Originally published on Ellery’s Reef Notes Facebook page on 2/15/2019. Edited to reflect today's prices and available parts. In Part 1 I covered some cheaper but short-term power outage solutions. They were simple, but limited based on the power source chosen. This...
Originally published on Ellery's Reef Notes Facebook page in 2/15/2019 but updated slightly for today. The Tipping Point When it comes down to things that can go wrong with a reef system, it is not a matter of “if” but “when”. In 2019, I had experienced my first 3 day...
Mentoring is a rewarding endeavor that can help sustain the hobby and its community. Mentoring, per the Cambridge Dictionary, is the act or process of helping and giving advice to a younger or less experienced person, especially in a job or at school. This can be...
The original article on this topic presented an overview of how an auto water change system can be used to connect new systems without the need to hard plumb. A reader requested a pictorial on how this was implemented on my system. This example connects the Fluval...
Livestock selection is a critical part of planning out a system. This should be done well before any money is spent. It can determine all the requirements: tank size, flow, lighting, and nutrient control levels. Included in the livestock selection should be some...
Reef chemistry is a major part of this hobby and the basic reef water parameters (alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium) are better understood these days. Nutrition and basic nutrients in the water (nitrates and phosphates) required by the corals are also entering the...
"Auto Water Changing" can be used in a hybrid manner. If you are becoming a reef addict and the number of aquariums you have is growing over time, you will ultimately want to simplify life by maintaining a single-system water parameter. Typically this is done by hard...