Paletta on Protein Skimming

Through the years I have seen marine aquarium filtration go from under gravel filters through canister filters and then trickle filters, all producing various levels of success. But the only filtration method that truly changed filtration was when the hobby…

Doug’s Perfectly Designed Fish Room & Stunning Custom Reef Tank

If you look up the word redundancy in the dictionary, you’ll find a photo of Doug Deurloo’s Reef. Did I mention that Doug’s reef is the definition of redundancy? Ok, I’ll stop.  During a recent trip to Indianapolis, I was…

Necessary Planning for a Successful Reef Tank 

During my career I sat in on countless sales meetings and heard countless sales platitudes like: “Know your customer”, or “Always make a hard close”. But my favorite cliché and the one that was probably used most often was: “Fail…

FAQs on Dwarf Angelfish

Dwarf angels are some of the most sought-after saltwater fish for reef aquariums, but are they reef-safe, can you mix them, and what size tank do they need? Here we answer all your most frequently asked questions via our email.…

Eco-Wheel Reef Tank Filter has been running for 21 Years! 

In this social media-filled world, it’s rare to find a hobbyist who isn’t posting photos and videos of their aquariums online. Well, I found one. During a recent trip to Indianapolis, I was able to catch up with an aquarium…

Reef Tank Basics: What you need to know before you start

Brand new to the reef aquarium hobby? Well don’t fear as you’re in safe hands here at Reef Builders, and it’s the best hobby in the world. Let’s start with some of your frequently asked questions on the absolute basics…

Today is World Aquarium Day 2023

February 20, 2023, is World Aquarium Day, an initiative created by world-renowned aquascaper Oliver Knott to celebrate and honor “the best hobby in the World.” We’re biased but we’d be inclined to agree with Oliver, so today we encourage you…

Our choice of tanks supplied with lids – Reef Builders Gear Guide 

Our way of reefing overwhelmingly favors open-topped tanks. They are easier to light, keep cool, and maintain, but due to jumping fish, evaporation, and rising heating bills there will always be a demand for saltwater aquariums with closed hoods. Here…

Hoshitsutsu’s Grafted Montipora setosa is red as the Rising Sun

Up until now, we admit to losing interest in Montipora setosa, such is its abundance in the hobby, ease of keeping, and frequency in frag form. We used to get offered so much of it in our retail days that…

Instagram’s Ancolie Coral is our favorite #reefbuilders tank right now

Every day we scroll through some of the 300,000 reef-related posts and videos carrying our hashtag on Instagram, but this Japanese aquarium by @ancoliecoral caught our attention for all the right reasons. At 160x160x70cm/63”x63”x28” and holding 1792 liters/473 gallons this…