As the hobby has continued to expand and the knowledge to be successful with it, some aspects have been found to be more important than originally thought. Foremost among these is water chemistry and specifically minor trace elements. While the…
Is the Hobby Less Fun Than It Used to Be?
I think that we can all agree that there are many reasons to have a hobby. Some of us have one as it helps us relax such as with gardening or needlepoint. For others, a hobby keeps us active and…
The Importance of Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium in a Reef Tank
There are many aspects of the hobby that for one reason or another are controversial. But one of the few that isn’t is the need to manage the big three: Calcium Alkalinity and Magnesium. That is everyone agrees that it…
Water Chemistry Part 1: Salinity and Temperature
There are a lot of sexy aspects of having a reef tank including planning and setting it up, aquascaping it, and then selecting the fish and corals to go in it. And you can also get excited about choosing the…
What Ozone and UV do on a Reef Tank
When you are starting a new tank there are always a lot of lists of different things. There is a definite need to have a list that includes things like a protein skimmer, lights, etc. Then there is a list…
How to Care for Your Reef Tank while On Vacation
There are many terms that we reefers have come to fear: RTN, Montipora eating nudibranchs, wife seeing the credit card bill, and Fedex losing the box. Unfortunately, many of us have come to fear something that we should look forward…
Electricity, Safety, and Reef Tanks
I have been stung, cut, poisoned, and punctured by my tank’s inhabitants and the equipment on it. But the pain I’ve gotten in those instances pales in comparison to the countless times I have been shocked, or nearly electrocuted from…
Automatic Top-Off Systems, Reservoirs, and Dehumidifiers
One of the crucial aspects of having a successful reef tank is having the tank be as stable as possible and this is especially true in terms of salinity. But when setting up a new system, one of the aspects…
How to properly Treat and Dip Newly Acquired Corals
As we have gotten better at keeping our corals and especially propagating them, we have also gotten better at recognizing the many pests that feed on them. As a result, it is now necessary to manage these pests lest they…
Reverse Osmosis and Deionization explained
When I was growing up, we were actually taught computer programming in school using punch cards that needed to be inserted into the computer. It was extremely rudimentary and slow, but it did teach me one valuable lesson: garbage in,…