Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog

College Reefing Tips

I’ve noticed that the reefing community has had a major surge of teenagers and college students in the past year. I, myself, am college student that has been unable to find a job to work around my schedule. In order to continue my love for the hobby, I looked for ways to maximize what I can do for my tank while minimizing how much I was spending. Here are just a few of the tips that greatly reduced the amount I was spending on my tank.

When Corals Collide: Our Hobby is Still Full of Surprises!

On rare occasion in his hobby a few things pop up that make you scratch your head and drop your jaw, and as fortune would have it last week Monday one of those days.  While unpacking some corals from Indonesia this colony of Australomussa rowleyensis popped out, and I still have no clue how this happened in nature.

Ozone Use in Aquariums: 5 Reasons to Use Ozone

For some reason, ozonizers and ozone usage has never been as discussed or as widely used as other equipment in the home aquarium, and most definitely not because it doesn't yield great benefit to your aquarium.  Widely used in commercial aquatics applications, ozone doesn't get much love from hobbyists these days, and it should.  Perhaps it's not as easy to 'itemize' and sell as other aquarium products?  Maybe due to lack of information? 

Whatever the reason, Ozone use has many benefits, and I recommend its use in most aquariums.   Captive Aquatics uses ozonizers in every system we install, and I use ozone in my home aquariums, as well!  Here's why:

Luxeon LEDs Increase In Power, No Spectral Improvement

Orphek's diode - arguably the best aquarium LED on the market?

One of the heavy hitters of the mass-produced LED world, Phillips, has increased the power of their Luxeon Rebel LED series, which are now "50% more efficient", according to a Phillips spokesperson.  While this is good news, it isn't that big of a deal, as power and efficiency ratios are only going to continue to increase as LED lighting technology matures. 

What is a big deal  (to us aquarists, admittedly only a fraction of a percent of LED consumers) is broad spectrum output.  Unfortunately, Cree and Luxeon are still failing to produce an LED, or even a combination of LEDs, that yields a truly workable, full spectrum option for reef aquarium lighting. 

Who Says LEDs Can't Grow SPS Coral?

LED aquarium lighting is an emerging technology in our hobby, but success is already being had.  Take a look at these pictures of SPS coral (and others) after two months under the Orphek PR-156 I've been testing!

A Montipora Eating Nudibranch Primer

 

Some of the most difficult pests to deal with in reef keeping are Montipora eating nudibranch.  Their tiny size beguiles the enormous headaches they'll cause if you end up in the unfortunate position of having them in your tank.  The most unfortunate thing about dealing with these nudibranch is that by the time you spot them it's already too late.  Gauging the extent of the infestation is very important, and these pictures should help to give an accurate idea of where your tank stands once you come across them as well as some telltale signs of their presence.  So how do you prevent and cure montipora eating nudibranch?  Read on.

Reefing While You're Sick - It's No Fun!

This past week I developed a really horrible cold that left me confined to my room unable to tend to the needs of my tank. As hobbyists, we try our best to keep our parameters stable. Many hobbyists utilize programmable controllers for top offs, heaters, dosing, etc. As a college reefer, my budget cannot handle such extra equipment.

A Brief Look at Minimalist Aquascapes - No more box of rocks!

 
I have been a bad reefer: when I received free liverock I took advantage of it.  I took advantage of it to the point where my tank is literally stuffed to the brim with live rock!  At first, I was happy with it.  But once I realized that cleaning it was a burden, I was instantly regretfull.  This made me do a little research on a term I had heard before "minimalist".

Palythoa Eating Amphipods?!

The photo above is a picture of my absolute favorite palythoas. Exactly one week after the photo was taken, my frag started showing extreme signs of stress. Each of the polyps were closed…actually, would closed and open. You could see the tentacles and mouth being choked off by the stalk of each head. I immediately started checking for any zoa pests. Nudibranch? None. Heliacus snail? Nope. Zoa pox? Negative. I've fought zoa pox in the past and it definitely looked completely different, so what was this new affliction?

The Aqua LED: Why Aren't Manufacturers More Transparent About Their LED Light Output?

Today I received an email from SolarMax that simply contained this flier (click for full size) about a product that is apparently new, and called "Aqua LED", and uses "Special developed SMD-LED chips". 

If my sarcasm isn't apparent, I'll say it straight: manufacturers need to give us more information than what's in this flier if they expect anyone to purchase their product, as most of us like to make informed decisions (from information written in gramnatically correct English, I might add). 

This issue of a lack of information applies to more than just SolarMax, and has created a false environment where only a few diodes are taken seriously by hobbyists - and this shouldn't be the case.