One of the great things about this hobby are the nicknames given to designer, high end Acropora. The Icefire Enchinata, ORA Pearlberry, Strawberry Shortcake, Tyree Red Dragon and Tyree Pink Lemonade are a few examples of corals with eclectic names.…
During my twenty plus years keeping reef tanks I have usually had a pair of clownfish in my display. I just love them. Not only are they colorful, but they can exhibit some really cool behavior when they host a coral and/or mate and lay eggs.…
A while ago I provided a how to guide on how to use a DSLR for Facebook Live, a tutorial specifically for Canon EOS DSLRs. Over the last few months I have learned some new things to simplify this process so I wanted to update the guide.…
I was down in Florida on vacation for a few days and I had an opportunity to visit a LFS in Orlando, Florida and cherry pick some Haitian live rock for my reef tank reboot. Â It was nothing short of the mother lode of live rock!…
There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to keeping a successful captive reef tank and unfortunately a tank can go south in a hurry if one of those parts gets out of whack. Sometimes a tank crash is due to a mistake by the reef keeper while other times it is carelessness or just bad luck.…
Marine fish on natural reefs are always in feeding mode, as they hunt down food in the water column or pick for food on live rock as they swim in and around the reef. Many fish in a captive reef tank will typically not do this, as they consume most of their food in concentrated amounts when the reef keeper feeds the tank.…
Cyano is a common pest that can rear its ugly head when excess nutrients are present. It is often referred to as a form of algae but it is actually a bacteria (cyano is short for cyanobacteria).
In most instances, the best remedy is to increase flow, siphon out what you can, and abide by the rules of nutrient control by performing regular water changes, using a good skimmer, not overfeeding the tank, employing a good cleanup crew, and removing any detritus that might collect in the tank or sump.…
Bigger is better when it comes to a protein skimmer, right? Not necessarily. Using a high capacity protein skimmer on a smaller tank can be problematic. Why? Well, using an oversized skimmer will result in an inconsistent performance.…
Yes, you read that right. The IceCap REEF-Cam is supposedly the first underwater video camera capable of streaming a live feed from inside a fish tank. Now how about that! This waterproof camera has a wide angle lens, providing a 120 degree field of view, and can be mounted both inside or outside of the aquarium.…
As many of you know, DSLR cameras have a digital zoom feature that allows you to zoom in very closely to focus on the subject matter. With my Canon 5D Mark iii I am able to zoom in 5x as well as 10x. The rub is you can’t snap pictures or record video to the camera at these ultra close ranges, as macro lenses and extension tubes are the primary means to get close (I have heard of folks using a magnifying glass but I have not attempted this trick).…