Grzegorz Grebosz’s Acropora are Probiotic Perfection

We admit to following and admiring this aquarium for a while, and although it’s existed in several guises since 2015, the bright, tabling acros and pristine, immaculately clean tank always manage to keep it looking like new. We caught up…

How to keep Algae from Becoming Problematic

Whether you are starting out or have been keeping a reef tank for a long time the number one worry that most hobbyists still seem to have is how to keep algae in check. Since the start of the hobby…

It’s Always Something!

There are few universal things in this hobby, as every tank is different and how every tank is managed is different as well.  But there are a few such as the need for being patient, and there being no benefit…

Magnificent Macroalgae: The Sublime Scapes of Tigahboy.h2o

Macroalgae is a growing sector of the saltwater aquarium hobby, and one of the pioneers of that movement is Macroalgae Scaper @tigahboy.h2o with his numerous sublime saltwater scapes. We asked the man himself about his tanks, his background in the…

Two New Species of Gobies Described from the Deep Reefs of the Caribbean

Two new species of cryptobenthic gobies have been described following their collection in Roatan, Honduras in 2018. Named Varicus prometheus and Varicus roatensis, the two new species were collected using a submersible, and make up the 11th and 12th species…

Reef Microbiology Part Two: The Immune System

In this installment of the microbiology series, I will provide a more technical explanation of the coral immune response.   Introduction to Immunology Immunology is the study of the immune system. There are two broad categories of immune responses – innate…

How to Manage the Ugly Stage of a New Reef Tank

There are few inevitable things in life and even fewer in this hobby. But the one inevitable that everyone encounters when they set up a new tank is that there will be an ugly phase. It does not matter if…

How and Why to Dose Your Reef Tank

We’re asked more questions on dosing than virtually anything else. Here’s a Beginner’s Guide and our most Frequently Asked Questions on Reef Tank Dosing. What is dosing? Dosing is when you add buffer to your reef tank to keep water…

How to Aquascape a Reef Aquarium

Once the live rock has been cured and cycled one of the most fun aspects, at least to me, of setting up a new reef tank has finally arrived. Aquascaping a tank, that is designing and positioning the live rock…

Has the Hobby Gotten Too Expensive? 

Let’s face it, this hobby has never been an inexpensive one. Even during the early years of the hobby, it was expensive for a number of reasons. Corals and saltwater fish have always been more expensive than their freshwater counterparts.…