Articles

In the late 1980s, Dr. Bruce Carlson, who was the Director of the Waikiki Aquarium, built a surge device based on information he had received from David Powell at the Monterey Aquarium. This surge equipment became known as the Carlson Surge Device or CSD. The Carlson Surge Device is a time-tested method of creating a surge of water in an aquarium. In the days before DC controlled pumps and complex reef computers, many aquarists had one of these devices mounted to a wall over the tank. The...

The Pacific Ocean Photo is a royalty-free image from Pixabay. Okay, one more time. If at first you don’t succeed, try try again. Some years ago, Uninja, with the help of forum members Raggamuffin, Wy Renegade, Swannyson, Skinz78, Tabasco 1, Jordan 3548, fsu1dolfan, Stray40, and Rayzback, prepared a list of acronyms which is a sticky in the beginner forum. ksfulk prepared a more recent list and an article. Links to all of these previous iterations are found at the end. Last month, after I...

Larry DuPont, the owner and founder of LRS Foods LLC, known to the Reef2Reef forum members as Reef Frenzy (foods), posted an interesting look inside how Reef Frenzy foods are made. We thought it would be useful to post it again here in the article section. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's hard to believe that it's been almost seven years since I blended up the first batch of food for our own fish on the kitchen table. I don't think anyone, myself included, could have imagined the popularity of the...

A view from inside the World Wide Corals store in Orlando, Florida. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives courtesy of World Wide Corals, ©2018 All Rights Reserved. We thought it would be interesting for our readers to take a closer look at our sponsors. So, we’re going to profile them and help you get to know them a bit better. We value our sponsors immensely, and it can be revealing to get to know them behind the scenes. We’ll start with World Wide Corals, also known as WWC on the forum...

A large aquarium Photo from the Reef2Reef archives courtesy of Tusi, ©2018, All Rights Reserved When you’re setting up a new tank, aquarium liability is probably the last thing on your mind. And no one is going to force you to get a specialty policy to cover your aquatic wonderland. But here’s the thing, accidents happen. An appropriate insurance policy may be your golden ticket should a time come when you need it. To determine what sort of coverage you may need, here are some questions...

Mussels Photo is a royalty-free image from Pixabay. DIY Food - Mollusk Feast By making your own fish food, you know exactly what your fish are eating. A variety of mollusks are a good choice, but I'm not a good shell shucker, so, I've taken the easy way out making this recipe. I also want to think I'm saving money, but don't really believe that is the case, especially if you take into account the time spent. However, I do get a good feeling knowing my fish are getting fresh seafood for...

Today's profile number two (2) is of a reef aquarist who has had saltwater tanks for more than 15 years. R.L. lives in Florida, and after numerous snorkeling trips, on a lark he picked up a 35G aquarium at a garage sale and figured he give saltwater a try. He’s also an expert on seashells, and he volunteers at the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island, the only museum in the United States devoted solely to seashells and mollusks. He spends as much time on Reef2Reef as his...

Macroalgae in a refugium Photo from the Reef2Reef archives courtesy of AlexG, © 2018, All Rights Reserved In the beginner section of our forum, there is a sticky on top, written by David Hammontree, that's very very good. The article is called, The Supreme Guide to Setting up a Saltwater Reef Aquarium. If you're a beginner, you should read that whole article. Below is an excerpt from the article on cycling the aquarium. I think this particular part on cycling is important for all...