Reeftock 2010 is now a pleasant memory. The aquascaping “ Throwdown” between myself and my new BFF, Freshwater “Iron Aquascaper” John Ciotti, was a smashing success, bringing aquascaping to the forefront of the marine hobby world, if only for a day. Some valuable lessons were learned, and some new ground was broken along the way [...]
Reef Stock is just lesss than 48 hours away while I’m writing this. And if this is any indication of what it is in store for the Aquascaping competition then whoa! The 20-ish gallon 18″ cube aquarium uses a very unique aquascaping rock work designed by John Ciotti. The tank receives 50% water changes two [...]
As a reef geek who is more than just casually interested in creating great looking aquariums, I’ve made it my personal mission over the past few years to rid the reef aquarium world of dull and mediocre aquascaping. To this end, I’ve decided to wax poetic on a few of the many lessons I have [...]
The 2009 Aquatic Gardener’s Association International Aquascaping Competition is up online and has some inspirational eye candy from our freshwater brethren. Aquscaping seems to be one of the things we are constantly striving to master and at times, is probably one of the most frustrating aspects of the hobby regardless of being a reef or [...]
If you’re a regular reader of my ramblings here on Reef Builders, at hobby conferences and in and hobby magazines, you know I’m a HUGE fan of “outside-the-box†thinking in aquascaping. No rock walls and boring layouts for me. Nope! Give me something waaay out there! My pledge to you, the reader, is to share [...]
In  three decades (gulp) in the marine hobby, I’ve kept everything from Acropora to Xenia, and a lot of stuff in between. Seems as though I alway find something new to try; another challenge to accept, a different system to set up. Recently, I found myself  ”tankless” for the first time in years as I [...]
Introduction
Fish Locomotion is a field of study that looks at how fish swim. This may seem simple enough but there are many intricacies of muscle movement, fin shape, body design, habitat, prey selection, and inherent traits. By investigating how a particular fish (or group of fishes) move in their environment a hobbyist can better create [...]
