Magazine

Acclimating corals, how most home hobbyists should do it (video)

Imagine that you are just stepping off a long inter-continental flight. As you step off you are walked through a long hallway with air that has a smooth gradient of temperature and pressure to carefully acclimate you to your new…

Hong Kong through Digiman’s eyes part 1: Legendary reefers Dr. Chung and Jimma Ma

Here’s another exciting Reef Builders travelogue showcasing the sights and adventures of the reefing scene in a foreign country. Like our Japan and Bangkok travelogues, we visit yet again another Asian country – the mystical land of Hong Kong. This…

Coral of the Month: Introducing the Hurlock Acropora from Bali Aquarium

Today we kick off the start of our Coral of the Month series in conjunction with Bali Aquarium. What makes this series unique is that in most cases we will try to tell you about a new coral both how…

Revisiting the refugium, or more accurately, the macroalgae scrubber

A lot of trends have come and gone in this hobby. As folks shake up their zeolite reactors and add a carbon source, the idea of a deep sand bed and refugium seems like a long forgotten memory. Much to…

CAD Lights pipeless PLS300 review

When asked to look over the largest of the CadLights “Pipeless” skimmer range, I must admit to being initially skeptical. My first thought was how on Earth do you make a skimmer with no pipes-? Better yet, one that can…

Keeping butterflyfish in reefs: What to look out for and what to avoid

Butterflyfish are the quintessential reef inhabitant. Take a look at any coral reef picture, video, documentary, poster, you name it. There’s a high chance a colourful butterfly is flitting around there somewhere. The same is not to be said in…

BlueSpace and Crazy Aquarium in Bangkok is a mecca for Anthias and well groomed reef fish

In the second part of our Thailand escapade, we navigate through the labyrinth that is Jatujak. Jatujak, or JJ market, is a humongous fair that happens every weekend. The market contains over 15,000 stalls spanning 35 acres, and sells everything…

Tales from Thailand: Chingchai’s incredible DSPS tank

Having just returned from an amazing trip in Bangkok, it would almost be considered criminal if we weren’t going to spill and share on the reefing goodies this amazing city has to offer. Like our previous recount of BlueHarbor in…

Comical crustaceans for your coral cushions – the Periclimenes shrimps

There are more than just skunk cleaner shrimps and blood shrimps in the world of aquarium crustaceans. Many are delightful and colorful little creatures that go unnoticed even to the trained reefer. It is imperative that a reef tank should…

Face-to-face with the hyper rare tiger angelfish in nature and the aquarium

Any of the rare fish fanciers out there who’ve kept up with some of my writings know that I have a sort of infatuation with South Africa’s endemic tiger angelfish, Apolemichthys kingi. So, when I got the invitation to come to…