Nano Reef Aquarium

My Reef blog has been invited to receive a Recommended Reading award From The Reef Tank . This website has approached My Reef Blog with this award, I am very happy to take the award with pride. The reef tank has thousands of members and is a massive resource of information and reviews, highly recommended.

Aiptasia or the glass anemone as it is otherwise known. Is known in the reef keeping hobby, to be a pest and a pain to control. It can be quite destructive. But there are ways to control aiptasia. Their are natural ways and chemical ways of control them. Many would argue that the natural method is the way to go, but is not always as effective as the chemical method. The natural methods will add life to any coral reef aquarium including the future of accidental introduction from new coral additions. Natural methods. There are three natural methods that i know of and probably the most known is the introduction of a true Pepper mint shrimp. My past experience has shown me that these shrimp don't tend to consume big Glass anemones, but certainly control and stop the formation and growth of new aiptasia. The second method that i have no experience with are Berghia nudibranches.I have found out these will consume aiptasia, but that is all this type of nudibranch will consume, so after it...

Well after the problem with the leaking skimmer, another problem has come to light. Aiptasia, or glass anemone as it is otherwise known. My first intention was to purchase a peppermint shrimp, but at my latest visit to a LFS had non in stock but recommended Aiptasia X. I have heard of this before but was a little sceptical. It is expensive but thought what the heck!! This product is fantastic, simply shake it up, draw some into the syringe provided, turn off any Power heads. The best bit insert the fine tip very closely to the centre of the anemone and introduce the fluid. The anemone then consumes the fluid and just appears to withdraw and die. After 24 hours all my aiptasia seems to have almost gone. I would highly recommend this product despite the high cost.

Thankfully after the bad look with my skimmer leaking i have promptly managed to fix the problem. My local fish shop has closed down so i had to search elsewhere so i decided to contact TMC directly they recommended another good aquatic shop locally and to help me out sent me a new seal totally free of charge, many thanks! All i need to do now is see if the recommended shops is up to good standards then i will order a few more seals and change them regularly, not taking any chances now. We all know about the damage water can do and it is something i don't wont to have to deal with ever.

After decorating the living room and being to totally happy with the look i discovered something bad. Water on the new real wood oak floor, gutted, only a small amount though. SO after thinking of the worse scenario i started to check around my aquarium to diagnose the problem. I Discovered the rubber 'o' ring seal that go between the skimmer and collection cup was leaking so i am know trying to get my hands on some, quickly. I am in the meantime going to have to run my aquarium with no skimmer. Lets hope i can get it sorted in a couple of days. I am going to get hold of about ten of these and replace them every year to avoid this problem again, It will become a part of my maintenance regime.

After setting up a Reef Aquarium and adding live rock you most likely have been advised to add the clean up crew. These should be added before any fish and/or corals. I would strongly advise adding the clean up crew after the nitrate cycle has completed. I know it is a slow process but patience is very important. The purpose of the clean up crew is to help consume any uneaten food and break down uneaten food and waste even further. some will help in consuming nuisance algae. Here are a few examples of what you can introduce. Hermit crabs. These are the first things many reefers add to their aquarium, most common are red legged and blue legged crabs. Don't forget to provide a few extra shells as they like to change from time to time. If no empty shells are available they may fight for them. Snails. Turbo snails are the most common introduced to marine aquarium. These will help in the process of cleaning your glass and live rock from algae, they will not perform miracles though, yo...

It has been quite some time since i have wrote on my reef blog. I have been decorating the living room, Quite a task. The plasma TV is now in the wall as part of the false chimney breast that is now finished in a blue suede effect paint to compliment the other furnishings in the living room, it looks great! I have just finished laying a real oak wood floor, this is very difficult to lay and a time consuming task, without taking the cost into consideration. Really happy with the result. I am now awaiting an entertainment unit that is being custom made to fit the exact width of the false chimney breast. This will hide all the equipment, including all the newly installed plug sockets, phone line, aerial socket and wiring outlet for the TV wires. The unit will be finished in gloss white. Im hoping it will look fantastic. Back to the reef hobby now. I have had to move my aquarium into the kitchen diner for the last month to help aid in the completion of the above mentioned changes. It has...