Oyster Reef Restoration Tile

Abstract

A concrete marine habitat substrate tile that is portable for a human and which provides an increased calcium carbonate content and interstitial spaces for feeding and providing a habitat for developing oysters is described. Specifically provided is a reef restoration and oyster growing tile comprising: a concrete tile comprising at least 25% by weight calcium carbonate; wherein the concrete tile comprises a base and a surface disposed on the base and comprising a plurality of spaced projections and interstitial spaces; and wherein the plurality of spaced projections and interstitial spaces provide a 3-dimensional surface.

1 . An aquatic habitat apparatus comprising:
 a concrete structure comprising calcium;   wherein the concrete structure comprises a first surface and a second surface; and   wherein the second surface comprises a plurality of spaced projections and interstitial spaces that together provide the second surface with a 3-dimensional surface.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein one or more of the spaced projections are replicas of oyster shells or abstractions thereof. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first surface is disposed on a side of the apparatus opposing the second surface and the first surface is irregular and comprises ridges and grooves. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first surface is disposed on a side of the apparatus opposing the second surface and the first surface is smooth and planar. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure comprises one or more spaced projections configured for supporting another of the concrete structures when stacked. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 3 , wherein the ridges and grooves represent 10% to 50% of the thickness of the concrete structure at its thinnest point. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spaced projections provide for interstitial spaces on the second surface of the concrete structure. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of spaced projections are irregularly-spaced apart at intervals of 0.5 inches to 2 inches. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first surface or the second surface comprises 5 to 100 projections. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the projections are of different heights. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , having a weight in the range of 2 to 100 lbs. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure is square-shaped. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure is rectangular-shaped. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure is circular-shaped. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure is oval-shaped. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure has a length or a width in the range of about 8 inches to 16 inches. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the concrete structure has a length or a width in the range of about 4 to 6 inches. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , which is configured to interlock with one or more of the concrete structures to create an interlocking mat of concrete structures. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , which is configured to be stacked upon one or more of the concrete structures. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising an electronic tracking device. 
     
     
         21 . A set of apparatuses of  claim 1 , comprising 2 to 100 of the apparatuses packaged together, wherein the plurality of spaced projections provide a surface pattern for each apparatus in the set and wherein the set comprises at least four unique surface patterns. 
     
     
         22 . A mold configured to produce the concrete apparatus of  claim 1  from poured concrete. 
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the surface area of the second surface is in the range of about 2× up to about 1,000× the surface area of the first surface. 
     
     
         24 . The apparatus of  claim 23 , wherein the surface area of the second surface is about 5× to about 20× the surface area of the first surface. 
     
     
         25 . A concrete composition comprising a calcium-containing compound in an amount ranging from about 25 weight percent up to 100 weight percent, wherein the weight percent of the calcium-containing compound is based on the total weight of the composition. 
     
     
         26 . The concrete composition of  claim 25  comprising the calcium-containing compound in an amount ranging from about 50 weight percent up to about 95 weight percent, wherein the weight percent of the calcium-containing compound is based on the total weight of the composition. 
     
     
         27 . The concrete composition of  claim 25  comprising the calcium-containing compound in an amount ranging from about 75 weight percent up to about 95 weight percent, wherein the weight percent of the calcium-containing compound is based on the total weight of the composition. 
     
     
         28 . The concrete composition of  claim 25  comprising the calcium-containing compound in an amount of at least about 25 weight percent, wherein the weight percent of the calcium-containing compound is based on the total weight of the composition. 
     
     
         29 . The concrete composition of  claim 25 , wherein the calcium-containing compound comprises eggshells. 
     
     
         30 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the concrete structure is a concrete disc comprising calcium;   the concrete disc comprises a through hole; and   the second surface comprising a plurality of spaced projections and interstitial spaces providing an annular edge extending around a perimeter of the apparatus.   
     
     
         31 . An apparatus of  claim 30 , wherein the apparatus is from about 1 inch to about 12 inches in circumference and about 1 inch to about 4 feet in height. 
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein a through hole extends through the first and second surfaces.