What's new?
*** Special thanks to all of those contributing to the web site, to make "YOUR web site" better!!! ***
(I still have a BUNCH of new FAQ's, pictures, articles, updates to old articles, links and more, ready to proof, format and add a bit at a time over the next month or so. Sorry it takes so long. Keep the contributions and suggestions comming. More poetry, jokes and cartoons would be very nice too!
Stay tuna'd!)
Jan 11, 1999:
*Added a funny story A New Multi-level Opportunity for Reef Aquarists! to the "Comic Reef-lief" section.
Jan 09, 1999:
*Added a funny story A New Product! to the "Comic Reef-lief" section. This is a late holiday story about a fantastic new product, too good to believe, that everyone must check out!
Nov 22, 1998:
*Added a new article Raising Banggai Cardinalfish to the "Raise a Reef" section. This addition is from Adeana Bishop's web site. She gives some great insight into raising the fry of this mouthbrooder. Photo's included.
Nov 21, 1998:
*Added a new letter from a reader Mantis Shrimp Removal to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. Put your scuba gear and spear away, because the Galloping Reef Gourmet is here to help you go after that pesky little terrorist shrimp with some wit, wisdom and cocktail sauce ;-)
Nov 1, 1998:
*Added an article Copperband Butterflies as Aiptasia Control to the "General Articles" section. Jake Levi tells why many experts warn against using Copperband Butterflyfish, or any butterflyfish, to rid your tank of an aiptasia pest anemone infestation. Even if your butterflyfish survives, you may be surprised when the aiptasia count gets worse after using them. Everyone who has ever had an aiptasia plague should READ THIS!
Nov 1, 1998
*Added a new letter from a reader How do I get Rid of Aiptasia? to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. There are many ways that people try to get rid of Aiptasia pest anemones when they multiply and sting corals in a reef tank. Here are some options along with the advantages and drawbacks of each.
Oct 28, 1998:
*Added two new poems, The Fish's Fate by Valerie Anne Miller, and
Overheard in the Dock's Office by Charles Earnest, to the "Reef Poetry" section. After reading these, I hope you'll be poetically inspired to write some of your own ;-)
Oct 27, 1998:
*Upgraded Reef Traiders' Trove. Now your messages will stay on this message board for 999 days! You can go there to find other people who are interested in growing their own reef aquariums, or parts of one. So post your name, e-mail, items for trade, and the topics you are interested in talking to others about by private e-mail, and start getting in contact with others with your interests in reef aquariums and reef propagation today!
Oct 25, 1998:
*Updated Lighting and Feeding your Corals in the "General Articles" section. Many points of consideration have been added to make this article more complete. Some very important warnings have also been added. READ THIS!
October 18, 1998
*Added a poem The Skeleton Fish to the "Reef Poetry" section. This fun poem was written by Valerie Miller when she was inspired by Mark Peterson's Banggai Cardinals while on the WMAS reef aquarium tour.
October 7, 1998
*Added an interesting sequel (addendum) to Are Mangroves Superior in Refugia? in the "General Articles" section. Jake Levi has written an excellent addendum which has been added to the end of his earlier article to make it even more interesting, enlightening and informative! Have you ever wondered, "HOW REALLY EFFECTIVE ARE MANGROVES FOR FILTRATION OF YOUR REEF AQUARIUM?" You can grow small slow-growing mangrove tree seedlings in a tank, a sump or even in an RDP refugium. But, do mangroves give the same benefits that alga can provide when it comes to nutrient removal AND tank stabilising RDP benefits? You can contact Jake through the e-mail link in this article, with any questions, information or debate you might have for him.
October 7, 1998
*Added some changes to update Rev up your Reef with RDP in the
"General Articles" section. This article tells you how to add a simple and cheap night lit refugium to your reef or fish-only tank, or how to simply turn your existing sump into one. By the way, this is great for freshwater aquaria too! The reef aquarium stabilizing benefits of a cheap and simple RDP refugium may be JUST WHAT YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING FOR!? Also included in this article is some unusually intriguing information on the undeniably important role that plankton plays in your reef aquarium, and in the wild coral reefs. This included information is called, "The Importance of Feeding your Corals" Don't miss either of these topics!
