Of all the genera of macroalgae regularly used in planted refugia, Gracilaria quite arguably has the most representatives. While there are a few very soft and feathery varieties (most of which belong to the “ogos”), there are some Gracilaria spp. that are rather stiff and leafy. Perhaps the most popular of these fat-fronded varieties is …
Saltwater Aquariums
In his book Ocean Gardens: The History of the Marine Aquarium, naturalist H. Noel Humphreys wrote, “The marine Aquarium is, as yet, a plaything, a mere toy; but it is destined to become a far more important means of advancing science, and ministering to popular instruction, amusement, and wonder, than is yet dreamt of.” This he wrote in 1857. That wasn’t a typo; apparently, saltwater aquarium keeping was already a thing, and had a history, prior to the American Civil War. It might boggle one’s mind to imagine the lengths these hobbyists must have went through to keep and study marine life in private fish tanks. Things didn’t really pick up until about a hundred years later, when aquarium livestock became a wee bit more available, mainly owing to advances in air transport. Then came another big development, namely the invention of the first biofilter–the undergravel filter. Then one more… Aquarium fish were pretty much exclusively fed live foods until Dr. Baensch’s cutting-edge invention of flake foods in 1952. Thence began the Age of Aquarium Convenience (okay, we made this last part up). These things made aquarium keeping easier, maybe. They didn’t necessarily make the hobby more rewarding. In fact, saltwater aquarium keeping sort of stagnated until the 1970s. More than any single technological advancement, a long-overdue growth spurt finally came at the heels of a greater availability of expert, saltwater-specialized information. In old-fashioned, papery print! By the 1990s, a small number of us were first experimenting (or at least enjoying the first successes) with corals. Saltwater aquariums (or saltwater aquaria, if you prefer proper Latin) are quite impressive today. They certainly are a lot more advanced. Yet, you could say that some things have come full circle. Consider the renewed value we place on live foods (e.g. pods, phyto, etc.). Consider also the rekindled interest in biological filters; new developments in natural filtration (i.e. using refugium algae and/or various types of bacteria) are still coming to light. And perhaps most significantly, many aquarium species are now available as captive bred! In this section you will learn how to build an advanced, modern saltwater aquarium system as well as how to establish a healthy, natural biological community.
Comparing the Metabolic Modes of Aquarium Organisms
Few, if any, of us get “into” aquarium keeping to become marine ecologists, or become experts in metabolic processes. But it does happen, albeit over some time. We buy our first fish tank with the sole intention of keeping colorful animals–simple as that. We do soon learn, however, that an aquarium system is really a …
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How to Make Your Saltwater Aquarium Unique
You may find that your reef tank is just like every other reef tank. There is nothing that makes it special. Sure, it has bright corals, healthy fish, and overall looks great, but it is still just another reef tank. There is nothing wrong with that, although you may want to step it up a …
How to Acclimate Your Captive Bred Invertebrates
Aquarists like to broadly divide classes of aquarium livestock into two big groups, the fishes and the invertebrates. The second group is a huge catch-all, as it includes all non-fish livestock ranging from sponges to crabs. Though invertebrates are overall more sensitive than fish to sudden environmental change, ideal acclimation procedure varies somewhat between the …
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How to Acclimate Your Captive Bred Fish
Acclimation to a new aquarium home is a particularly stressful time in the life of any kind of captive fish. Like all aquatic animals, fish are shocked by rapid changes of water temperature or chemistry. Add to this the fact that fish take on a sort of psychological stress during this time, as they might …
Unique Algae Eaters for your Aquarium
Even though battling algae is best done by finding and solving the underlying nutrient or lighting issue, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a few algae eaters in your tank to help keep it in check. Home aquariums naturally have more nutrients than wild ecosystems, and the slightest change in maintenance can lead to short …
A Deeper Look at Tang Fish
One of the best parts about having a larger saltwater aquarium is being able to have larger fish. In a smaller aquarium, you are limited to the amount of fish you get and the size of the fish you add. A large aquarium will allow you to have a variety of different fish of different …
Organizing Your Next Saltwater Aquarium Move
An Aquarium move can be a difficult task to go at alone. In the course of months of operation, the “system” can incorporate more and more components. And, the livestock collection grows. Eventually, what started as a simple fish tank can develop into an intricate mess of plumbing lines and gadgets; what started as a …
Most Beautiful Saltwater Fish for Aquariums
Most people in the reef or saltwater aquarium hobby can agree that it is the fish that attracted them to the hobby in the first place. While corals may have taken a closer place in your heart, fish can be equally as crucial to adding another level of depth to your aquarium. You should take …
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 …
Unique Symbiotic Relationships
It seems like every beginner aquarists’ dream nowadays. They set up the tank, cycle it, and want a pair of clownfish to start out with that they can eventually introduce an anemone to. Many time, the clowns don’t recognize their new home and refuse to be hosted by the anemone addition, leaving their owners confused, …
How to Choose Healthy Saltwater Fish
One of the most exciting parts of fish keeping is going down to your local aquarium store, browsing through their selection of fish, and picking out a few to take home with you. Or, if you buy marine fish online, getting your box from the delivery truck and unboxing your new pets. But unfortunately, many …
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, …
The Marine Planted Tank: Creating Your Ocean Garden
You’ve successfully kept saltwater fish. Then you moved on to corals. Then, maybe you took on the slightly greater challenge of tridacnid clams or some other delicate or specialized species—with yet more success! What’s next? There are hundreds of thousands of animal species that inhabit our planet’s tropical coral reefs. Even the most advanced reef …
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What is a Planted Marine Aquarium?
The cultivation of saltwater plants is nothing new. It has been fairly common for hobbyists to keep marine “plants” (more often macroalgae than true vascular plants) since the 1980s. Even so, we’ve seen very few aquarium systems that are built and maintained primarily for the display of marine flora. Indeed, to date, the vast majority …
Creating a Suitable Growing Space for Your Mangrove
As of late, a few varieties of mangrove have become more available to saltwater aquarium hobbyists. With this, it will likely be a bit more common to see one of these beautiful plants poking somewhere out of one’s aquarium system. However, as keeping mangroves becomes more common, there may develop a tendency for aquarists (especially …
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Sponges in the Marine Aquarium
Coral reef aquaria, and the science of maintaining them, have advanced by leaps and bounds in the last decade. Much of this owes to progress in the area of foods and feeding. Many marine creatures (especially filter-feeding invertebrates like sponges) that were once deemed difficult or even impossible to keep are now cultured with regularity. …
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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Enhancing Coral Nutrition with Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria
Most people who are familiar with corals–whether admiring them in the wild or displaying them in a glass box–understand quite well that they are incredibly complex animals. This certainly is so with the zooxanthellate corals. Virtually all corals (zooxanthellate corals included) are predators of plankton and other tiny organisms, used as coral food. But the …
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