Aquarium disasters are a fact of life for all aquarium keepers and although this dark underbelly of the hobby often gets swept under the rug, the Fall 2009 issue of Reefs Magazine tackles the issue head on. From trying to pinpoint what is going wrong with a tank, to the dramatic measures we take to resuscitate an aquarium system that is on the verge of crashing, Reefs Magazine has some very informative articles that can help you be a better EMT if you are ever faced with a failing system. The topics may not seem like the most entertaining at first but you can either be glad that you are reading and learning from someone else’s mistakes, or you can read them and make yourself better prepared if you ever have to deal with an aquarium in dire straits. The Editor’s Note lays it all out:

As a member of a local reef forum recently put it, “it does noobie hearts good to know that even the top reefers have problems as well…. it is helpful to know that we are not alone.” And so, Simon Garratt, Rich Ross and Lissa Mann provide us with detailed accounts of the aquarium disasters that recently beset them, and though their circumstances were quite different, their conclusions are remarkably similar. Christine Williams shows us how to marvel at the circumstance and laugh in the face of misfortune. Chris Jury explores the variety of disasters that plague our wild reefs and our interview with Rob Toonen echoes these concerns tempered with a note of optimism.