In this article, I will provide an overview of my take on the current zeitgeist of reefing and explain why the entire industry is ignoring a critical aspect of coral care. I will explain what issues this parameter causes, how…
Education
Your Favia’s Not a Favia – A Cursory Guide to Ex-Favia Merulinid Corals
A quick internet search for “Favia for sale” will return a collection of encrusting large-polyp stony corals collectively grouped as such. However, if one were to take a closer look, they would notice that many of these “Favia” are nothing…
Coral Associated Fungi: A New Rabbit Hole
While I have spoken much about the bacterial component of the holobiont, there are many more players in a coral’s arsenal of symbionts. Something I have seen very few discuss in the hobby is marine fungi. While fungal populations exist…
Do Macroalgae Refugiums Have Unseen Consequences?
Many people have turned to growing macroalgae as a means to export nutrients for years. This has proven to be a solid method of managing nitrates and phosphates that when dialed in appear to have no negative impact on a…
The Effect of Carbon Dosing on the Microbiome: A Community Project with Aquabiomics
At Reefstock Denver, I met many industry figures in person for the first time. Some of my best connections were those with Dr. Eli Meyer and Dr. Andrew Bouwma. Dr. Meyer owns Aquabiomics, and Dr. Bouwma is his colleague and…
FAQs on Reef Aquarium Bacteria
There is so much we don’t know about the bacteria we buy and add to our reef tanks. Salem Clemens answers some of your most Frequently Asked Questions on Reef Aquarium Bacteria. Is it possible to keep bacteria alive in…
FAQs on Phytoplankton Part 4
Time for more questions and answers from the mean, green phytoplankton-making machine, Taras Pleskun. Do I need to refrigerate phyto? I would highly suggest refrigerating any live phytoplankton cells that you do not intend on feeding to the aquarium that…
Evaluating the Repeatability and Differences between ICP Tests
By Sanjay Joshi and Richard Ross. ICP testing has become more mainstream in the past few years since it was introduced in the hobby almost a decade ago, but questions about the utility of the testing results remain. ICP testing…
Is Ammonia Dosing a Possible New Way to Provide Coral Nutrition?
Understanding Coral Diseases as well the nutritional needs of corals has been one of the shortcomings of science and the hobby since Jacques Cousteau introduced us to the coral reefs in the 1960s. We have made extensive progress in improving…
Understanding the Coral Biome and Microbiome
As our understanding of corals and coral reefs has increased over the past few decades it has become increasingly clear that a coral reef and even each individual coral is far more diverse than we ever would have expected. Having…