Jon Robbins

Recent Content

How much technology is too much

How much technology is too much

Thus begins the arms race... When I started my very first reef tank, it was a 40 gallon long, with a crappy Odysea PC light, a couple Maxijets and a Seaclone skimmer. Total cost of setup approximately $350-400. That tank ran just fine. In fact, it ran well enough that...

I can’t believe she let me stick it in the bedroom

I can’t believe she let me stick it in the bedroom

While some members of this hobby are fortunate to have a significant other who is also into reefing, there are many of us our there who endure the daily looks of incredulity as we embark on yet another excursion or bring home yet another toy for our tank. It is for...

Hybrid Acros?

Hybrid Acros?

I came across this while trolling the web and wanted to share it with you wonderful people. While most of the article is talking about coral larve and global warming, which is pretty interesting anyway, the true winner for me is the dude that goes out once a year to...

Breaking News From Around The World

Breaking News From Around The World

While browsing the internet in search of some blogular goodness, I happened to come across an article of such importance, such significance that it didn't matter if it wasn't reef related.  This was a story that must be told.  The headline was... "Paddling coach's son...

How I learned to stop worrying and love the tank

How I learned to stop worrying and love the tank

I can still remember the day I brought home my first coral.  The frantic preparations, the excitement, the truly massive expenses.  As I finally got done with what must have been the longest acclimation a mushroom has ever been through, and added the little guy to my...

Smokin’ Rock

Smokin’ Rock

For most of my time in the hobby, there were few alternatives to live rock.   While some efforts were made to make this aspect of our hobby more sustainable, by and large most rock was, and still is, hacked from the reef.  This practice is coming under more scrutiny...

Afishionado – Episode 7

Afishionado – Episode 7

After a long hiatus, Afishionado returns with a brand new episode for 2011!   In this episode we feature an overview of sumps and refugiums, a few tips for dealing with parasites, and my take on the Coral Banded Shrimp.