Utilizing saltwater creatures is one of the best ways to keep aquariums clean. Not only are you adding more interesting organisms, but you are also increasing biodiversity. This allows for an overall more stable reef. There are quite a few of these saltwater tank cleaners that will prove to be a great helping hand to …
Beginners Education
Arguably, there are few “pastimes” as challenging and all-consuming as marine (and especially reef) aquarium keeping. Longtime hobbyists might forget the relative ease with which they likely got “into” reef aquaria–very possibly with a lot of freshwater aquarium keeping experience behind them. While it is true that the foods, equipment and methodologies of today are greatly improved from those of yesteryear, there is now so much more to learn from the get-go. Definitely a lot of choices to make! With the massive amounts of (often contradictory) information out there, beginner reef aquarists might feel more intimidated now than ever before.
That’s totally cool. You’ll get “there” soon enough. The most important thing is to move forward step-by-step, and to have fun along the way. The whole point of spending all that money and time on this (or any) hobby is to relax and maybe learn something, right? The vast majority of saltwater aquarists who throw the term “newbie” around don’t really mean it as a pejorative; if anything, they recall that period with nostalgia (and maybe even a bit of envy), for it is the fleeting beginner stage where aquarium keeping is especially exciting and the animals so incredibly fascinating.
No one here would suggest that a beginning aquarist should avoid challenges, but we certainly would advise one against making some of those beginner mistakes. In reef aquarium keeping, there is no bigger virtue than patience!
In this section, you will learn how to avoid some of the most common pitfalls for novice aquarists as well as how to build the foundation of knowledge you’ll need to master the art.
Prepared Aquarium Foods: They’re NOT All the Same
Maintaining a saltwater aquarium–especially a really nice one–is a hell of a lot of work. And this is a workload that is added to our already impossibly busy lives. Is it really all that bad to rely heavily on the convenience of prepared foods? The answer, unfortunately, is probably. There are at least a couple …
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Carbon and Nitrogen Management in the Refugium
There are a few good reasons to install a refugium. For some, one certainly is to boost the pod population. For others, it may be a place to enjoy a little bit of marine gardening on the side. But arguably the biggest reason most aquarists love refugia is for their capacity to enhance overall nutrient …
Reef Safe Fish For Sale
The reef aquarium hobby is not just about corals. Otherwise, it would be called the coral hobby. It is not just about fish either. If it were, it would be called the saltwater fish hobby (for some people it is that). The reef aquarium hobby is about having corals, fish, and inverts all live in …
Dealing with Cyanobacteria
In my time working at a local fish store, I have come to realize that hobbyists that have been keeping saltwater tanks for years often run into similar problems as new hobbyists. But, most of newcomers’ algae problems are simply due to their tank naturally cycling, and they resolve themselves within a month or two …
How to Maintain a Saltwater Aquarium
A major component of reefing and keeping saltwater aquariums that deters people from the hobby is the maintenance that is required to upkeep them. It may feel like reefing requires too much work, but it may also be that you have an uncertainty on how to maintain a saltwater aquarium. Luckily for you, this article …
Dealing With Aggressive Tank Mates
One of the most important aspects to think about when adding new fish to your aquarium is the aggression from your established inhabitants. Stress is one of the biggest killers of aquarium life. Animals travel thousands and thousands of miles to America, then board another plane and truck to get to your local fish store, …
Reefscaping with Dry Live Rock
You knew you should have declined. But someone in the reef club was selling a huge stack of live rock for a super cheap price. A super good deal. Right when you were already preparing to set up and stock that old empty system. But this time you were going to try starting with dry …
Captive Bred Livestock and Aquarium Biosecurity
Aquarium disease sucks. And that’s to say the least, because frustration with recurring maladies is the single biggest reason people leave the hobby. It’s probably been that way for many generations of aquarium enthusiasts. While it creates a tiny market for medications, the impact on the aquarium livestock trade is substantial. Everyone can get hit …
Why You Need a Quarantine Tank
Most of us invest a lot into our aquarium systems. Some of us invest a whole lot. The best means of protecting your growing livestock collection (i.e. investment) is a rigorously maintained and monitored system of quarantine. But we all already know that, right? A quarantine (QT) tank is that one thing we should have. …
Beginners Guide to Maintaining a Saltwater Aquarium
A major component of reefing and keeping saltwater aquariums that deters people from the hobby is the maintenance that is required to upkeep them. It may feel like reefing requires too much work, but it may also be that you have an uncertainty on how to maintain a saltwater aquarium. Luckily for you, this article …
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All About Saltwater Snails
They are found in freshwater, saltwater, and on land; they are called snails! Hobbyists have found saltwater snails to be one of the best critters for reef aquarium algae control. There is a saltwater snail for almost every kind of algae. For this reason, It is not surprising that they are one of the most …
Power Outage Preparedness
Some aspects of this hobby are often overlooked until problems actually arise. Marine aquariums require a lot of time and dedication, so it is easy to understand how small things may be missed. But, sometimes small things can snowball into a disaster. If the aquarist had been prepared sooner and had the proper equipment on …
Macroalgae for Beginners
Macroalgae is a large type of algae that is mostly beneficial and is used mainly to fight nutrient levels and microalgae growth. It is most commonly found in refugiums in the sump area of a tank. Unlike GFO or protein skimming, using microalgae to combat algae growth and nutrient export is completely natural and cheap. …
Quarantine and Dip Treatment Method
Anyone can agree that having a tank wiped out by disease is a terrible experience and having to treat a reef system for ich or marine velvet is a lot of frustrating work. The best thing a hobbyist can do is avoid the issue from the start. There are generally two ways of treatment for …
Common Saltwater Fish Diseases
Across all organisms on Earth, disease is a large factor in preventing the successful survival of creatures. Fish in the saltwater aquarium hobby are no exception to this. It is not rare to see a whole aquarium system devoured by a disease. You will often see fishes at the place you buy your fish infected …
Aquarium Water Testing for Beginners
An idea that I have heard often within the reef community is that you are not caring for corals or fish, but rather you are caring for the water that these organisms live in day to day. When caring for this water that your fish and corals are living in, you need to test it …
Nitrate Management in Your Saltwater Aquarium
When setting up new aquariums, most people worry about and focus on ammonia and nitrites. Everyone knows that cycling a tank with fish is dangerous because of these two compounds, as they burn the gills and body of the fish as the tank matures. But, once these get to zero, most people are satisfied and …
Eliminating Detritus in the Refugium
Ever feel like no matter how much time you spend cleaning your tank, it can never really ever get clean? Detritus build-ups can be especially frustrating as they seem to come from nowhere and seriously compromise the healthy and natural appearance of an otherwise beautiful exhibit. One solution is to construct the system in such …
Manipulating Nutrient Levels to Control Algal Growth
Ahhhh… A freshly set up and (just now) fully cycled marine aquarium. No algae. No slime. Clean, shiny, beautiful. Two weeks later? Maybe three? Algae. Slime. All over. You want your “old” tank back. Particularly in newer set ups, these issues are pretty typical. Some aquarists believe something is wrong if they don’t encounter a …
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