Common Coral Reef Pests and some ideas on how to remove them

In the early days of the hobby, we paid little attention to the many small animals that came in with our corals. We had such a difficult time keeping our corals alive that little thought was paid to the potential…

We tracked down the Purple Monster Acro to its original source

The Purple Monster Acropora is arguably one of the most infamous stony coral strains in the marine aquarium hobby, of all time. This particular strain of deep purple acro is the coral that kickstarted the whole idea of even having some corals that…

The MicMol Aqua Air LED channels some very fancy industrial design

The MicMol Aqua Air LED is a new solid state aquarium light that truly goes above and beyond to harness the look and feel of a certain featherweight laptop. MicMol clearly takes a lot of inspiration from that fruit-named computer…

Living the Dream

To paraphrase the old adage, you should find a job that you really enjoy doing and then every day going to work is a pleasure. Unfortunately for most of us this is not possible and many of us are content…

Awesome Fish Spotlight: Valenciennea helsdingenii

Chances of bumping into cool fish increases exponentially when you’re out and about marauding the various Balinese wholesale facilities. Picking out a truly rare gem amidst a swathing plague of reef fish requires a keen eye and an innate intuition. That…

The top 5 reasons to use an Apex Systems PMK Par Monitoring Kit

The PAR Monitoring Kit recently announced by Neptune Systems is a very intriguing new accessory that could unlock the door to learning oh so much about our aquariums. We were very thrilled to see the release of the BioTek Marine…

We can’t get enough of Synergy Reef’s fluorescent acrylic sumps

Let’s face it, we reefers love shiny pretty things, that’s we gravitate towards beautiful fluorescent corals with colors so vivid they are “supernatural”. In recent years there’s been an even bigger push to make the reef gear and marine aquarium…

The speciation, biogeography and hybridization of Zebrasoma

The family Acanthuridae boasts of charismatic, charming and iconic reef fishes that are immediately recognizable both in the field and in the trade. All eighty or so species spanning the six various genera have a single unifying trait, and that is…

Reefing from Afar, Part 4: The Wong Solution

The last article discussed some of the quick and simple ways to take care of your reef while being away for just a short period of time. Due to my work responsibilities, which require travel around the world for two-…

What a Difference a (Good) Protein Skimmer Makes!

Here at Saltwater Smarts, we’re not, generally speaking, in the business of writing product reviews. But when we have positive personal experiences with products that we think can make your life easier—and are available at a reasonable cost—we want to…