Designing a Plumbing Roadmap For a Reef Tank

When starting a reef tank it is always a great idea to lay out your plans for how you want to plumb together or connect all of your equipment. I call it a plumbing roadmap. I start by breaking out a pad of paper and doodling some sketches to see what works and what doesn’t work. Once I am happy with my design I bring it to life on the computer with some more defined and legible sketches (my handwriting is the worst). Sketchup is a great program for this purpose and I highly recommend it for anybody who has the skill set to work with this type of software. I am still learning it so when I set out to sketch the deign for my new

Alveopora – The Other Flower Pot Coral

Alveopora is a large polyp stony coral that has a beautiful flower-like appearance. Is this a type of coral you can envision in your next reef tank? Video: Camera Gear List on Amazon Canon C200 Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS macro Canon EF MP-E 65mm f/2.8 macro Sigma Art 18-35mm f/1.8 Free Fly Movi Pro Stabilizer Copyright Information: This video was shot and edited by Tidal Gardens. Tidal Gardens owns all intellectual property rights to this content.

Zetlight Releases Updated ZP-3600 LED Fixture

Zetlight recently released a new and improved version of the ZP-3600 LED Fixture. Below is the official release information provided to us by the US Zetlight importer, Ming Trading LLC.  Starting off 2018 with a bang, Zetlight has released an updated version of the ZP-3600 listed under the PRO II Aquarium Series. The ZP-3600 has a beautiful design and build quality it is nothing short of spectacular. This 185W advanced reef light features a full spectrum LED, quartz optical lens, and a Hybrid-Z 2.0 chip (previous 1.0 chip found in the highly praised Zetlight UFO models). The light can also be attached with the hanging kit found in the box or a mounting bracket (sold separately). Zetlight WiFi Controller Users will have the ability to control the ZP-3600 using

How I Beat Dinoflagellates

In my 25+ years keeping reef tanks I figured I had seen it all. Well, this can be a humbling hobby and I was reminded of this when I discovered dinos, short for dinoflagellates, in my 187 gallon tank about two years ago.  Dinoflagellates are notoriously difficult to eradicate, causing some aquarists to quit or break down and fully reboot their tanks. Identifying Dinoflagellates So what are dinoflagellates? There are many forms, but the kind that gives reef keepers fits is a snot-like algae substance that attaches to rocks, sand, power heads, corals and anything else they can latch on to. They are typically brown, long, stringy and have air bubbles. They can literally coat everything, and some varieties can release toxins that are especially harmful to

Pipe Organ Coral (Tubipora musica) Care Tips

The coral I’ll be covering today are Pipe Organ Corals of the Genus Tubipora. They are not that uncommon but at the same time not a lot of people have them in their reef tanks. I find that a little weird because they are some of the most beautiful soft corals out there. Pipe Organs can vary in appearance from something very similar in appearance to green star polyps to flower-like daisy shaped polyps. Video: Camera Gear List on Amazon Canon C200 Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS macro Canon EF MP-E 65mm f/2.8 macro Sigma Art 18-35mm f/1.8 Free Fly Movi Pro Stabilizer Copyright Information: This video was shot and edited by Tidal Gardens. Tidal Gardens owns all intellectual property rights to this content.