts and educate people on what they as individuals can do to help.

ReefsUK believes that this organization can sustain itself purely on people who want to help. You will not see any statements on the ReefsUK site asking for money in any form, such as Donations, Subscriptions, etc. We ask that you donate your money to other reef conservation groups and organizations such as CORAL. We survive purely on people willing to dedicate their spare time and skills to our mission. If you would like to help ReefsUK in anyway, please refer to our HelpReefsUK section on the site or contact us at Post@ReefsUK.ORG as we really want to hear from you.

Article edited by Elizabeth M. Lukan, 6/21/99.
Editing on the ReefsUK Mission Statement was limited to spelling corrections and some grammar. No other editing was done, what you read was exactly what was sent to me by Mark.

Photo Credits:
The UK Flag above was obtained from the ReefsUK, http://www.reefsuk.org, Website with Mark T. Taber's permission.


E.T.S. 500 Skimmer
- A Hobbyist Skimmer Review -

General Information:
All ratings are 1 through 10 (10 being the best or yes, 1 being the worst or no). The items in parentheses are only given as a more detailed explanation and to give you an idea of what was meant by the category. Permission to publish these reviews was obtained through a clause in the survey. See the end of this article for review, survey, and article credits.

Construction Quality (Acrylic thickness, polish, glue job, etc.):
Score: 9

Aesthetic Quality (Does it look good, etc.):
Score: 10

Performance (Does it keep your water clean, must you adjust it all the time, etc.):
Score: 10

Foaming (Does it do it consistently, is it nice and thick, is it dark, etc.):
Score: 10

Ease Of Installation:
Score: 7

Would you buy it again?:
Comments: Yes

Electrical Efficiency (Does the pump it uses work well, etc.):
Score: 9

Plankton Level (Do you have a lot, etc.):
Score: ?

Overall Value (Did you get what you paid for, etc.):
Score: 10

Overall Satisfaction (Do you like it, etc.):
Score: 10

Comments:
For me, this is an excellent skimmer. I understand that this model is discontinued. The initial cost was high, but the satisfaction I got from this skimmer made it worthwhile. Installation was a little more difficult since I had to drill a hole into my sump for the return. The pump I used is an Iwaki RLT30. I get very consistent performance without ever readjusting the gate valve on the skimmer - even after cleaning it. It produces a very nice large foam head with very dark and smelly waste collection. I also use the E.T.S. external waste collector along with a homemade air intake filter made from a small Tupperware container and a Magnum 350 carbon filter. Overall, an excellent performer with the ease of not ever having to readjust the skimmer after cleanings.

Review, Survey, and Article Credits:
Review by Anonymous on 4/23/99.

Survey created and hosted by Ian McDonald (IANsSnakes@aol.com)
Home Page: http://members.aol.com/IANsSnakes/index.html (information updated 4/19/00: survey closed)
Survey Page: http://www.geocities.com/heartland/prairie/2196/Survey.html (information updated 4/19/00: survey closed)

Ian would like to extend his thanks to Chris Paris (aka Cap) and Steve Wolfe (aka NerveGas) for all their assistance in getting the survey going.

Article edited by Elizabeth M. Lukan, 6/17/99.
Editing was limited to spelling corrections and some grammar (capitalizing the beginning of a sentence, adding a period at the end, etc.). No other editing was done, what you read was exactly what was sent to Ian by the reviewer.

Editor's Comments:
The E.T.S. 500 is made by A.E. Technology Inc. which can be found on the net at http://www.aquarium.net/aetech/ (address updated 4/19/00: no longer a valid address, new address unknown). According to the A.E. Technology Inc. site, this skimmer is designed for 30 to 90 gallon systems with a suggested retail price of $419 US Dollars. More information can be obtained by visiting their site. I was unable to obtain an image of the E.T.S. 500 after checking numerous sites. I emailed A.E. Technology Inc. requesting an image for this review on 6/15/99 and have not yet received a response of any kind.


Caught In The Net
By Elizabeth M. Lukan 6/17/99

Fish Store Sites

Sites with Message Boards

Personal Pages & Sites

Product Manufacturer & Commercial Vendor Sites

The above list matches a portion of the site list maintained on the Fish & Chips Website as of the date of this publication. What you see above is what was listed as on their site by the submitter. The date that follows in parenthesis is the date submitted to the list. For the complete up-to-date list, check out the Fish & Chips Website at http://www.marinefiends.com/ (address updated 4/15/00).

Site Submission and Updating: To submit your site for inclusion in the Fish & Chips newsletter and website based Site List, please go to the Fish & Chips website at http://www.marinefiends.com/ (address updated 4/15/00) and complete the Site Submission Form. Please do NOT send any site submission or update requests via email - I will not process them.


Chips...er...Tips
Antibacterial Treated Sponges - By Elizabeth M. Lukan 11/30/98

If you're going to use sponges (cloths, whatever) purchased at your supermarket, etc. in or around your tank, make sure they haven't been treated with an antibacterial agent. A lot of commercially available sponges are intended for kitchen and bathroom use and contain germ/bacteria killing products. Now, you want to kill bacteria like salmonella on your counters, but not the nitrifying bacteria in your tank.

To Submit Your Tip: Send your tip via email to FishNChips@mail.com (address updated 4/26/00) with a subject of Tip Submission (information updated 4/26/00: coding replaces need for subject notation) and I'll publish it in an upcoming issue of Fish & Chips. I'll write it up for you or you can do it yourself if you are so inclined. Make sure you let me know if I can include your name and email address or if you'd rather go anonymous.


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To subscribe to Fish & Chips, send a blank email to FishNChips-subscribe@egroups.com (address updated 4/15/00) or go to http://www.egroups.com/subscribe/FishNChips (address updated 4/15/00).

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