General Saltwater Aquarium

Mussels Photo is a royalty-free image from Pixabay. DIY Food - Mollusk Feast By making your own fish food, you know exactly what your fish are eating. A variety of mollusks are a good choice, but I'm not a good shell shucker, so, I've taken the easy way out making this recipe. I also want...

Today's profile number two (2) is of a reef aquarist who has had saltwater tanks for more than 15 years. R.L. lives in Florida, and after numerous snorkeling trips, on a lark he picked up a 35G aquarium at a garage sale and figured he give saltwater a try. He’s also an expert on seashells, and...

Macroalgae in a refugium Photo from the Reef2Reef archives courtesy of AlexG, © 2018, All Rights Reserved In the beginner section of our forum, there is a sticky on top, written by David Hammontree, that's very very good. The article is called, The Supreme Guide to Setting up a Saltwater Reef...

Or, What Rock Can I Put in My Saltwater Tank? In Part 1 of this article, we talked about live rock, and most reef aquarists use at least a little of it in their tank. Spontaneous generation does not exist, and if all of your rock is dead, then it will not magically come alive just by putting...

Or, What Kind of Rock Can I Put in My Saltwater Tank? In the broadest of terms, there are basically two types of rock for saltwater aquariums: live rock and dead rock. So, we're going to look at them one at a time, and try to explain the differences for the benefit of beginners. Live rock from...

Reef2Reef is here to help aquarists with all levels of experience. But we especially want to look after the beginners. Most beginners are chomping at the bit to fill their tanks with livestock. In reefkeeping, William Congreve's quote from 1693 is applicable: "Marry in haste, repent at leisure."...

A reef aquarium with a black sand substrate. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives, 2018. It’s time for some FAQ’s. I’ve said before, but it bears repeating, there are often many different ways to do things when you have a saltwater aquarium. This document will by no means be an exhaustive...

Some years ago, Uninja, with the help of forum members Raggamuffin, Wy Renegade, Swannyson, Skinz78, Tabasco 1, Jordan 3548, fsu1dolfan, Stray40, and Rayzback, prepared a list of acronyms. We thought we’d kick it up a notch, update it, expand it, and post it as an article. ~~~~~~~~~ Looking to...

Welcome to our first profile of a reef aquarist. We thought it would be interesting for our audience to read about different people who keep saltwater aquariums. I’ll tell you a bit about the person, and then we’ll move to a question and answer format, so you can hear about the person’s...

Zoanthid close-up. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives. We think there are plenty of readers out there who are considering starting a reef tank but who hesitate to move forward for a number of reasons. So, this article is intended for those who have never had any kind of aquarium, or those...

Learning something new can feel complicated. We're going to help you. Photo is a royalty-free image from freerangestock.com. We have many readers who are complete novices. Total newbies. Zero experience. And these aquarists deserve regular articles destined for them. Because, let’s face it...

A "red planaria" flatworm problem in a saltwater aquarium. Photo has been enlarged with a macro lens. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives. Welcome to the second part and conclusion of the flatworm article. For Part 1, just go here, but I warn you, it’s a long one. As I mentioned last time...

A marine flatworm magnified 60X. Photo is from the Reef2Reef archives. Flatworms are a perennial topic in our forums because some marine aquarists have problems with them. I wanted to devote an article (or two) to aquarium flatworms and how we (try to) deal with them. If you need some help...

An Anthias, a popular ornamental fish for marine aquariums. Photo from the Reef2Reef archives, 2018. Welcome to the wonderful world of fish farms! Found in both marine water and freshwater, on open ocean and on land, aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms. According to USA...

A healthy Hawkfish: Photo from the Reef2Reef Archives Before I start this article, I want to make a couple of points. First, we have in our forum, an excellent area for the discussion of fish disease, treatment, and diagnosis. Our venerable Humblefish even created a “sticky” thread (one that...

This photo is from the Reef2Reef archives. In many cultures, those who are more experienced or older are revered. China even has an International Day of Elder Persons. In the western world, employees who have been with a company for a long time often have varied tangible benefits. Why? Because...

Wondering why your tank water is cloudy and how to fix it is a perennial problem that comes up often in our discussion forum. There are a variety of reasons why your saltwater aquarium water may be cloudy. In order to figure out what the problem is—which is the first step toward solving it—there...