An article published in the Journal Nature has found that photosynthetic corals not only host their symbiotic algae, they feed directly on it too, and importantly, it is how they uptake Nitrogen and Phosphorus. The paper titled “Reef-building corals farm…
Improving Carbon Dioxide and pH Management
During the early years of the hobby, some of the factors that were most intently looked at were calcium levels, pH, and salinity. Over time these have kind of faded from being thought of as critical and have been replaced…
How to Actually Make Corals Grow Faster, High pH
After temperature and salinity, the pH of aquarium water is one of the most important parameters of reef aquarium chemistry. In freshwater tanks soft water fish have been adapted to higher pH and vice versa, and saltwater fish are not…
Study In Bermuda Found That Warmer Summer Water Can Speed Up Coral Growth
Bermuda A two-year study of coral growth rates in Bermuda, has shown a positive correlation between coral calcification rates and warmer summer ocean temperatures. A new paper based on research led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the…
The Deep Dive on Reef Aquarium Lighting, Part 2: Lighting Technologies
I get asked fairly often what light is the best light. Unfortunately, there is no right answer. First off, there is the difference in aesthetics. That is a purely subjective decision that only hobbyists can make for themselves. Most of…
Special Considerations for Soft Coral Placement
In discussions of coral placement in reef aquaria, topics such as spacing between colonies, distance from the light source, level of water flow, sweeper tentacles, and coral chemical warfare (allelopathy) often predominate. But there are special considerations beyond these that…
An Ultra-Low-Nutrient System for Acropora and other SPS
Welcome to the next level of coral care. By now I am assuming you have at least understood all the key general practices to maintain some of the hardier corals, from soft corals to large-polyp stony (LPS) corals to some…
The Marine Aquarist’s Greatest Asset
If someone were to ask you (perhaps with a gun held to your head, as is so often the case in these hypothetical scenarios) to identify the one thing that no aspiring marine aquarist should be without, what would your…