October 1, 1998:
*Added a new article Raising Cerith Snails to the
"Raise a Reef" section. Mike Holcomb is one of only a few people to be able to regularly raise batches of these snails in captivity. Here is Mike's account of what he is doing and what might be helping him achieve the results he is getting. Pictures from inside Mike's reef shed are included. If you or someone you know is raising something and would like to share the details with others on this web site, please let me know.
September 30, 1998
September 30, 1998
*Added some new riddles to the
"Jokes" section of the "Comic Reef-lief" section. If any of you have jokes, riddles, cartoon ideas or other contributions, please send them in!
September 29, 1998
*Added a new poem Hey Diddle Diddle to the "Reef Poetry" section. This new, original and fun poem was written by Charles P. Earnest,
September 7, 1998
*Added a new letter from a reader Aragonite Sand Clumping, Other Aragonite Sand Questions and a Carpet Anemone Question to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. "Should I use regular crushed coral over my plenum to avoid aragonite sand clumping that I hear so much about?"
Not at all! You can choose whether your aragonite sand clumps or not, and how well it works to a great extent, believe it or not.
"How should I really layer the sand and divider screen over my plenum?" "Can I keep a carpet anemone in my reef tank?" "What about a carpet anemone and clownfish that both dig, are they OK when using a plenum?"
treasurer of the Wasatch Marine Aquarium Society. Charles' poem was first published in the newsletter of the WMAS, The Sea Star. OK, everyone out there, let's ALL get creative now and submit our own poems to this section!
September 6, 1998
*Added a new article Growing Gorgonians to the "Raise a Reef" section. Gorgonian propagation can be difficult or easy. Here's the easy way. I use Super Glue and some important but simple techniques to assure bonding.
September 5, 1998
*Added a letter from a reader How do I make cuttings from my overgrown sarcophyton, or other corals? (The Easy Gravel Bowl Propagation Method) to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" and "Raise a Reef" sections. Have you been putting off making cuttings of your soft corals and disk anemones because you don't know quite what to do? Wait no longer, here's the easy way!
August 21, 1998
*Added a letter from a reader Should I use Kalkwasser? to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. Which calcium additives are best, and why are there so many of them on the market? Do I even need to use one of them? What about buffers? If you plan to use aragonite sand in your aquarium, READ THIS FIRST, it could save you a lot of money, time and headaches. Aragonite sand is missunderstood by many.
August 12, 1998
*Added a letter from a reader, Advice to New Reef Gardeners and Farmers to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. You are converting your marine fish-only aquarium into a reef tank. You want to use some simple methods to raise some corals and live rock to help conserve the reefs, but also to help support your hobby or make some money. Before you jump into shark infested waters, you might want to read this.
July 31, 1998:
*Added a letter from a reader, EZ reef tanks. How much lighting do I need to start adding corals? to the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. This letter is from a hobbyist who is enjoying the ease of setting up and caring for low cost down to Earth reef aquariums. His concern is with his newest reef aquarium, a 30-g tank, with only two standard fluorescent lights. Which corals can he start keeping now under these lights?
July 28, 1998:
*Updated The HANDY Reef in the "General Articles" section. Revised instructions were added in some places for setting up, cycling and caring for a HANDY Reef, or most any simple reef aquarium.
July 17, 1998:
*Added several reef pictures and A GREAT NEW LOOK to Gallery of Readers' Reefs. Thanks Bill Kennedy, for designing the new format!
July 16, 1998:
*Added new article, Fighting High Temperatures in the Reef Aquarium to the "Tips 'n Tricks" section. What do you do when the weather gets hot and your
aquarium warms up too much also?
*Added new article, Activated Carbon Use to the "Tips 'n Tricks" section. Why should you use activated carbon in your reef aquarium? Are you afraid to use carbon or leave it in your reef tank for more than a day or two at a time? Have you heard scary stories about using carbon in a reef aquarium? Fear no more...
