Reef Ball Sizes, Weight, Volume & # of Holes

Below are the standard orginal sizes of Reef Balls. See the SPECIFIC LINK in the left side of the table for current exact sizing which varies as mold manufacture improves various mold sizes for specific applications. Pallet Ball and above sizes REQUIRE training. Bay Ball and smallers sizes are training recommended.

Sizes Super Ball and larger are typically only used for submerged breakwater applications. Smaller sizes are more typical for standard biologically oriented artificial reef projects.

ADMIXTURE RECOMMENDATIONS;

In preparing budgets, many of our clients like to compute admixture costs too.

For every cubic yard of concrete you will need 50 pounds of microsilia or for every cubic meter you will need about 25 kilograms of microsilica (Average cost about $15 for 25 pounds)

For every cubic yard or meter of concrete you will need about 7-23 ounces of W.R. Grace branded Adva Flow 140 or an adjusted amount for other Adva Flow branded numbers to gain a 7-9 inch slump while maintaning the maximum water to cement ratio allowed in the training manual (Average cost about $32 / gallon)

For every cubic yard or meter of concrete you MIGHT need about 1/2 pound (1/4 kilo) of cement reinforcement fibers, polypropylene microfibers work well, we usually use WR Grace or Fibermesh brands but any microfiber designed for concrete should work well. They are needed if you use alot of microsilica or when the sun will heat your mold unevenly on one side. (Average cost about $8 / 1 pound bag)

Reef Ball Specifications for Comparison to Other Reef Material

Solid Weight Equivalency- (simply stated, if the Reef Balls were poured solid without holes or a center bladder, this would be the weight of the structure). This is useful for comparing raw tonnage requirements for a similar project using, for example, limestone boulders as an artificial reef material. This calculation can be useful for comparing the costs of designed modules against many non-complex materials of opportunity.

• Bay Ball is equal to 5,500 pounds of solid reef material
• Pallet Ball is equal to 8,225 pounds of solid reef material
• Reef Ball is equal to 13,980 pounds of solid reef material

Surface Area Equivalency-(simply stated, how much surface area for marine growth is available (macro) and how much texture is available for single celled, micro-algae and other micro-organism colonization (micro). This is useful to estimate carrying capacity in terms of the bio-fouling communities when comparing to other artificial reef materials. The number of holes is important for estimating complexity. The amount of protective void space (such as the central cavity in Reef Balls) cannot be estimated on a per module basis as it depends on the deployment configuration (clustered Reef Balls provide more protective void space as marine life can use the space between closely spaced units as additional protective void space). See our Step By Step Guide To Reef Rehabilitation for specific calculation methods.

• MiniBay Ball, LoPro and Oyster Ball and PDF Engineering Drawing for Surface Area Calculations
• Bay Ball has a macro (raw "smooth") surface area of 30 square feet
• Pallet Ball has a macro (raw "smooth") surface area of 75 square feet
• Reef Ball has a macro (raw "smooth") surface area of 130 square feet

• Bay Ball has 14-18 "fish" holes (diameters from 6-14 inches)
• Pallet Ball has 23-28 "fish" holes (diameters from 6-18 inches)
• Reef Ball has 29-34 "fish" holes (diameters from 7-22 inches)

Biomass Carrying Capacity- This is an estimate based on a variety of studies of the approximate carrying capacity in terms of fish bio-mass. This amount can vary greatly from site to site depending upon a variety of local conditions and these numbers are only useful to appoximately gauge project size when balancing against fishing pressure. Fish typically make up about 30% of total biomass production. The only way to obtain this more precisely is to do a local monitoring study.

• Bay Ball has a carrying capacity of approximately 100 pounds biomass per year
• Pallet Ball has a carrying capacity of approximately 250 pounds biomass per year
• Reef Ball has a carrying capacity of approximately 425 pounds biomass per year

NOTE PARTS VARY BY CURRENT MANUFACTURING METHODS, THESE CHARTS ARE REPRESENTATIVE QUANTITIES.

Shipping Technical Information

Small orders are shipped on standard pallets. Larger orders are shipped in containers and the following information can be useful to determine feasibility of, for example, purchasing smaller sized Reef Balls from our mass production facility located in Sarasota, Florida.

CONTAINERS: