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Intermediate Education

So here you are. You’ve spent countless hours studying, dropped some pretty serious cash, tried a lot of the animals on your dream species list--maybe suffered some devastating and demoralizing mistakes. But where many other half-hearted hobbyists are hawking tanks on Craigslist and saying goodbye, you’re ready to move on. Sure, maybe you still exhaust the folks on your favorite online forum, or the lady at the LFS, with your burning questions. Maybe you don’t feel like an expert quite yet. But you do have some valuable experience under your belt and a healthy, stable tank to show for it. Congratulate yourself, as you’ve advanced to the rank of “intermediate aquarist.” You started out with the so-called basics. Animals have (perhaps to your surprise) survived under your care; now, you want to see them thrive. To that end, like so many other reef aquarists at this stage, you have become fascinated by (1) relatively advanced techniques such as phyto dosing and (2) somewhat specialized equipment/components such as refugia. In this section, you will learn how to beef up (if not totally replace) that first aquarium, try species beyond the short list of “beginner species,” etc. These works are not just intended to instruct, but are also meant to inspire intermediate-level aquarists to push into the less-beaten paths.

64 Posts

Calcium Supplementation

Stony corals can use elements in the water to build their skeletons. It is a fantastic process that develops exciting structures.
Read More about Calcium Supplementation

AlgaeBarn is celebrating the octopus!

Everyone's favorite eight-armed mollusk is having its very own day! October 8th is Octopus Day, and what better way to celebrate than
Read More about AlgaeBarn is celebrating the octopus!

Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 4

Proper stocking procedure can have a huge long-term impact on the health of your aquarium system. That's why proper order of stocking
Read More about Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 4

Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 3

It is so easy to get caught up envisaging about what our first, or next, reef tank will look like… and what will be in it... It is
Read More about Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 3

Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 2

Part one of this series took a brief look at the different levels of the Food Pyramid. So, why does it so often look like a pyramid in
Read More about Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 2

Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 1

Foods and feeding are a major concern of any serious aquarist. Perhaps on a daily basis, we throw all sorts of foods into our systems.
Read More about Trophic Structure in the Reef Aquarium Part 1

Vitamin C and Aquarium Livestock Nutrition

When it comes to animal diets, there is not necessarily a close correlation between the normal amount of intake of certain components
Read More about Vitamin C and Aquarium Livestock Nutrition

The Nitrogen Cycle: Part Three (Denitrifiers)

Perhaps it is a poor choice of words to say that ones tank “is cycled” in the past tense--as if the keeper no longer needs to monitor
Read More about The Nitrogen Cycle: Part Three (Denitrifiers)

The Nitrogen Cycle: Part Two (Nitrite Oxidizers)

So, you’ve squirted some stuff in your home aquarium, waited a few weeks, watched the ammonia rise and fall, and now you know
Read More about The Nitrogen Cycle: Part Two (Nitrite Oxidizers)

The Nitrogen Cycle: Part One (Ammonia Oxidizers)

The nitrogen cycle is as important to our aquaria as it is in global biogeochemical processes. Since it truly is a cycle, there is no
Read More about The Nitrogen Cycle: Part One (Ammonia Oxidizers)

Using the Aquarium Cycle Kit

One of the more fundamental tasks one must undertake when maintaining a saltwater aquarium is controlling nitrogenous waste. Most
Read More about Using the Aquarium Cycle Kit

Keeping the Pinnatus Batfish

The pinnatus, or pinnate, batfish (Platax pinnatus) is instantly recognizable (at least as a juvenile), not just for its attractive
Read More about Keeping the Pinnatus Batfish

Do I Need a Protein Skimmer?

There are a lot of tough calls in reef aquarium keeping. While the focus of attention should be on creating the healthiest and most
Read More about Do I Need a Protein Skimmer?

Feeding Your NPS Aquarium

Photosynthetic corals dominate natural, shallow tropical coral reefs. So it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that they are so
Read More about Feeding Your NPS Aquarium

There are all kinds of incredible brackish fish!

3 Brackish Fish for the Marine Aquarium

Sandwiched between the freshwater and marine realms, and often capable of venturing into both, brackish water fishes are
Read More about 3 Brackish Fish for the Marine Aquarium

A green spot Mandarin

Quarantining Your Mandarin Fish

If you have even worked at the retail or wholesale end of the aquarium fish industry--even for just a week--you are probably keenly
Read More about Quarantining Your Mandarin Fish

Building and Maintaining a Peninsula Tank

Unlike other types of animal enclosures (bird cages, rabbit hutches, etc. ), an aquarium is a piece of exhibitry. Often, the keeper
Read More about Building and Maintaining a Peninsula Tank

Keeping Toadstool Leather Corals

These days, soft corals don’t get quite the attention they once did. One reason for this simply is the abundance of wildly colorful
Read More about Keeping Toadstool Leather Corals

5 Fish for the Refugium

For a lot of people, a refugium is an opportunity to keep an “extra” tank. This doesn’t necessarily mean more of the same; in fact, the
Read More about 5 Fish for the Refugium

A Look at the Goatfishes

On account of their huge adult sizes, there are a few fish families that should be pretty much restricted to public aquaria (we’ll just
Read More about A Look at the Goatfishes

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