Articles

The blobfish, Psychrolutes marcidus, belongs to the same genus as the more familiar blob sculpin Psychrolutes phrictus in the family Psychrolutidae. Blobfish are deep-sea fish that live off the coasts of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean. They get their name because they literally look like blobs when taken out of their habitat. The scowling, almost-human face and the flabby look is usually how they look when disfigured because of the extreme change in pressure that...

If you want to build a DIY LED for your tank, there are plenty of resources on the internet to get you started on the usual setup of a driver, and a bucket full of little 3-watt stars to make your lovely strip-style light. But maybe the strip lights aren't what you want? Maybe you want something big and stupidly powerful, with a single point of light and deep penetration into the tank. If so, this build is for you. This article will guide you step-by-step through making a large 100-watt...

Surge suppression has come a long way over the years. Some of us remember when purchasing our first computer we also had to purchase an APC power back-up that had surge protection, power filtering and power back-up as a much-needed secondary function. Today we plug our computers into surge strips from Walmart or Best Buy. Some are quality units costing upwards of a hundred dollars, some are not. PQ Power Quality & SPD Surge Protection Device Surge Protection is often referred to as Power...

15 Steps to Starting a Saltwater Aquarium: The Lasse Method Display Tank. Photos are all courtesy of Lasse Forsberg. ©2019, All Rights Reserved. INTRODUCTION There are many methods to start a saltwater aquarium--each major aquarium product manufacturer has its own. Common to most, however, is that they focus on keeping difficult and demanding corals--especially SPS. Are you looking for a method-specific SPS aquarium? If yes, then maybe you should choose a method from one of that group...

Note from the Editor: Some time ago, our resident electrical guru, @Brew12, wrote a good article on the forum at the beginning of a discussion thread about using ground probes for your aquarium. As soon as I saw the article, I recognized that this deserved top billing. So, here, below, is our resident electrical guru's suggestions on ground probes in his own words. Hint: You need one. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels Why is it that some people refuse to put a...

Mussels. This is a royalty-free image from Pixabay. This is Part 2 of our article on Shellfish Poisoning Syndromes. We'll pick up with the fourth subtype in our list. 4. Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning It’s a bit odd that this type of shellfish poisoning is labeled “diarrhetic” when ASP, PSP, and NSP all usually present with diarrhea. In any case, DSP may be caused by more than one toxin. There’s okadaic acid (OA) and dinophysistoxin-1 and -2 and their esterified forms, referred to as...

A mussel farm in Croatia. This is a royalty-free image from Pixabay. Preface: I’ve always been a bit leery about eating shellfish. In the 1980’s, when I lived in Europe, I ate more than my fair share of raw oysters, cooked mussels, and crab. I knew that shellfish can make people sick, and I was aware of some religious convictions that specifically forbade eating shellfish. But it wasn’t until I came across an article by some Dutch researchers, that I learned exactly why shellfish makes...