Nano Reef Aquarium

My Reef Blog is now in the process of submitting a newsletter, you can subscribe by entering your email address and name in the "subscribe link" in the right hand column of the blog. AT the time of this post i have put together a simple email giving you a general idea of the newsletter contents. Further issues will follow. Subscribers will be able to read my articles before they go out on "My Reef Blog". Please feel free to comment on this post as to what content you would like to see in the newsletter.

Hanna instruments have recently introduced some new digital meters for checking Pphosphorus, Free chlorine, Nitrite and Phosphate. They are claimed to be more accurate than chemical test kits that are commonly used. With a ultra low range and reliable results.  Having found that the phosphate kit i use is very unreliable and inaccurate. This is giving me the urge to purchase one of these over the very expensive deltec phosphate test kit that are very accurate and highly recommended. The reason i prefer the Hanna instrument is that it should allow me to test phosphate quickly and more accurately.

There are three methods of keeping Magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium supplements to the correct levels in a reef aquarium. These are. Manual addition of off the shelf additives, The use of a Calcium reactor and kalk stirrer, or the "balling lite" Method. The first method is probably the best method to start with. It will familiarize you with supplement addition to a lightly stocked reef aquarium with a few LPS and SPS corals and wont cost you a small fortune to maintain good water parameters. After some time with growth and increased stocking you will notice the increased consumption of these important supplements with increasing cost. The use of a calcium reactor and kalk stirrer is a very effective way of maintaining calcium and alkalinity. The problem with this method is the outlay of the equipment,and unless you have a large aquarium (500 litre plus) highly stocked with LPS and SPS corals demanding high consumption of supplements.I just think the outlay is not justif...

Nuisance algae is a problem many reef aquarists encounter. This article will point you in the right direction and more than likely by taking appropriate action to one of the solutions, your algae will disappear and never return. There are three main reasons for hair algae, these are listed in order of most probable cause. Phosphates. This is at large the biggest cause of hair algae. The trouble with phosphates is that most aquarists check the parameter but because most test kits available are inaccurate they get false readings. Giving the impression that phosphates are at an acceptable level. The most reliable test kits to date are the Deltec phosphate test kit, but this is very expensive. The solution is very easy to solve. Use a phosphate adsorbing media such as rowaphos in direct flow in the aquarium. Using a inexpensive phosphate reactor for the media is much more effective and comes highly recommended. Either way ensure you change media every four to six weeks. Water Movement...

Well it has to be said that buying frags from other reefers saves money. It does, i recently went to see a very knowledgeable and friendly reefer for the second time to buy a Acan frag. I came away with the Acan and about five other frags of many SPS corals. What a bargain, £20. This has to be my best purchase of corals, be it frags that i have ever bought. It is worth reading his tank thread on Ultimate Reef . He is very inspirational and shows what can be done with a Nano sized reef aquarium. It is well worth checking out reefing forums. You can and most likely will save loads on corals, fish and equipment. Maybe make new Friends too.

Well it has been some time since my last post, there has been a few changes since then. I have managed to repair my old power head and seems to be working fine for now. I am in the process of saving for a vortech MP10. This should sort the flow properly, anyway as the title suggests. I now have a new phosphate reactor up and running and early indications of my algae problem seams to becoming a thing of the past, fingers crossed. These items are definitely a thing of necessity and not desire. If you don't have one get one, they are not an expensive item and are real easy to set up and run. This reactor is from Three Little Fishes and requires the use of an additional pump/power  head in the simplest form. Full operating instructions are included although i have to say this product will requires additional means of sealing the hoses on top of the reactor. I have used tie wraps that secure the hoses snug with no leakage. Lets just hope ...

Not the best thing for your partner to say to you. Obviously i had to investigate and after a quick look i concluded it was my power head. It sounded like it was sticking then it continued to run, strange i thought. just then thought i will have to keep a lookout for this happening again. But about two hours later after watching some TV i looked into the reef aquarium, to my horror all was still. No water movement, WHAT! The power head had failed. I knew immediately i had to resolve this. Luckily i had a spare power head in the garage that i used before so it was time to use it. PHEW! The only problem with the power head is it was converted with a kit to produce more flow and although really effective it produces humming sounds from time to time and can be a little annoying. But until i can afford a new Vortech it will have to do. I had forgotten how powerful this pump was. So what have i learned? Never get rid of old equipment, you will never know when it might ...