Reef Ball Development Group

Reef Ball's Listbot Archive

1) Reef Ball Offices will be closed from Dec 24-Jan 2nd for Christmas Holidays.  We will still be monitoring our email in case of immediate need.
 
2) Florida Aquatic & Marine and Danny Grizzard will be acquiring molds for a project next year in Panama City, Florida.  More details soon...
 
3) From Maryland DNR, "Maryland has recently implement a major program to restore oyster reefs in the Chesapeake Bay.  The
availability of oyster shells from our dredge shell program has become very limited, and their is a major commitment to look for alternative materials that can be used to re-establish oyster reefs.  The reef balls are very interesting and we plan on using them as part of our restoration efforts..."
 
Note: Reef Ball is working with Maryland Environmental Services, a non-profit organization in Maryland, to develop solutions for the DNR as they implement strategies to restore oyster reefs.  Some ideals being considered are 1) using the Reef Ball plug system to "seed" oysters from spat directly to the plugs, then after settling, the plugs will be put into the Reef Balls. (particularly in areas of low salinity where natural settlement is rare or non-existent but the oysters are naturally resistant to diseases).  2) Using Reef Balls "Reef Forms" which are made with left over concrete and our Reef Ball concrete mix design to create acres of oyster habitable bottom cheaply (they are running out of oyster shells which have been used for the same purpose in the past).
3) Using Reef Balls on top of shells or Reef Forms in areas where natural settlement does occur to give oysters a place to settle and as a bonus providing some fish habitat. 4) Continuing to develop diseases resistant oysters for the above purposes.
 
4) The Reef Ball Foundation will conduct our Annual Board Meeting and Awards Ceremony in Curacao from Jan 31st-Feb 4th.  If you are interested in attending, please contact us before Dec. 26th to get the best rates on airfare.
 
5) For Reef Ball making folks...we've found an excellent way to add surface textures to Reef Balls when rinsing to expose the aggregates is too messy or prohibitive...just add some pelletized catfish pond food (very cheap) to your concrete mixture...they tend to float to the surface and are later removed by bacterial action and/or fish.  (Ants if you leave the balls on land long enough!).  This technique is also beneficial for those who are looking to make live rock substrate from our pH neutral concrete mixtures since it lightens the concrete and adds porosity if you add higher amounts. (it also weakens the concrete so don't add large amounts to Reef Balls, just live rock or "Reef Forms")
 
 
(Here are some examples of Reef Forms for those of you that have not seen them before, of course, they come in all shapes and sizes...usually between 15-45 pounds.  They are made by making a simple form in the sand by hand and then adding Reef Ball Concrete.  There are many creative ways to shape the forms into useful micro-habitats.  Please note: only deploy Reef Forms inside Reef Balls in high energy areas...depending upon bottom type, they may not be as stable as a Reef Ball on their own.)


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RBDG Need more information? Contact us:
Reef Ball Development Group, Ltd.

Bradenton, Florida 34207 USA


reefball@reefball.com
Phone: 941-752-0169
Fax: 941-752-1033


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