MicroBacter Start XLM is a new live nitrifying bioculture from Brightwell Aquatics for starting a saltwater or reef aquarium in record time. Cycling a saltwater aquarium has never been easier and there’s numerous live bacterial cultures available in the aquarium…
Hammer Coral Bouquet from OceanPets
About a a month ago we were sent a sampler of choice Australian corals by our old pal, Zach Lin who is currently collecting corals for OceanPets in Australia. This precious cargo from the middle of the Great Barrier Reef…
Can You Believe this Gem Tang Survived?
Several weeks ago we peered into one of our reef tanks to notice that something was not quite right with one of our gem tangs. The medium sized Zebrasoma gemmatum specimen had been in our care for the better part of…
Building a Massive Closed Loop for the 400 Gallon Hardline Reef
There once was a time that every serious large reef tank was on track to become outfitted with a closed loop for providing water flow throughout the aquarium. Right before any kind of propeller pump became not only an option but…
Apolemichthys guezei, the ‘Bigfoot’ of Rare Fish Photographed in Reunion
Something happened last week in the depths of the Western Indian Ocean, off the remote French outlying territory of the Island of Reunion that rare fish collectors will never forget. Patrick Plantard, a ‘reef guy’ and friend to many of…
200 EXT and 200 INT Will be Innovative Marine’s Biggest Tanks to date
The Nuvo 200 EXT and INT are two new all glass aquarium models from Innovative Marine which represent their largest tank offerings to date. It certainly shows a degree of confidence on IM’s part in the power and popularity of…
The BEST Photos and Articles of Vincent Chalias
Over the last twenty years, and even more so the last decade, the contributions of Vincent Chalias to the global reef aquarium hobby, industry and community have been incalculable. As one of the first pioneers of coral farming in Indonesia,…
How to Setup a Reef Tank Part 5: Adding Fish and Short Term Maintenance
We are coming into the last, ‘major’ installment in our how to setup a reef tank series wherein we discuss adding fish, what cycling actually means, and the short and medium term maintenance of caring for a new reef tank.…
Step Ahead Innovation Shuts its Doors, MindStream Future Uncertain
When the MindStream aquarium water monitor was first announced by its creator, Step Ahead Innovations, the device seemed so ahead of its time that it almost came off like a futuristic concept product. Six years have passed since that initial…
ADA Power Cord S-70 Controll: a $25 Power Strip for 4X the Price
When we first came across the ADA Power Cord S-70, we were very intrigued and excited to learn that the venerable planted aquarium company had released a moderately high tech product. Aqua Design Amano is notoriously low tech, that’s practically…