Well, I had another ‘Learning Experience’ with my tank the past few weeks. It all started (I think…) with my return pump. There’s no sense in hiding it, time to come clean… I got lazy. Seriously. I have a Mag 7 return pump in my sump, and I use the pre-filter sponge attachment. Well, you probably already know that you’re supposed to clean that sponge out on a regular basis, because it gets full of gunk, goo, gorp and glop—as Continue reading
Think you know all about sand for your saltwater aquarium? I thought I did, until I learned the truth about sand by listening to the ReefThreads podcast. In their podcast 124, Gary and Christine (the usual hosts, if you don’t listen to the podcast) had a guest on named Boomer, who sounded like he knew everything about sand you could ever want to know…and quite frankly, he confirmed that a lot of what I thought I knew about sand was Continue reading
Good News for Coral Reefs…Finally It seems like every few days, there is another story about global warming or human pollution killing the world’s reefs. Our reefs are in danger–and it is critical that we protect them and learn everything we can about how to keep them healthy. That’s why I’m excited to share some good news for once. James Gilmour, a researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), published a paper in the Journal Science (online) documenting Continue reading
Why you should add a refugium to your aquarium…if you can A refugium is a great thing to add to your aquarium set-up…if you can. Think of the refugium as a nature preserve within the confines of your aquarium system. It’s a small area set aside for macroalgae and tiny invertebrates to flourish. Adding a refugium to your aquarium can provide the following benefits: Nitrate removal–macroalgae in the refugium will treat excess nitrates in the water like plant fertilizer–the more algae you Continue reading
Saltwater Fish Trivia Post: Ocellated Icefish Have you ever heard a sports enthusiast say something like, “I bleed [insert mascot] [insert mascot color]!” as a testament to how much of an uber-fan they see themselves as? Around here, lots of people say, “I bleed Eagles green!” to show their support of the Philadelphia Eagles. Well, if the Ocellated Icefish was a sports mascot…their fans would have to say they bleed…transparent fluid? Ew, weird eh? Ok, as far as introductions to Continue reading
Maintaining high quality saltwater is arguably the most important thing you can do for your reef aquarium. But I bet if I asked you what the most important water parameters, you would list things like temperature, pH and nutrient/contaminant levels, right? Well one important water parameter is often ignored, neglected, or otherwise taken for granted–and that parameter is water movement. If you are like me–you probably thought about water movement when you first set up your tank–and haven’t really thought Continue reading
I was listening to the Reef Threads Podcast on my way to work and was intrigued by a story Christine and Gary were sharing about a hobbyist who became really sick from palytoxin. Apparently the hobbyist was literally cooking live rock on the stove. Just to be clear to anyone reading this–cooking live rock is a term used casually in forums that refers to the process of removing organic wastes from your live rock before adding it to your display Continue reading
It’s no secret that Google, and the internet more broadly, have transformed (and even dismantled) entire industries. As I look at some of the pain points we face in the aquarium hobby, I can’t help but look to Google as a model for evolving the saltwater aquarium industry. My inspiration for this post was a book I read: What Would Google Do?: Reverse-Engineering the Fastest Growing Company in the History of the World (that is an affiliate link to the book Continue reading
Ever since I wrote the post last week about whether switching to reef LED lighting will save money, I have been almost obsessed with trying to understand how much electricity my saltwater aquariums are consuming. Next to the lights, the next most energy-intensive piece of equipment is the aquarium return pump–the electrical pump that returns water from the sump below my tank back into the aquarium. But almost as important as understanding how much electricity my aquarium return pump is consuming is understanding how Continue reading
I found myself asking the question: “Will switching to reef LED aquarium lights save money?” a lot lately–mostly because I’m overdue to change out my light bulbs. So now that it is time to fork over the ~$110 to replace my lights (to purchase a new metal halide lamp and 2 power compact lamps), the questions I have been asking myself are: Am I throwing money away by replacing my current bulbs? Will switching to reef LED aquarium lights save money in Continue reading
One of the most common questions I hear from people who are on the fence about setting up a saltwater tank is: “Isn’t it a lot of work to maintain a saltwater tank?” Let’s face it, there is a certain amount of work that you WILL have to do to maintain a healthy saltwater tank–anybody who has spent any time in the hobby can vouch for that. But the key to enjoying the hobby over the long-term is to find Continue reading
I’ll get straight to the point–I don’t like to do aquarium maintenance, and I’m going to venture a guess that you don’t like it much either. The worst part about it–is that I’m usually not even honest with myself. I usually say, “I forgot.” But the truth is, subliminally, I want to forget, because I don’t want to do it. That’s how our brains work. Our brains are wired to bring us towards things that bring us pleasure and away from Continue reading
If you found this blog post, there is a good chance that you’re surfing the internet looking for helpful information about setting up or maintaining a reef aquarium. I’m well aware that this site is just one humble stop on the information superhighway–a small detour to through a town with a single blinking yellow light on your road to much success and enrichment in the saltwater aquarium hobby. But I don’t have a monopoly on useful or interesting FREE reef aquarium Continue reading
I was flipping through a copy of the Doctors Foster and Smith catalog, and was inspired by a simple, yet helpful article titled “Ideal Marine Aquarium Water Parameters: Key to Continued Inhabitant Health”. The article was short, simple and communicated a lot of information in single catalog page–but I found it also created a lot of follow-up questions in my mind. Questions like: which parameters are the most important? And how close to ‘ideal’ do you need keep the water parameters in Continue reading
The world’s rarest fish, the Devils Hole Pupfish may soon be extinct. According to a recent survey, only 75 individual Devils Hole Pupfish are thought to exist in the wild. This tiny fish species lives in a pond in Nevada near Death Valley and gets its name from the region it calls home–Devils Hole–a geothermal pool fed by an aquifer found inside of a limestone cavern. The Devils Hole Pupfish have been living isolated in Devils Hole, eeking out an existence Continue reading