Reef Ball Australia -

Products & Applications

Over 500,000 Reef Balls have been deployed in more than 59 countries making them the most successful artificial reef unit in the World.

New South Wales Dept of Primary Industries has validated their effectiveness based on results from a 2yr pilot program.

What is a Reef Ball?

A Reef Ball is actually not a 'ball' but a hemisperical hollow concrete unit invented over 15 years ago in the US. Marine life can take advantage of the hollow interior via holes and the size and number of holes can easily be varied depending upon the reefs application.

Its design has evolved over many years of trials, fine tuning and input from engineers and scientists. The result is a unit that has been proven to function as well as or better than a natural reef, therefore no matter what your application, you can be confident it will achieve maximum possible success.

Reef Ball construction line showing the patented fibreglass moulds used to make the units and several opened moulds with the completed unit

An 'Ultra Ball' being moved. Note the numerous holes. This size is often used for breakwaters and taller reefs for schooling fish species

There are a variety of different designs as well as sizes of Reef Ball. This photo shows the 'Layer Cake' design which is tailor made to suit specific juvenile species or lobsters

Reef Balls can be laid in a variety of configurations to achieve specific goals or even stacked.

Predator exclusion holes - we can vary the hole size, shape and orientation and also include durable non-stretching recycled plastic mesh to exclude target predators and/or appeal to a specific life stage of a species. We can also cap the top hole. Feel free to discuss with us your project goals and we can custom design units to suit.

Key features of Reef Balls include:

Aesthetically pleasing – in a very short period they take on a natural rock/bommie appearance;
Highly stable – they have been specifically engineered to stay upright and withstand waves and currents;
Durable in the marine environment – the marine concrete mix is engineered for several hundred years in seawater;
pH adjusted surface – a special concrete mix and construction technique is used to ensure rapid colonisation;
Maximum productivity – the dome shape, holes, internal void and rough texture mimic natural reefs and maximise species richness;

Carbon offsets - CO2e emissions from the manufacture of concrete and RBA staff air travel are offsite via My Clean Sky accredited carbon credits.

Applications

Habitat enhancement

Fisheries

Dredging mitigation

Coral rehabilitation

Mangrove restoration

Snorkelling / Diving

Shoreline protection

>>Read more

>>Tech Note - designing ARs and Cities

NEW! Value adding features

Ask us about carbon neutral reefs, underwater web cams, Rest In Reef, unique reef themes...

>>Email Us

Reef Balls are available in a range of sizes

Unit weight, size and number of holes is varied to create a reef that achieves the desired goals.

Goliath

Super Ball

Ultra Ball

Pallet Ball

Bay Ball

Mini-Bay Ball

Lo-Pro

Oyster

Width

Height

Weight

1.83 m

1.52 m

1,818-3,000+ kg

1.83 m

1.37 m

1,818-2,727 kg

1.68 m

1.31 m

1,591-2,045 kg

1.22 m

0.88 m

682-1,000 kg

0.91 m

0.61 m

170-341 kg

0.76 m

0.53 m

68-91 kg

0.61 m

0.46 m

36-60 kg

0.46 m

0.30 m

14-20 kg

Manufacture

We manufacture Reef Balls at our Sydney site or closer to the project site as required.

Delivery and deployment

We arrange delivery of the Reef Balls to any location in Australia and we recommend Halls Transport. Contact us for a quote.

Reef Balls are deployed using boats, pontoons, or barges or floated and towed to site.

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