by ReefBum | Apr 14, 2017 | Reef, Science, Video
How I Hit The Live Rock Mother Lode! 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. It was nothing short of the mother lode of live rock! Check out what happened! [embedded content] If you are looking for additional insights and information, please explore my many other reef tank and SPS related articles. And you can see all of my reef tank videos online now as well as my Live HD Webcam. Happy reef keeping! reefbum Related Posts by Saltwater Smarts | Jul 21, 2016 | Equipment, Fish, Invertebrates, Reef, Science, Tanks
Using the Rule of Thirds to aquascape your reef can result in a more visually appealing appearanceAficionados of freshwater planted aquariums have long understood that observing certain rules of composition when aquascaping with plants, rocks, driftwood, and other features can have a tremendous impact on an aquarium’s overall aesthetic impression. While we reefkeepers haven’t traditionally placed much emphasis on composition in our aquascaping approach—at least not in a formal sense—we can certainly enhance our enjoyment of the hobby by implementing some of these same rules. Among these is the “Rule of Thirds.” To apply the Rule of Thirds, imagine that a grid pattern consisting of two equidistant vertical lines and two equidistant horizontal lines is superimposed over the front of your tank. This grid creates nine equal-sized, rectangular sections and visually divides the image in front of you into thirds both vertically and horizontally. Picture that famous image at the beginning of The Brady Bunch TV series (sans the Bradys and Alice, of course), and you’ll have the general idea.Place aquascaping elements and sessile inverts along the grid lines with strong focal points positioned where lines intersect Great, so you’ve got a mental grid floating in front of your tank and the theme to The Brady Bunch running in a constant loop through your head. Now what? Well, according to the Rule of Thirds, compositional elements—for our purposes, aquascaping elements and sessile invertebrates—should be placed along the grid lines and strong focal points should be positioned at points where the lines intersect. For our purposes, a strong focal point could be a particularly impressive coral specimen, a prominent rock projection, etc. by Saltwater Smarts | Jul 11, 2016 | Fish, Reef, Science, Tanks, Travel
Public aquariums can provide hobbyists with numerous insights that can apply to their home systemsHere in the US, the summer travel season is well underway, and popular attractions all across the nation are swarming with tourists. For those of us enamored with marine life, vacation travel often involves a visit to major public aquariums, where we can spend several quality hours figuratively immersed in the underwater realm. (Turns out most facilities get pretty upset if you try to do this literally!) As a reefkeeper, what I find particularly interesting about visiting public aquariums is not just the enthralling experience they provide while I’m there, but also the information I glean from the exhibits that can be applied to my own systems back home.Here are just a few examples: Aquascaping inspiration The smaller display tanks that are often peripheral to the gazillion-gallon crowd-pleaser tanks in public aquariums can provide excellent insights on how to configure rockwork and other aquascaping features in your home aquarium for optimum aesthetic appeal. Sure, artificial elements (e.g., faux coral inserts, etc.) often stand in for the real thing in these tanks, but it’s easy enough to extrapolate from the design concepts on exhibit. Which fish species might coexist Seeing different fish species or conspecific groups “playing nice” in a public aquarium display tank can be helpful in determining whether they’re likely to get along in a home aquarium. However, you do have to take the size of the exhibit into account because both heterospecific and conspecific aggression tends to become more intensified as tank size diminishes. by AquaNerd | Jun 11, 2016 | Reef, Science
FAUNA MARIN is releasing a new product called, AQUA SCAPE FIX and the product promises to make it much easier to aquascape your rock work with a reusable adhesive. “Reusable Coral- and decoration glue for fresh- and saltwater-aquaria!” Aqua Scape Fix promises no more sticky hands with no adhesive residue after working with it. To use the product you simple pour warm water that is less than 107 degrees Fahrenheit on it and then mix it until the composition becomes transparent. Aqua Scape Fix is made from a unique formula that allows you to easily knead portions of the mix by hand and mold it into the desired shape. Any leftover residues can also be reused at a later date once mixed with warm water. by Saltwater Smarts | Mar 5, 2016 | Aquaculture, Equipment, Fish, Invertebrates, Photography, Reef, Science, Tanks
There are a number of choices when it comes to the rock you use for aquascaping, my personal favorite is live rockToday’s marine aquarists have more options than ever before when it comes to the types of rock used to aquascape their tanks—from live rocks, whether aquacultured or wild-harvested, to all manner of dry rocks and even natural-looking man-made rocks. Each type has its advantages and drawbacks, and the choice that’s best for any given hobbyist depends on, among other factors, his or her aquascaping goals, budget, risk tolerance, and desired level of control over the system’s biodiversity. Call me old-school (or Lord Admiral Jeff of the Universe—whichever you prefer), but my aquascaping material of choice has always been live rock, whether comprising the rockwork entirely or at least a major portion of it. Here’s why:Fascinating biodiversity Live rocks come loaded with organisms that emerge or hatch out for many weeks and months—even years—after they’re added to a tank. Various “pods,” fan worms, sponges, tunicates, mollusks, worms, coral colonies, macroalgae, and coralline algae are just a sampling of what might appear. And this process/progression is truly amazing to observe. I’ve never tried it, but I think it would be fascinating to set up a live-rock-only (LRO?) tank, with no fish or intentionally introduced invertebrates, and just sit back and watch what pops out of the rocks over time
