by Saltwater Smarts | Sep 21, 2015 | Corals, Equipment, Fish, Science
A misguided and hasty approach often leads to a failed aquarium and exit from the hobbyIt’s a tale as old as the hobby itself: A novice marine aquarist sets up his or her first system, runs headlong into every conceivable obstacle and pitfall, responds with a series of misguided decisions, loses a whole tank’s worth of fish and corals, and finally chucks the entire hobby in frustration and despair, all the while cursing Neptune and that silly enchanted trident of his. Just as this scenario is all too common (with the possible exception of the Neptune part), so too are the reasons many novice marine aquarists fail and drop out of the hobby. A post-mortem analysis of the average hobby failure would likely reveal one or more of the following five underlying elements:1. Failure to research I’m including this point first because it’s the most significant contributor to hobby dropout and encompasses many of the major oversights that newcomers make. Failing to cycle, skipping quarantine, overstocking/overfeeding, combining incompatible species, and choosing inappropriate life-support equipment (skimmer, lighting, etc.) are just some of the bad decisions new hobbyists sometimes make due to lack of prior research—and all can have hobby-ending (not to mention budget-breaking) consequences. Without ever reading hobby literature, perusing informative websites, seeking advice from more advanced hobbyists, studying up on the habits and demands of various species, etc., newcomers don’t even know they’re supposed to be concerned about these things—or, as Caribbean Chris and I like to say, “They don’t even know that they don’t know.” And that’s a recipe for certain disaster in this hobby! 2. Having no coherent strategy The best way to get started on the road to success in our crazy pastime is to establish a set of long-term goals—a strategic vision of the type of system and livestock you’d like to keep—and then implement the appropriate tactics, equipment purchases, and stocking approach to help you achieve those goals. by xeniaforever | Jun 24, 2015 | Equipment, Tanks, Technology
Neptune Systems is pleased to announce that it will begin shipping its new Par Monitoring Kit, priced at $299.95, to North America next month. For more information, go... by gmavrakis | Feb 2, 2015 | Corals, DIY, Equipment, Events, Fish, Opinion, Science
Marco's Email- [email protected] This 104 gallon reef aquarium belongs to Marco Pardun of Dortmund, Germany. It is a room divider reef and it really is breathtaking. The equipment list is rounded out with a Bubble Magus Curve 5 protein skimmer, Jebao DC-3000 return pump, Jebao RW-8 wavemaker, Eheim Jager heater, DIY activated carbon and GFO reactor, and sump. The corals he has include a diverse variety of SPS and mix of assorted LPS, soft corals, and zoanthids. http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/marco-pardun-104-gallon-room-divider-triton-reef-tank-profile-4772/ by AquaNerd | Dec 24, 2014 | Corals, Equipment, Science, Technology
Being that it is Friday and Christmas is so so close, we decided to relax a bit and enjoy the view. So, we are going to make today all about some awesome corals we recently spotted on the web. First up is the Rainbow Incinerator paly from Love The Reef. This awesome polyp symbolizes all that is awesome with these corals, sporting intense colors that would make any hobbyist stop and drool for a moment or two. They sport long skirts that have a striped pattern, along with a vibrant swathe of colors on its oral disc. by AquaNerd | Dec 18, 2014 | Equipment, Fish, Science, Technology
No sooner than we wrap up our coverage of all of ORA’s 2014 captive bred fish and aquacultured frags, the famed fish breeders announce one more entry for the year. Yesterday, they revealed tha they had bred the Hector’s Goby (Koumansetta hectori), a nifty little fish that is as strikingly beautiful as it is peaceful. This tiny fish measures just 2″ long at its maximum size, and it spends a majority of the day hovering hear the rocks while grazing on various types of algae. Thought to be the first time this fish has ever been captive-bred, ORA had some difficulty getting this fish to market, so to speak. This was due in part to the fish’s extremely tiny size, unreliable spawning amongst broodstock individuals, relatively long larval stages, and overall fragile larvae. Thankfully, ORA’s experience with the Priolepis genus translated flawlessly to the Hector’s Goby and they were eventually able to overcome those barriers.