July 16, 1998:
*Comming soon:
June 20, 1998:
*Added the Reef Traders' Trove - Message Board to the main menu. This is a free hobbyist exchange service to help promote reef aquarium propogation. Please post info for reef propagation only please. You can also find help from other reef propagation enthusiasts here. List your reef propagations that you have available for trade, or list items you would like to trade for. Non-commercial listings only! Be sure to let everyone know about this feature, and let's promote tank-raised reef stock together. This can be YOUR "reef propagation central." This is new, so be the first to post your info on the "Reef Traders' Trove - Message Board!
May 30, 1998:
*Added article Captive Reef Propagation, Part I, Tank-Raised Marine Aquarium Fish to the "Raise a Reef" section. This is the first segment in a four part series. This segment deals with breeding marine aquarium fish in captivity, while the other three parts deal with making coral cuttings, growing live rock and live sand. Parts II, III and IV are already posted in the "Raise a Reef" section. All four parts were printed in Marine Fish Monthly. Learn how to grow many things for your own captive-raised reef aquarium in the "Raise a Reef" section.
*Added a letter from a reader,
May 26, 1998:
*Added article Iodide Supplementation and Xenia Growth to the "General Articles" section. This article gives three cases of xenia and soft coral growing well, with little or no iodide or conventional trace element supplementation. Pictures from Dick Perrin's Tropicorium accompany this article. The full extent of his use of aragonite sand may surprise you!
"LetterAragoniteVsCrushedCoral.html"> Aragonite Sand vs. Crushed Coral
May 17, 1998:
*Added article Homemade Conglomerate Rocks to the "Raise a Reef" section. Paul Baldassano shares the techniques he has been using for 20 years to make some very creative live rocks. He uses cement mortar mix to bond smaller pieces of coral skeleton or reef-safe rocks together into creative rock sculptures for aquariums. Paul's pictures of the components and a finished conglomerate rock sculpture accompany this article.
*Added several MORE pictures to The Complete Cookbook for Making Live Rock from Cement and Other Types of Rock in the "Raise a Reef" section.
*Added article Protein Skimming Comments and the Effects of Phosphates on Denitrification by Sam Gamble, Ph.D., to the "General Articles" section. How important is protein skimming? Maybe not as vital as some people believe? Does the ideal amount of protein skimming actually vary from situation to situation and tank to tank? The following was posted on the Breeder's Registry discussion group. Professional reef aquarist and marine biologist Sam Gamble, Ph.D., gives this response to the question of whether he views protein skimming as important or not. The second part of this "article" deals with the effects of phosphate on denitrification.
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May 10, 1998:
*Replaced "Complete Cookbook for Making Live Rock from Cement and Land Based Rocks" with an updated version from May 1998 Marine Fish Monthly. This article tells you how to make your own live rock from various base rocks. It also covers many tips on how to grow good coralline algae. The full process of making cement rocks for culturing your own live rock is thoroughly covered.
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This live rock making article contains the most complete instructions found anywhere for properly curing your newly made cement rocks to make them reef-safe. If you know anyone who plans to make cement rocks, make sure they read this article before adding cement rocks to any aquarium. You could save their reef aquarium! Pass it on.************
These complete cement rock curing options will help you avoid losses in your aquariums from high pH when adding cement rocks that are not cured properly. Proper cement curing is also improtant to avoid silicate leaching in reef aquariums, which is also experienced when using incomplete cement rock curing methods. ***MORE PICTURES WILL BE ADDED TO THIS ARTICLE SOON! MANY MORE PICTURES WILL BE ADDED TO OTHER ARTICLES THROUGHOUT THIS WEB SITE SOON!***
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May 2, 1998:
*Added a punny story to "Funny Stories" in the "Comic Reef-lief" section. I thought you'd like herring this one. Even though it may sound a little fishy, it's guaranteed to make your sole smile:) You'll be glad I shad this reeffreshing story with you.
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April 28, 1998:
*Added an article to "Raise a Reef" section, Growing Rotifers, Artemia and Green Water. This article, by fish-farming expert Jake Levi, tells you how to make a simple set up for hatching and raising rotifers, Artemia (brine shrimp) and green water (planktonic alga). These cultures are commonly used for feeding corals, other invertebrates and newly hatched fish. This is the type of culture growing system used by many fish hatcheries.
