AquaNerd » aquarium advice http://blog.aquanerd.com Reef Aquarium and Saltwater Hobbyist Blog Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:20:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Tip of the Day – 7/29/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7292010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7292010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7292010.html#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 13:20:45 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5924 Be a responsible hobbyist. Support local fish stores that sell aquacultured fish and corals, as well as wild-caught livestock that is acquired in a sustainable way. Research your LFS and ask them what wholesalers they use. If they refuse to tell you who they purchase from, explain to them why you want to know. If they still don’t budge, walk away.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7292010.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/28/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7282010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7282010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7282010.html#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:30:53 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5910 Bubble traps in sumps need to be approximately 1″ apart, or more, to be effective. If the walls are too close, the flow-through rate will be too fast and the bubbles will make it through to the return section of your sump. It will also help to use a slower return pump. The goal is to trap the microbubbles between the baffles and prevent them from entering your display.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7282010.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/27/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7272010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7272010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7272010.html#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 13:40:51 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5892 Don’t let the bad experiences of fellow hobbyists prevent you from trying something new. The saltwater aquarium hobby is based on innovation and people thinking outside the box. Try the idea for yourself and do your best to succeed. Who knows, you might become a subject matter expert and will be able to teach others how you accomplished your feat.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7272010.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/26/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7262010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7262010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7262010.html#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:30:56 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5883 Leaks in acrylic products can be rather common, especially since everyone now thinks they can build an acrylic aquarium. If a leak develops, you can repair the issue yourself. Just use a small dab of Weld-On 16 on the leak and let it dry. Test for anymore leaks and fix them if they are present. Otherwise, your tank should be good to go.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7262010.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/25/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7252010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7252010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7252010.html#comments Mon, 26 Jul 2010 01:58:17 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5881 Some fish may be labeled as being “reef safe”, but these fish may occasionally develop a taste for corals and clams. This particularly holds true for a lot of angelfish and butterfly fish. If these animals start nipping, it will be almost impossible to make them stop since this is their natural behavior. You can try different feeding strategies (like overfeeding them so they don’t have to nip), but you may have to remove the fish eventually.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7252010.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/24/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7242010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7242010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7242010.html#comments Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:10:52 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5863 Increasing the amount of ORP in your water doesn’t require an Ozonizer necessarily.  Protein skimmers, UV sterilizers, and even various chemicals can increase the ORP of your aquarium’s water. They can’t get the ORP as elevated as an Ozonizer, but they can slightly increase these levels.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7242010.html/feed 0 Hurricane Season Ramping Up, Eyes Gulf of Mexico http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/hurricane-season-ramping-up-eyes-gulf-of-mexico.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=hurricane-season-ramping-up-eyes-gulf-of-mexico http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/hurricane-season-ramping-up-eyes-gulf-of-mexico.html#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:20:05 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5833 Hurricane Tracking from Weather Underground

Hurricane Tracking from Weather Underground

There’s another storm heading toward the Gulf Coast, and this time it will hit US soil. We were fortunate to miss the last storm, which hit in Mexico, but the states bordering the Gulf of Mexico must brace for a direct hit. All of the forecast maps are predicting that Tropical Storm Bonnie will hit the Louisiana coast head-on. The storm, which is currently over the Bahamas, might remain a tropical storm, but it might also reach Category 1 status. In case you haven’t prepped your aquarium to withstand a hurricane scenario, it might be a good time to start. We have a fairly thorough Hurricane Survival Guideline that you can use to prepare yourself and your aquarium.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/hurricane-season-ramping-up-eyes-gulf-of-mexico.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/23/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7232010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7232010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7232010.html#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:00:56 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5829 Barebottom aquariums, or aquariums without a sandy substrate, lack a major source of nitrifying bacteria. Sure, the live rock will serve as a bacteria-rich substrate, but sand has a much high surface area. To deal with the lack of substrate, you can have a remote sand bed or fill your refugium with sand. Or, if you completely want to rid yourself of sand, try some of the commercially availalbe media like Biopellets or something similar.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7232010.html/feed 2 Tip of the Day – 7/22/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7222010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7222010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7222010.html#comments Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:00:08 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5807 Sometimes the pins on a needlwheel protein skimmer impeller break off during normal operation. Snails, rocks, and other debris get sucked into the intake side of the skimmer’s pump and cause some damage. The impeller though will still operate at acceptable levels even if there’s a few missing needles. Just monitor the bubble output of the pump and make sure the skimmer continues to work normally. If need be, you can easily replace the impeller or just mod it by adding mesh.

]]> http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7222010.html/feed 0 Tip of the Day – 7/21/2010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7212010.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=tip-of-the-day-7212010 http://blog.aquanerd.com/2010/07/tip-of-the-day-7212010.html#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 14:20:40 +0000 Brandon Klaus http://blog.aquanerd.com/?p=5795 Sometimes advanced reefkeepers bypass a lot of beautiful, but simple corals in their pursuit of a challenge or something rare. Even extremely common corals can be nice to look at, and not everyone (looking in the spouse’s direction) loves the colored sticks. People like to see a little movement in reef aquariums and not just a bunch of immobile corals.

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