Panay Explorers Reef Dome Project

[clgsamson]

No, I will not take your money! Really. You guys just pay for another one when you come visit. It is a done deal brother! "KOYA" it is. I will find a good marker at the market tomorrow and I'll mark one of the ones that come out tomorrow. Matt, you want a Triton one?
Just PM me. I have got to go to bed....I am beat.

alright then, thanks for now

 

[D_B]

Great work!

 

[chip104]

Oh this is so awesome. Well done BabyD. Love the pics. Please keep us updated.

 

[shugar]

Once you buy the molds you can make these for about 150-200 pesos each......... once you buy the molds. Keep in mind that these are smaller than the original design. Our intent was to be able to put several on the boat and have divers place them with relative ease. After talking to our employees, they want to go bigger later on. I just need to figure out how to move them and get them in place. It is a cheap investment in the environment that reaps huge rewards for everyone! We will make 5 more tomorrow once these come out of the molds. We are having a great time doing it too. I forgot to mention the beer that goes along with the effort.....who cares though? it is fun!

i would consider a bamboo raft... nothing fancy, but essentially a platform from which you can transport several of your planned larger domes...

and i don't think your staff plans on making them that large... maybe bathtub sized at largest?

but great job babyd!

just a question though... is the thickness of the concrete from the washtub-mazzola drum offset a tad too thick? or dose that contribute to a required weight to keep them on the bottom or from washing away with the tide?

maybe a smaller offset (even 4 inches) would result in less concrete and less weight to carry around...

Jag

 

[jigo]

i want mine etched instead of marked. "EKUPS" just because i had one too many. cheers babyD!

 

[Babydamulag]

We went with the thicker walls for weight. The current at the site can pick up sometimes so to be safe we're making them a bit heavier. We changed our recipe a bit today. I had some old broken hollow block left over from one of our other projects. We crushed them up with a hammer and put the bits in the top (reads bottom of the mold) of the new domes. This will give a bit more texture for the marine life to cling to. Tomorrow they come out!

Transporting is going to be an issue. We did talk about making a monster bamboo raft then (in typical Pinoy genius) my boat captain said lets use 2 large 55 gal plastic drums with a cradle in the middle and tow them out. You gotta love love home grown ingenuity!

We might go to half a 55 gallon drum size in the next batch. We'll see. I want to get these smaller ones in the water soon! I want to see some marine growth!!!!

As for etching, if we do that it will get covered up with marine growth. I went to the market today looking for a permanent paint pen and did not have any luck. I want to mark the surface so that nothing grows and that particular spot. I figure maybe a good epoxy marine paint will do the trick. This is one big huge experiment that is tons of fun!

You guys have got to do this at your favorite dive spot. It is so much fun and it benefits all. I am surprised how our guys took to building these and coming up with ideas to solve problems. I get a kick out of watching them when they take off the molds. It gets to be a competition as to who made the better dome.

 

[Gen San Chris]

Your design looks good, its good to see that you now understand that this type of project is reasonably cheap unlike some others and using all local materials really keeps the cost down! Thanks for the kind words for the Sarangani domes! You will see results in less than one month! You will be surprised!

 

[Babydamulag]

Production run #2 and recipe change

We added recycled hollow block chips for texture. We used some of the old plastic cups that Nanay wanted to throw away....recycle those babies in reef dome molds! The bamboo is working well. We are going to just leave the bamboo in place and let them rot out in the water. We are even using the leftover cement and making REEF PANCAKES. Anything will work for substrate!







More pictures from todays REEF DOME PARTY!

 

[Babydamulag]

Your design looks good, its good to see that you now understand that this type of project is reasonably cheap unlike some others and using all local materials really keeps the cost down! Thanks for the kind words for the Sarangani domes! You will see results in less than one month! You will be surprised!

As far as I am concerned you guys need to be running DENR and teaching the rest of us a lesson! Your idea is easy to implement! This is really a lot of fun. I can't thank you folks enough for sharing your information and helping us at PANAY EXPLORERS. We have caught the bug and can't stop...LOL. Tomorrow we make 5 more.

We need to get the guys in PG and other popular locations onboard with this plan. It is too easy!

 

[shugar]

i missed the whole discussion on the "personalized" reef ball...

BabyD - if you won't accept money for personalized balls from the PPD (good lord this is asking for it), then please accept money for the ones i shall ask for my daughter and wife :biggrin:

JAG
IMEE
SOLEIL

like matt said - BDO ok w/ you? (please don't say metrobank... the queues in that bank are murder)

and i don't mind the sea life eventually overrunning my name - if it lasts for a couple months (send me a pic please) then becomes the anchor for an anemone or polyp then I will be a happy man...

a though though - have you tried paint? an acrylic-based one should be much cheaper in the long run than markers... i dont' know of the environmental effect though (if any)... i figure water-based paint will wash off? what do they use to paint bangka hulls? those things last a while...

Jag