List of Coral Reef Tank Pictures
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Critiquing LEDs in the hobby
Hi friends! I hope you are all doing wonderful today. I would like to offer some words to the companies that create products in the hobby. Overall, I am fairly upset at the prices for the quality of most products. I think it is absurd that they charge so much for equipment that is fairly cheap. I think one of the better products to look at is LED lighting. It has grown very fast in the last five years. Take a look at the Hydra 32 HD . It is $400! That is not including the equipment to hang it either. That can range from $80-200 in addition. Focusing on the hang on equipment, it is typically of nice quality. It is sturdy and mostly clean looking. They started adding on nicer qualities such as clips so the cord does not dangle over the tank. But that $200 hanging arm cost me $20 at Menards. It was just a bracket and some parts to put it together. And they look very similar. The LEDs themselves are not much better. LEDs are fairly cheap to make. It is surrounded by a cheap plastic b...
Filtration comparison
Hi friends! I would like to talk about filtration in the reef tank hobby. These are the main three: 1. Mechanical 2. Chemical 3. Biological Mechanical filtration in this hobby is typically a filter sock, sponge, and filter floss . There is also more advance equipment such as roller mats. The idea behind mechanical filtration is to strain matter from the water. So as water flows through a sock, larger particles (typically 100-200 microns) stay inside. It is best to change and wash these every 3-7 days depending on how much is being fed to the tank. Mechanical filtration is typically easy to use, easy to clean and maintain, and very efficient if changed regularly. Chemical filtration is typically GFO (granular ferric oxide) or activated carbon. GFO is used to control phosphates and silicates. This may seem tempting to many new reefers that have an algae outbreak. But chances are this will mask a problem until it "explodes". Carbon, on the other hand, is safe to use. It hel...
The 5 Best animals for your tank
5. Peppermint Shrimp The peppermint shrimp is a wonderful creature to have in a tank. It has a fairly high bio load and can be known to nip at coral and smaller fish. But it serves the purpose of cleaning detritus as well as aptasia. They prefer to hide in caves and they are really active at night. 4. Emerald Crab Emerald crabs are the only crab I keep in my tank now a days. There are people who claim they will nip at coral. But from my experience I have not seen any go rouge. They are very busy members of the clean up crew. They pinch at algae throughout the day and help keep the tank clean. One of the main reasons reefers keep them in the tank is for their bubble algae control. Typically you will notice clean sleek rocks near where they hide. 3. Cerith Snail These are my favorite snails and they are great for beginners. They breed very easily in a healthy tank, which promotes a healthier ecosystem. They bury themselves under the sand (a sand bed is required) and clean almost eve...