by Saltwater Smarts | Dec 10, 2015 | Conservation, Equipment, Reef, Science
Drip, drip, drip…there are a number of options to reclaim reverse-osmosis waste waterWhile reverse-osmosis units are among the more practical, affordable means for producing purified tap water suitable for sensitive reef systems, there’s no question that they tend to generate a lot of waste water relative to the volume of purified product. In fact, they often produce upwards of four gallons of waste water for every one gallon of purified water. It’s only natural for conservation-oriented hobbyists to look for ways to reclaim this waste water and put it to meaningful use rather than send it swirling down the drain. But finding realistic ways to use all that water isn’t as simple as it seems, especially if you have a relatively large aquarium system and, therefore, need to produce a hefty amount of RO water on a fairly regular basis.The usual advice is to use the waste water to give your plants or lawn a drink. These are certainly valid options, but let’s face it, you’d have to have an awful lot of plants to keep pace with all the waste water produced. And as far as watering the lawn is concerned, I’m sure someone more inventive than I (which isn’t saying much) could find ways to do this efficiently using RO waste water, but I haven’t figured out a method that would work for my yard yet. by Saltwater Smarts | Dec 8, 2015 | Equipment, Fish, Reef, Science
Let’s face it, if we marine aquarists had our way, every gift we received during the holiday season would be hobby-related. Trouble is, ours is such a specialized pastime that few, if any, of our loved ones really understand it or have any idea what sort of item would be appropriate to buy—that is, of course, unless we sneakily supplant those visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads with some good gift ideas.Last year at this time, we posted a list of items that most marine aquarium hobbyists would be happy to discover under the tree come Christmas morning, including sea salt, aquarium tools, a refractometer, fish food, water parameter test kits, and reference books. This year we’d like to expand upon this list with a few more great ideas. Now, to help your non-hobbyist family members and friends “discover” this list, you might need to print it out and hang it on your refrigerator, tape it to your computer, tuck it into the pages of Look Magazine, or simply leave it lying out in the open somewhere that the targeted gift giver is likely to happen upon it. So, here in no particular order is this year’s list. Note that if you want to surprise the reekfeeper on your list with any of these items, you may need to do a bit of sleuthing or ask a few seemingly innocent questions ahead of time to determine exactly what to buy. #1 RO/DI replacement components If your hobbyist loved one uses an RO/DI system to purify tap water, he or she will most assuredly appreciate receiving some extra carbon blocks, sediment filters, a deionization cartridge, or an RO membrane (if you can find out whether the membrane currently in use is nearing the end of its serviceable life). You may even be able to purchase all the replacement components for the system in a single cost-effective kit. by Tami Weiss | Nov 29, 2015 | Conservation, Seahorses
Seahorses can be found along many shorelines frequented by people. Photo by Caio R. N. Periera cc-by/nc So you’ve found a seahorse, and you want to keep it. Or maybe you stumbled across one washed ashore, and are unsure what to do next. This question comes up from time to time. It’s not frequent, but it does happen enough that I wanted to provide some guidance. Release It! The best thing to do is to release the seahorse back where you found it, if at all possible. The sooner you can do this, the better off the seahorse will be. This is especially true for those found washed up on the beach, as can happen from time to time due to seahorse’s poor swimming abilities. by Saltwater Smarts | Nov 26, 2015 | Equipment, Opinion, Reef, Science, Tanks, Technology, Travel
While the title of this post puts me in mind of a song performed by Nick Rivers in the 1984 comedy film Top Secret, it’s a question many a novice has posed before setting up his or her first marine aquarium. How basic can it be? Or, put another way, what equipment is absolutely essential and what isn’t?This is a perfectly logical question because ours can be a highly equipment-intensive hobby, and the choices of gear and gadgets designed to make our lives easier can be downright mind-blowing. Add in all the online forum chatter about—and volatile disputes over—the latest-and-greatest hobby technology and methodology, and it’s no surprise that many beginners have a heck of a time distinguishing between the bare essentials and the “bells and whistles.” Complicating matters, of course, is the fact that opinions on what constitutes “essential equipment” can vary widely from one hobbyist to the next. I would humbly submit that the following items are all you really need for a bare-bones saltwater setup: (Note that you’ll also need various and sundry small-ticket items used for regular operation and maintenance, such as aquarium brushes, an algae magnet, etc. Plus, if you plan to keep a reef system, you’ll need to add some means of calcium/alkalinity supplementation to the list.) Some folks might say this list is grossly incomplete while others might contend you could get by without some of the items on it. by Saltwater Smarts | Nov 9, 2015 | Equipment, Fish, Reef, Science
Though in many ways keeping a marine aquarium is easier today than it’s ever been, entry into our hobby is still fraught with confusion. To a large extent, this is can be attributed to the incredible variety of choices available nowadays for meeting the husbandry requirements of marine livestock as well as solving various problems that arise. Heck, the reef-lighting options alone are so diverse that if I were just starting out in the hobby today, my head would probably explode trying to process all that information! And, of course, there’s still a pretty hefty learning curve to mastering the fundamentals of the hobby.That’s why I urge all you experienced salties out there to share your wisdom with at least one novice hobbyist as a marine aquarium mentor. Here are 4 other good reasons to do so: 1. It’s refreshing Ask any teacher, and he or she will tell you that explaining a concept to students or guiding them through a step-by-step process is the best way to refresh your own knowledge on the subject. Not to mention, if the flame of your passion for the marine aquarium hobby has been burning a bit low as of late, mentoring an enthusiastic newcomer might just be the spark to reignite it. 2
