So, are you tired yet of adding more fresh water to your tank to compensate for evaporation? If you are like most hobbyists out there, your tank can evaporate from 32 ounces to several gallons a day. If this evaporation is left to go on too long, many bad things can happen. The two biggest issues are starving the main circulation pump and the increase in salinity of the tank. So, what if you don’t want to lug water to the tank every day or so? What can be a big help when you go on vacation —  Set up an ATO or automatic top off.

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In reality reef tanks are always maturing and becoming more established but it helps to know just where your tank stands before adding more fish or corals. Eric Borneman gives some in site to help you know when your tank has become established or mature enough to take it to the next level. http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx

Having a live reef cam may seem to some like a geeky addition to your aquarium set up without much benefit other than showing off. Others see it as something of extravagance that must take serious coin and tons of technical aptitude to set up. Neither of these could not be further from the truth. A reef cam is relatively cheap and easy to set up. It offers a tremendous benefit to your set up by giving you peace of mind while you are away from home. An added benefit is the cool factor…I will not deny that! Read the rest of this entry »

Huge news everyone!

As a favor to UTMAS, our founding sponsor The Living Planet Aquarium is allowing us to have an exclusive sneak-peek of their new penguin exhibit ahead of the general public! So, now you have yet another reason to come to the meeting tomorrow night. Here are the details in case you missed them. Remember, the meeting is FREE and open to everyone!

One of the really cool things about adding new live rock to your reef tank is seeing what life comes in on it. I have had some rock I got a year ago and I am still occasionally finding new growth in my tank that I didn’t know was there. Unfortunately not everything that comes in on live rock as a hitchhiker is good. So how do you know if that new invert, coral, or whatever is good or bad. Here is a link to a list of common Hitchhikers and information relating to the benefit or harm they can cause in your reef tank.

http://www.xtalworld.com/Aquarium/hitchfaq.htm

I like this Hitchhiker reference because it gives you a quick look at the hitchhiker and whether it is good or bad then links to articles for more information.

We all know that corals draw vital substances from the water colomn, such as Calcium, Alkalinity and Magnesium.  Here is a way to replenish these without doing a water change.

To create these additives you will need the following:

• 3 one gallon containers. I used simple juice containers with twist lids.
• Almost 3 gallons of RO/DI water.
• Calcium Chloride (I recommend buying chemical grade, but people have been know to use Prestone Driveway Heat)
• Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda from any drugstore or grocer)
• Magnesium Sulfate (Epsom Salt from any drugstore or grocer)
• Magnesium Chloride (If Available in Chemical Grade)

Each of these additives will be mixed in their own One Gallon Container with the exception to the Magnesium Sulfate and the Magnesium Chloride, those will be mixed together.       Read the rest of this entry »

When designing the plumbing system for your sump or other project finding the right fitting can be difficult. Here is a site that has all sorts of specialty PVC fittings and products to create a clean plumbing installation that works. http://www.flexpvc.com/

Recently I had a bad outbreak of Asterina starfish in my tank so I purchased a Harlequin Shrimp to take care of them…and he did! But, once they were gone, this shrimp would starve if I did not provide him a starfish meal. So, I bought a chocolate chip starfish. As soon as I dropped it into the tank he came out of no where to go after it clear up on the glass. I was fortunate enough to have my iphone handy and shot this video. Enjoy!

The question of RO or RO/DI water seems to come up all the time in questions in forums and at meetings. There are really two camps on this and not much in-between. RO stands for Reverse Osmosis which is the method by which the filter takes out impurities in the water. Some say ther is NO WAY they will ever put tap water in their aquariums and some say they will NEVER pony up for the expense and hassle of RO. The funny thing is, both can be right since it is not so cut and dry. Some aquarists consider the RO filter to be another piece of equipment that is not really necessary. There is a lot of confusion on this topic, especially when it comes to beginners. Read the rest of this entry »