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April 26, 1998:
*Added a new article to "General Articles", Percula Clownfish vs. Ocellaris Clownfish - Which is Which? (True Percula vs. False Percula)
*Added a new letter from a reader to "Letters - FAQs of Reef" Which SUPER GLUE should I use to attach coral cuttings? Plus, Advice on MAKING LIVE ROCK and LIVE SAND. Super glues that work. Plus, some tips on how to get "difficult-to-attach" coral cuttings to attach to the rocks of your choice.
*Added changes to Xenia Propagation in the "Raise a Reef" section. Updated xenia propagation methods (very easy!) were added to this article.
*Added some changes to Comic Reef-lief. Rearranged the menu, added new categories and one new "joke" (Can you find it?;-) Check out the whole section!
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April 25, 1998:
* Added a new letter from a reader to "Letters - FAQs of Reef", Which RO filter (reverse osmosis) or DI (deionization) filter should I use to purify my tap water? My response to this letter gives some answers as to why you might need to prefilter your tap water before using it for your reef aquarium. Some very general basics are included on what RO and DI filters can do for your tap water.
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April 23, 1998:
* Added some new jokes, by Mike Norris and Eric Merkel, to the "Jokes" section of "Comic Reef-lief."
* Added a funny account, by Eric Merkel, to the "Funny Stories" section of "Comic Reef-lief."
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April 12, 1998:
* Added an article to "Tips 'n Tricks": How to silence your Skilter and eliminate bubble discharge into your tank. Doug Coverdale shows and tells how to easily modify a Skilter to quiet the noise and stop tiny air bubbles from entering your tank. These are two common complaints about using the inexpensive Skilter (hang-on powerfilter/protein skimmer combo) often used with medium and smaller tanks.
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April 12, 1998:
* Added an article to the "Tips 'n Tricks" section: Poor Man's Wave Maker How to use cheap appliance timers for wave maker motion - changing water currents in a reef tank.
* Added an article to the "Raise a Reef" section: Pairing Clownfish or Dottybacks for Breeder Pairs Tips by Martin Moe for creating your own mated pairs of these fish.
* Added an article to the "General Articles" section: Trials and Tribulations of an OLD Reef Tank. This covers some interesting changes in the saltwater and reef hobby, including some very interesting adventures of one long time aquarist, Paul Baldassano, over the last 25+ years. Not many reef tanks are as old as this one!
* Added 4 articles to the "Raise a Reef" section: Soft Coral Propagation Introduction, Soft Coral Propagation Continued, Stony Coral, Live Rock and Live Sand Propagation. and Propagating Green Star Polyps (Clavularia) These articles are a good starting place for learning how to raise your own live rock, live sand and corals from cuttings. ***These articles will get you going on making coral cuttings for stocking your own reef aquariums, for trading with other hobbyists or for profit!*** Also, there is a letter from a reader with my reply that may be very helpful in getting you stared on reef gardening (coral propagation). It is in the "Letters - FAQs of Reef" section. Click here to view it: Which SUPER GLUE should I use to attach coral cuttings? Plus, Advice on MAKING LIVE ROCK and LIVE SAND.
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March 21, 1998:
* Added a letter from a reader to "Letters - FAQs of Reef" How do I add a plenum to my existing reef tank? Also, some ideas for moving a reef tank. This letter addresses the common question of how to add a plenum to an existing reef tank. If it isn't broken, don't fix it! But, when it comes to tearing apart an existing tank to modify it or move it, people get a bit intimidated as to what exactly to do(???!!!).
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March 20, 1998:
* Added a letter from a reader to "Letters - FAQs of Reef" Is it normal for clownfish to pair up with corals? In captivity clownfish will often snuggle up in a coral as if it were an anemone. This letter includes a very nice picture of a clownfish in a coral.
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March 16, 1998:
* Added new pictures of how to set up a plenum with a slow plenum siphon network to UPDATE ON PLENUM SIPHONING.
* Added new pictures to
Complete Cookbook for Making Live Rock from Cement and Other Types of Land Based Rocks.
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March 14, 1998:
* Added a new joke AND several cartoons (including one with President Clinton!) to Comic Reef-lief
More FAQs!