Articles

Or, What Rock Can I Put in My Saltwater Tank? In Part 1 of this article, we talked about live rock, and most reef aquarists use at least a little of it in their tank. Spontaneous generation does not exist, and if all of your rock is dead, then it will not magically come alive just by putting it in (artificial) salt water. Sorry about that. The only way to have live rock is to start with at least a little live rock which will seed the rest of any dead rock--unless you can toss your dead...

Or, What Kind of Rock Can I Put in My Saltwater Tank? In the broadest of terms, there are basically two types of rock for saltwater aquariums: live rock and dead rock. So, we're going to look at them one at a time, and try to explain the differences for the benefit of beginners. Live rock from the ocean. There's bubble algae on it in the middle (a nuisance). Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives, ©2018, All Rights Reserved Live Rock: Live rock is either A) wild rock that has either been...

Reef2Reef is here to help aquarists with all levels of experience. But we especially want to look after the beginners. Most beginners are chomping at the bit to fill their tanks with livestock. In reefkeeping, William Congreve's quote from 1693 is applicable: "Marry in haste, repent at leisure." In reefkeeping, if you do anything in haste, you will repent at leisure. Today, William Norman, an experienced reef aquarist, tells us his advice for choosing fish when you're a beginner. ~~~~~~~~...

A reef aquarium with a black sand substrate. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives, 2018. It’s time for some FAQ’s. I’ve said before, but it bears repeating, there are often many different ways to do things when you have a saltwater aquarium. This document will by no means be an exhaustive treatment of any one subject. I’ll offer answers that are short and sweet, quick and dirty. I will, however, give you links to where you can read more on the subject, and I will include those references...

Are you ready for some fun? We’re so excited for the upcoming holidays that we’ve decided to launch a new caption contest, just like The New Yorker does. Our fantastic sponsors have helped us to come up with some AWESOME PRIZES. So sharpen your pencils and get ready. Here's cartoon #1! HOW TO ENTER This contest will be conducted inside our forum, so you first you have to register for our forum if you’re not on it already. Don’t worry, it’s free and it’s easy to register. Come up with...

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. We thought we’d kick it up a notch, update it, expand it, and post it as an article. ~~~~~~~~~ Looking to dip your toe into the world of marine aquariums? Our hobby, like many others has tons of acronyms that can be confusing for someone just starting out. Want to know your CC from your DC? Consult our...

Welcome to our first profile of a reef aquarist. We thought it would be interesting for our audience to read about different people who keep saltwater aquariums. I’ll tell you a bit about the person, and then we’ll move to a question and answer format, so you can hear about the person’s experience in his or her own words. So, without further ado…. ~~~~~~~~~ In the foothills of the Bluegrass mountains in the southeast US, there’s a reef aquarist, P.R., who has two (2) saltwater tanks, a...

Zoanthid close-up. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives. We think there are plenty of readers out there who are considering starting a reef tank but who hesitate to move forward for a number of reasons. So, this article is intended for those who have never had any kind of aquarium, or those who have freshwater aquarium experience but no saltwater experience. I’m going to try to address some of the most common concerns to help you move ahead. I’m scared. I don’t know anything about it. It...

Learning something new can feel complicated. We're going to help you. Photo is a royalty-free image from freerangestock.com. We have many readers who are complete novices. Total newbies. Zero experience. And these aquarists deserve regular articles destined for them. Because, let’s face it: a saltwater aquarium can be complicated. Often experienced reefers say this hobby is not complicated. But that’s easy to say when you have many years of experience. Someone new to saltwater probably...