Articles

Mandarin fish are probably one of the most beautiful reef-safe fish that are available for hobbyists today. With their graceful meanderings, their colorful markings and gossamer fins, people quickly fall in love with these gentle creatures. Surprisingly, they aren't that expensive, giving the reef keeper even more motivation to acquire one.

Water changes are a task we rarely relish. Some swear by them, and others do them sporadically throughout the year. While water changing philosophies vary from hobbyist to hobbyist, the bottom line is that water changes can benefit your livestock. They are the easiest way to improve water quality and also are one of the most inexpensive solutions when trying to solve a chemistry problem in the system.

When you set up a saltwater system, within mere months you will encounter nuisance algae.  What is that?  It's stuff that grows and annoys you to no end.  While a few people may like seeing green hair algae swaying back and forth displaying movement, the majority of hobbyists abhor it. The main reason we don't want algae in our aquariums is because it grows so quickly and will choke out our precious corals. Assuming you don't want an algae tank, this article will feature why a clean up crew is critical to success.

When getting into the hobby of marine tanks, the basic consideration is water. Without it, nothing in your tank would live for long. Compared to freshwater tanks, marine tanks need excellent water quality to maintain success. So what water is available to the average person?

• Tap Water - anything can be in your tap water, and most are undesirable for your tank.

• Well Water - similar to above, with the risk of metals and high alkalinity

• Distilled Water - available in many food stores, supposedly pure.

Thinking about setting up a saltwater aquarium?

Family members now yearn for their very own Clownfish or Tang, especially after Finding Nemo came out. With a little information, your family can have beautiful marine fish that will live for years to come. However, marine fish are more complicated than buying a kitten, a hamster, or a gold fish. Hopefully this small list will help you in your endeavors:

In case you haven't been told, newer aquariums go through a series of algae phases, which include things like diatoms (good, normal, food for bacteria), cyanobacteria (normal, undesirable, can be frustrating to remove), detritus (normal, made up of fish waste or decaying food), or lastly dinoflagellates (awful, something you'll never want to deal with).

To create flow in your tank with minimal visual distraction, the VorTech pump is a very nice option. The pump has a wet side that fits inside the tank and a dry side that aligns on the outside, and using magnets it drives the impeller right through the wall of the tank. I've been using the VorTech since January 2006, and liked it enough to get two more to replace my other pumps. I'm a huge fan of these pumps, and here's why:

When I first saw the Nero 5 pump at MACNA 2018, I was impressed. It's a very clean design with a low profile. A month later, I looked at one even more closely while at RAP California. And shortly after that, I got my hands on one to try out for myself.

In a previous article  I mentioned how you could decide one what type of camera to buy. This article will go into how you can take beautiful pictures with your digital camera, using a few simple settings.

July 20 - 22, 2007: MAAST, MARSH, and DFWMAS all joined together for a fun collection trip near Galveston, Texas. The plan was to scoop out some peppermint shrimp out of the ocean, play in the water, and enjoy a bonfire. We had a great time, and here are some pictures to prove it...