Maxspect has taken the material it makes its Nano-Tech Bio-Spheres from and made it into an aquarium substrate. Nano-Tech Bio Sand combines the tiny ceramic beads that are stuck together to form Bio-Spheres with natural aragonite sand, a substrate known…
Bacterkit Aragonite is Prodibio’s New Substrate ‘Conditioner’
Bacterkit Aragonite is a new bacterial inoculation additive from Prodibio for saltwater aquarium substrates to help do much more than simply cycle your aquarium. The new aragonite flavor of Bacterkit follows in the footsteps of their Bacterkit Soil which introduces…
Get That Sandbed LOOK Without Having an Actual Sandbed
We all love having the look of a bright white sand bed, and the way it reflects light to give our reef tanks that tropical look. But over the last decade it has definitely become clear that in many cases,…
Halichoeres chrysus: A Hardy Little “Banana with Fins” That’s Just Right for Beginners
Known by a variety of common names—banana wrasse, canary wrasse, golden wrasse, yellow coris, et al—Halichoeres chrysus is hardy, readily available, reasonably affordable, well suited to modest-sized systems, and among the better choices for beginners. Of course, owing to all…
Substrate Update
In 2016, the systems at Tidal Gardens are a mix of custom glass aquariums and Rubbermaid stock tanks. Originally back in 2002, all the tanks were some combination of 300-gallon and 150-gallon stock tanks because they were by far the…
Outsanding Selections now available as live sand package
Two Little Fishies has been offering their high quality substrates Outsanding Selections in several varieties for a few years now. This week the company announced their Outsanding Selections in a live aragonite sand form. Live sand, especially clean live sand…
The Use of Negative Space in the Reef Aquarium Aquascape
One of the more interesting developments in the reefkeeping hobby, in my opinion, has nothing to do with the latest, greatest gadget or advance in water-quality-management methodology. Rather, it’s an evolving aesthetic in aquascaping. Bored with the traditional monolithic stack…
Getting to the Bottom of Aquarium Sand and other Substrates
The choice of substrate—the material placed on the bottom of the tank—for a saltwater aquarium is one of many areas in our hobby that generate confusion and disagreement. Ask 10 hobbyists which type and depth of substrate they would recommend,…
Getting To The Bottom of Things: Alternative Reef Substrates
We sure spend a lot of time making our aquariums look  great, don’t we? Coral selection, rock placement, and overall layout of the aquascape are all things that seem to occupy a lot of our time when planning or setting…
