Articles

This is a young (1 month) and handsome 13.5-gallon reef tank. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives courtesy of @Robg139 ©2019, All Rights Reserved. Introduction This article has been a long time coming. This question is one that is frequently asked to search engines. What do you need to start a reef tank? What do you need to start a saltwater aquarium? What do you need to buy to start a reef tank? What equipment do you need to start a saltwater tank? It's a tricky question to answer...

We are delighted to announce that the Reef of the Month for May, 2019, belongs to @reef jacob. He has a build thread--which is always fun to read--but it wasn't until we started talking to him that we realized the extent of his accomplishments. There is no shortage of serious reefers here on Reef2Reef, and there are lots of beautiful tanks to consider for a Reef of the Month. But there are some very unusual things about @reef jacob. Not only does he have a beautiful reef, but it's only two...

Introduction Below you will find a companion article to our recent one on snails for the reef aquarium. This one is on crabs, and it is, by no means, an exhaustive treatment of the subject, but rather an introduction to the ones most commonly found in the marine aquarium trade and ones you may have heard of. What scientists call "true" crabs are decapod crustaceans belonging to the infraorder called Brachyura. Decapod means literally "10 feet," however, decapod crustaceans can have many...

Proper lighting is one of the most important aspects of successfully maintaining a reef aquarium, yet many hobbyists leave it to chance. I’ve pondered why this is for years--perhaps it is because it can be a complicated subject with many variables involved (compare this to water chemistry where there are rigid numbers such as calcium and magnesium at 400-450 and ~1,500 parts per million, respectively.) It could be that light meters tend to be expensive, and once light patterns in an aquarium...

New article on our website: https://chaosaquaculture.com/sps-an...UCEqBER4a2HtXLdAam69_R8nnkhkdMMcz3ebLlHSZgE5w SPS and LPS Coral: Your Guide to Care and Feeding Sworls of Montipora aequituberculata, a core coral, attract fish at Jarvis Island National Wildlife Refuge in the Pacific, about 1,300 miles southwest of Honolulu. (Jim E. Maragos/USFWS) Corals are among the most diverse and beautiful species of animals on the planet. LPS coral and SPS coral make for amazing pets but require...

Little in this hobby stirs up as much emotional debate as discussions on quarantining fish. Threads on prophylactic treatment, ich management, and immunity are regularly hashed out until people are burned out. Passions run high, and for good reason. Both sides of the debate feel their practices are what are best for the fish, and they all care deeply about the health of their fish. The display tank of @Brew12. Photo is courtesy of the author, @Brew12, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. I will...

This week's Profile of a Reef Aquarist (#7) introduces you to @Bob Weigant, a resourceful and pragmatic gentleman, who believes in making the most of what you have and making good use of your resources, whatever they may be. Bob has almost 25 years of reef experience. The 200G. Photo is courtesy of @Bob Weigant, ©2019, All Rights Reserved. Until very recently Bob had a beautiful 225G that he just took down following an unexpected and unpleasant exchange with his power company...

Note from the Editor: Reef aquarists new to the hobby may not know that Tunze is actually an old company and one that has played a major role in the evolution of the saltwater aquarium hobby. Lots of companies say that they are innovators here and innovators there, but in the case of Tunze, it's true. We thought the story was interesting enough to make an article out of it. Later on, below, Roger Vitko, the US distributor for Tunze, will tell you in his own words about how the company got...

Note from the Editor: Not long ago, I asked on the forum for funny or crazy stories related to their reef aquarium. Below is a compilation of the posts received so far in the thread. Some will make you laugh and some will make you grimace, but they're all true. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ @SDK: I made the mistake of putting a decorator crab into a holding tank with a bright blue sponge filter. The crab tore it to shreds and completely covered himself in the pieces. I had what looked like a...