Written by Ernest Shipp, a marine hobbyist
Edited by Neale Monks
photo by R2R member @swannyson7
There is a difference of opinion whether or not coral have, shall we say, ‘behavior.’
This idea has not sat well with me ever since I had listened to a podcast recording of a lecture about the decline of the world’s coral reefs. The author of the presentation decided that he was going to focus on the reef fishes as indicators of the health of the reef environments that he was studying. He...
Beginner Corals: Pulsing Xenia
Beginners in this hobby are often looking for a great coral to start with. They want something easy to care for, that will grow quickly and be beautiful. You can’t ask for a coral that hits all those notes better than the pulsing xenia. You may wonder why some people will swear to never put xenia in their displays ever again, and we will touch on that in a bit.
In the wild, the Xeniias spread across a large area from the east coast of Africa all the way to...
Aquatic Life Halo LED Giveaway!
Sponsored by AquaticLife.com
Developed with one of the leading designers of aquarium lighting control in the world, our feature-rich HALO Controllable LED Lighting System advances the art of aquarium lighting to new levels. The Aquatic Life HALO LED fixtures create amazing shimmer for your aquatic environment, and the desired color and light intensity are easily adjusted with the simple turn of a dial. The addition of next-generation UV LED’s further enhances...
Tunze Reef Swag Pack Giveaway!
This month we're making it EASY to have many entries! All you have to do is one or more of the following things to qualify to win prize combo:
1. Update your Reef2Reef tank thread this month. (you can update it once a week for 4 total entries) After you update or create the tank thread post the link to your build here in this thread up to 4 times for each week. If you don't have a tank thread then start a new one here: Member Tanks
2. Post a photo of your...
Spouse Doesn’t Get it?
I’m sure most of us in this addicting hobby have been there. Hiding the receipt from your most recent trip to the fish store, getting home early so your spouse doesn’t catch you acclimating something new into the tank. The old stand-by “No honey, that’s always been in the tank” only works a couple times before they catch on. There are a lucky few whose spouse is interested in the hobby and it’s something they can do together, but for the rest of us it’s feigned...
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Who doesn't love playing with magnets? I do. Magnets are very handy for attaching equipment to our tanks - frag racks, probe holders, float switches, filter sock holders, small skimmers...etc. How do you know if the magnets you're using are "reef-safe"? I'm going to break down the two main types of magnets commonly used in our aquariums and cover the pros and cons of each. Using the wrong type of magnet can have adverse effects on your tank's inhabitants, so...
Here is the video that shows you how to drill and install the Shadow Overflow on your aquarium. If you have any questions regarding this procedure just let us know in this thread.
We're kicking off a new segment in BRStv Investigates and we're out to change EVERYTHING we know about reef tank lighting! With that in mind, we want to know; what you would like to see us test and/or challenge in regards to reef lighting?
What to look for when buying fish at your LFS
Ideally, when you buy a fish you want it to be perfectly healthy, eating right away and have a guarantee that it won’t die right away. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case at most local fish stores. Our policy at the LFS I work at is “no returns, no exceptions” and I find this to be the case at every LFS I have visited. You may find a few exceptions to this rule and if you do covet that LFS and bring them lots of business so they can stay open...
Incrementalism in the Hobby
There is an old Southern axiom of how to cook a bullfrog. You can’t just pop it into boiling water because as soon as it hits the hot water it will sense that the water is too hot so it will hop out. Instead you put it in cool refreshing water and then gradually increase the heat. By doing it that way before it realizes that the water is getting hot it is too late and it is cooked. As far as I know cooking bullfrogs is not a major aspect of reefkeeping, but that...
