Forever and a day we have been schooled in how to set up and cycle an aquarium. Set it up, wet it, add bacteria, test, add fish, test again, and then eventually add corals. But here at Reef Builders we can’t help but think there’s another way to fast reef tank cycling, and that actually, people have been doing it wrong all along…
Ask Reef Builders #3: How Long Should I Cycle A Reef Tank Before Putting Corals In?
You don’t. The short answer is that technically, there is no evidence that you need to cycle an aquarium before putting corals in. Now before you start pulling out your proverbial pitchforks and burn me and this statement at the…
Beginners Guide To ‘Cycling’ A Saltwater Aquarium
Nitrogen Cycle For Saltwater Aquariums No we don’t mean strapping your tank to a bike and taking it for a spin! Cycling your saltwater aquarium is a critical process all aquariums must endure before they are ready to be populated with…
Salty Q&A: How Long Before My Tank Is Cycled?
Question The fish store dealer who’s helping me through the setup of my first saltwater aquarium told me I need to give the tank time to cycle before I put any fish or corals in it. As of right now,…
Understanding Old Tank Syndrome
Old Tank Syndrome, or OTS, is something we have been hearing about since the hobby started, and I am not quite sure exactly what it means. Is it due to parameters, loss of diversity, lack of interest, diseases, metal accumulation,…
Bubble-Tip Anemone Safety Tips
The bubble-tip anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor), or BTA, is justifiably popular in the marine aquarium hobby, being relatively hardy and easy to keep as anemones go as well as being a suitable host anemone for many clownfish species. But to horribly…
When is it Okay to Leave a Dead Fish in a Marine Aquarium?
A fellow hobbyist once told that when a fish dies in his tank, he just leaves it there to rot because “that’s what happens in nature.” While he was right about the decomposition of a dead fish being natural, allowing…
Putting Aquarium Water Parameters to the Test
It’s crucial to keep tabs on several key aspects of water chemistry if you want to succeed with a saltwater aquarium. That means you’ll have to develop the habit of testing certain parameters on a routine basis. But that doesn’t…
AquaSpec aquarium testing computer a high-tech approach to testing water parameters
AquaSpec is an interesting high-tech gadget to get some seriously accurate and reliable measurement on your aquariums parameters. The AquaSpec computer may look like something made for professionals, the goal was to create an accurate and approachable device for the…
