Once hobby newcomers learn what live rock is and all the benefits it can provide in marine aquariums, the next big question they invariably ask is, “How much of it do I need for my tank?” More experienced fellow hobbyists,…
Avoid These 5 Live Rock Aquascaping Pitfalls
Your long-anticipated live rock shipment has finally arrived at your doorstep, and you can’t wait to get it in your tank and start watching as life emerges from those gnarly chunks. Though you’re understandably eager to forge ahead putting the…
Man-made branch rock is coming soon from Walt Smith Fiji
Branching live rock like that which came from Tonga back in the day has always been some of the most highly sought after shape for aquascaping reef tanks and marine aquaria. branching rock from the wild is unpredictable in shape,…
Does the surface area of live rock really matter?
The reef aquarium hobby is a past time of expendable income and mental bandwidth; this explains why even though the focus is supposed to be about reef life like corals, fish and inverts, we get sucked into long esoterical discussions…
4th generation RealReef rock looks virtually identical to wild live rock
Real Reef is getting really good at this hand-made reef rock game, with their fourth generation rock looking almost identical to real live rock. We got a sneak peek at the new Real Reef Rock at InterZoo and if hadn’t…
Walt Smith doubles down on sustainability with ReefRock and ReefProject2.0
ReefRock is a new handcrafted aquarium aquascaping material from ReefProject2.0, a new effort from Walt Smith Incorporated. ReefProject aims to establish a more direct approach to sustainability and opportunity for coastal island communities by not only focusing on making the finest…
The Many Means of Nutrient Export in Marine Aquariums
Dissolved nutrients. Sounds like a good thing, right? After all, every organism needs nutrients in one form or another in order to grow and stay in good health. So why are marine aquarium hobbyists—particularly reefkeepers—seemingly so fixated on keeping the…
Life Rock: Caribsea made some purple reef rock of its own
Life Rock is a new product from Caribsea which is looking pretty darn close to the purple stuff from Real Reef, but with a wildly different origin. Unlike the alkalinity boosting, purple manmade concrete pieces from Real Reef, Caribsea’s Life…
DIY Rock for the Marine Aquarium
What is the most expensive part of starting a marine aquarium? No, it’s not the tank itself or the pumps, water, or creatures. It is the rock. Live rock can cost upwards of $7.00 per pound, and a pound of…
Why Many Marine Fish Benefit From Mature Tanks
Astute salties out there will likely have observed that in some of our fish species profiles, we emphasize the need to keep the fish in a “mature” aquarium—meaning one that has been set up and established for at least six…
