If you’re a reef keeper and you use the Internet, there is a good change you’ve been reading about mercury (chemical symbol Hg) lately. Mercury and marine life are terms that are used in the same sentence quite often, but usually we are talking about mercury within...
When I was attending the Eastern Academy of Scuba Education (EASE) in 2007, a little known film named Sharkwater had just been released in south Florida. Behind the film was a man named Rob Stewart, unknown to everyone at the academy, including the head instructors...
Many of us are familiar with the tang police. They exist on almost any internet forum and occasionally strike from within the walls of a fish shop. Their primary goal seems to be making sure no tang is kept in too small a tank, but often they end up belittling or...
The Moorish Idol has eluded aquarists for a long time. It’s interesting, because idols aren’t particularly rare, exclusive or expensive fish. In fact, when compared to many common marine fish, they can be purchased relatively cheaply. Perhaps this fact works against...
There seems to be a plague in our hobby. It isn’t marine ich, or any of the parasites that continue to dominate some aquariums. It isn’t the National Marine Fisheries Service, who may pass legislation the golden torch coral swaying gently behind me illegal to keep in...
EDIT: I have received notice that I was incorrect in using the term Oxygen Redox Potential to describe ORP. Commonly ORP is described as Oxidation Reduction Potential. However, in his book “Water Chemistry for the Marine Aquarium” published in 2005, author John H....
Most of the country is now familiar with hydraulic fracturing (fracking). It’s a method used to extract natural gas buried deep beneath the Earth. Despite some of the jargon that gets passed around, fracking hasn’t been around for 30 or more years. It has been used...
EDIT: I have received notice that I was incorrect in using the term Oxygen Redox Potential to describe ORP. Commonly ORP is described as Oxidation Reduction Potential. However, in his book “Water Chemistry for the Marine Aquarium” published in 2005, author John H....
First off sorry for the lack of content in recent weeks. I’ve gotten some emails from reefers asking if I was alright. I’m fine; my second book is nearing release so I’ve been busy getting things in order with that. Without further ado: Like many reef aquarists I...
“If you’re looking for someone to blame, you need only look in the mirror.” It’s a common slogan, used to illustrate the reality that we all take part in many of the problems that exist in the world today. Our gluttonous consumption of fossil fuels, seemingly...