When is it time to "Call a friend"?

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:40:00 -0400

If your tank is heading south fast, and the livestock is melting before your eyes, your precious fish gasping and your adrenalin is rushing, you need to call a friend. I'm not talking about those "emergencies" like "there's red stuff all over my sandbed and I can't stand it." I'm talking about a tank full of livestock that suddenly looks 100% different than what you see all the time.

We turn to the forums for help with our various aquarium-related problems, and often find a few helpful tips within minutes or hours of searching. We often recommend just that, because so much of this hobby has been well-documented over the past decade, with questions answered often and repeatedly. However, even the most experienced hobbyist needs to

Hobbyists Needed NOW. Read on

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 21:12:00 -0400

When I read the news article on ReefBuilders today regarding the most recent decisions made by NOAA for the Endangered Species Act, I quickly grew concerned. We are being asked, all of us, to take a few minutes to sign a petition and state your concerns if it goes through as written. http://reefbuilders.com/2013/04/03/r...coral-listing/

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Product Review: Milwaukee Digital Refractometer

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 01:55:00 -0400

Sometimes I just get an urge to buy a new measuring device for my reef's needs. I've been using a refractometer for probably a decade, and while it still works it surely is approaching the point of needing to be replaced. For the past 24 months I've seen more and more digital products come to market, and last September the new Milwaukee Digital Refractometer caught my eye.

There are three ways to measure salinity, primarily. You can measure it with a floating or swing arm hydrometer to determine the specific gravity of the water. You can use a refractometer, which is the preferred method for accuracy. And now you can measure saltwater electronically and view the digital readout with greater ease. The most important question we hobbyists care about is

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 20:03:00 -0400

When visiting Las Vegas, you might want to enjoy an hour or two at the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Be sure to check the hours of operation prior to visiting to assure gaining entrance. While the aquarium hours may state they are open, no further admissions are permitted one hour prior to closing. Here is the link to their official page: http://www.mandalaybay.com/shark-reef/aquarium

To get to the aquarium, you must walk all the way through the Mandalay Bay to the convention section at

Product Review: Reef Pest Solutions' All Out

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:29:00 -0500

3/2/2013: The images are are temporarily hosted on my other site.

I was contacted via Facebook to try out a new product designed for coral dipping. I had a coral that has been questionably acting like it is being bothered by a pest of some type, and I was happy to try out the product as it was labeled to remove Acropora-eating Flatworms (AEFW). I've been studying this coral for the past couple of months, flooding it with flow from a maxijet to blow off any flatworms, but not seeing any. Why not try out All Out, produced by Reef Pest Solutions?

Product Review: Safety Stop

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:54:00 -0500

When I first heard about Safety Stop by Blue Life USA, I was intrigued. A small package containing two solutions to help fish shake off external parasites sounded very practical. So I made a call to Blue Life and asked more questions.

Right off the bat, the contents are Formalin (Part A) and Methylene Blue (Part B). These active ingredients are known useful solutions to bathe fish in to remove parasites. So if it isn't new, why the write up? The fact is, the majority of hobbyists do not quarantine their new fish. Every new acquisition dumped into your tank is the equivalent of playing Russian Roulette in that you may be lucky several times, but it only takes one widespread outbreak that kills off your beautiful and expensive fish to make you realize