A brief history: The pump I used to circulate water through my aquariums for about half of my time in the reefing hobby was a German-made centrifugal pump. That pump had an alternating current (AC) motor, an advertised turnover of around 900 gph (3400 lph) and used 85 Watts of power to [...]
On the 5th day, the Aquarist discovered GFO, and found that it was Good. On the 6th day, however, the Aquarist discovered Aquamaxx Phosphate Out Pro…..and found that it was BETTER. Like many reef enthusiasts, I run GFO in my aquarium to help with phosphate control. GFO, or Granular [...]
Spend a little time in this hobby and you’ll learn two truths: First, the current gold standard and center of many tank filtration systems is the aptly-named protein skimmer; and second, many of said skimmers are notoriously finicky and often difficult to dial in “just right.” Take a [...]
 Small, rimless aquariums have been gaining a lot of attention in the US, and until recently, this branch of aquarium manufacturing was dominated by a single company, and the only other choice was to invest in a custom-made glass tank. Things are changing for the better, and an [...]
All photographs by author Every year, dozens of new LED panels are introduced to the aquarium markets, many of which never reach the American soil. Especially saturated is the “budget” LED lights segment; I’ve reviewed many such lights over the years and they all seem to follow the [...]