A lot of times you hear about aquariums as “display pieces” and are talked about like you would a painting or sculpture. In some cases, the aquarium has replaced some peoples televisions all together. One thing that may become lost in the process is the fact that no matter what your tank actually looks like you still have living animals that have individual personalities. Ok, maybe your snail is a boring pet, but your clownfish, tangs, puffers, and even damsels are uniquely varied in...
hermit crab on acan lord coral image via reef2reef member @Mr. Microscope
Crabs are an essential part of the Red Lobster menu, but they play an even more important role in quite the opposite way in the wild and even your aquarium. Some types of crabs are pure evil when it comes to reef friendliness, but others are amazingly beneficial. Some crabs even rely on the well being of certain corals to thrive. When you want crabs, get the kind that won’t irritate you. You will frequently get...
Refugiums are a great way to grow Algae for filtration, food, and provide excellent breeding grounds for pods, shrimp, and anything else that would otherwise be destroyed in your Display tank. Refugiums are not always designed for filtration. Some are designed purely for visual enjoyment and others are home to coral frags as they grow larger. They also make great Time Out spots for bad fish and are good places for injured fish to heal, but remember these are connected to your Display tank so...
We all get those days when our snails take too many breaks and our glass gets a nasty film blocking our view from our beautiful tanks. Some have diatoms, others just have excess coralline algae. Whatever is on your glass should not be there, so here are some tips for cleaning off your viewing hole.
image via easybladeusa.com
WARNING. ACRYLIC AND GLASS REQUIRE DIFFERENT TOOLS. A SCRAPER MADE FOR GLASS CAN AND WILL SCRATCH ACRYLIC. GLASS IS A VERY HARD SUBSTANCE AND ACRYLIC IS SOFT IN...
Photo via MySafetySign.com
Sometimes you get to the point where your rock is not working out for you. Maybe you had a stagnant tank and everything died? Maybe you have an insane algae problem? Maybe you just got the rock for free from some fishy character on Craigslist and just don’t trust it? Even aiptasia, hydroids, or dinoflagellates can make every other option impossible. Either way you are at your wits end and need a fresh start. Time to bust out the heavy artillery!
WARNING...
beautiful reef of @swannyson7
BAKING SODA: NOT POWDER!
Sodium Bicarbonate is an amazingly versatile powder of goodness. How many things in your life has someone said that baking soda was the answer to your problems, or at least one of the ingredients? It is obviously used for baking, but it is in quite a bit of other products you most likely use. Arm and Hammer has made its way into things like soaps, cat litters, floor cleaners, toothpaste, odor removers, and even the volcanoes from your...
coralline covered aquascape image via www.fws.gov
Coralline algae is a very beneficial life form that most reefers want in their tanks. It can come in many colors and some even forms interesting branching shapes. It can encrust on just about anything. After a while, cleaning it can actually become an extra task on the weekly maintenance list. For those of you who are not to this level of growth or just starting a tank there is a great way to get those white rocks as purple as a grape...
image via anters.wordpress.com
You have seen them at the pet store,or even own one or two of your own. For a cheaper fish they are quite cute and peaceful, unlike most Damselfish. They get their name from their similar body shape to the clownfish. Like the clownfish they also have a symbiotic relationship with something most people would not expect, not to mention the way they operate together is quite astounding. If you have seen this before you know I am referring to Acropora.
green...
This Article is Sponsored by @uniquecorals
Ok, maybe after a while writing these columns, you sometimes have to tell things like they are, right? The following is one of those examples of me having a bit of an attitude today. Some of this stuff may seem a bit mean-spirited to some of you. However, in the interest of making you be a better reefer, I would be doing you a disservice if I didn’t give you some of my opinions, right? Sometimes, those opinions are “tough love”, and they aren't...
The ocean is a stew of nearly every element found on earth. Each part has its uses, each part has its problems. The biggest part of reef keeping is keeping these levels in their appropriate ranges. There is however no standard rule for all corals since Soft Corals do not consume anywhere close to the amount of calcium an Acropora would per cubic centimeter. The only two rules that hold true for everything is ONLY DOSE WHAT YOU TEST FOR and NEVER DOSE MULTIPLE THINGS SIMULTANEOUSLY! How are...
