Comments on: Current Ins and Outs of Reef Aquaria

By: Matt

Matt — Mon, 18 May 2009 02:54:53 +0000

I think there are few areas in this hobby that are as “faddish” as skimmers. I would agree that Cones are “in”, ironically, despite RE’s Klaus Jansen not bringing one to market in 2005, and found a double cone more (as in the SuperMarins) efficient. So does that mean that the non-cone, non-SuperMarin BKs are “out”?!?

By: pavlo

pavlo — Thu, 14 May 2009 01:24:57 +0000

seeing that gen-x pump reminded me of something else that is thankfully OUT: bad customer service…. IN: competition between suppliers and manufacturers, resulting in lower cost and better customer service for consumers. thank you capitalism!

By: Mike Clifford

Mike Clifford — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:17:57 +0000

@ Nicholas – for a DIY version of the frag rocks, check out the Mounting “Pegging” video at http://www.reefvideos.com

By: Nicholas Sadaka

Nicholas Sadaka — Tue, 12 May 2009 20:52:32 +0000

I’d just like to add that as far as the frags on the sandbed/open aquascaping goes, there are really some fantastic options out there right now that are also very affordable. I’m a huge fan of both frags and open aquascapes, so I get a couple that I REALLY like and find some ways to incorporate them without gluing them to live rock (which I admittedly am terrible at-I tried epoxying a few to live rock and…big mistake for me). I’ve done 2 things that I really like. The frag magnets, which you can put all over the aquarium and anywhere you like is one of my favorite options right now…I can’t wait to see if they’ll really encrust well on the back glass wall. I’ve also bought the rocks that have holes in them that fit frag mounts (not the plastic mounts, they won’t fit…at least I can’t get them to). If you buy the smallest size and put just one frag on them, it will encrust and basically give you a good sized flat rock with a grown out coral on it which can then either be placed on the sandbed if you wish or on top of or against your rockwork. I really like that option as well and it gives your coral something to encrust upon. Again, two cheap ways to do it a little differently if you’re just trying to grow out some frags. They also now have rocks with magnets in them where you could aquascape them with different frags and then magnet the rock to the back wall and give your tank depth. I haven’t gotten one yet, but Premium Aquatics carries all of that and I find all of those options really cool and a whole new dimension to how you can set up your tank. Coral growing off the back wall was something I never even dreamed until those products came out. Really gives you many more options and does so my absolute favorite way…cheaply without sacraficing health and aesthetics.

By: UMA VISÃO DO NOSSO HOBBY « Reefsimples – Blog de aquarismo do Roberto Pinto

Tue, 12 May 2009 16:29:44 +0000

[...] http://glassbox-design.com/2009/current-ins-and-outs-of-reef-aquaria/ [...]

By: Two Part and Calcium Reactors - Both are Here to Stay, Which is for You? | glassbox-design.com

Tue, 12 May 2009 15:40:11 +0000

[...] post regarding the ins and outs of reef aquaria prompted some antagonistic comments regarding my statement that the balling method and automated two part is currently in-trend, [...]

By: Rolf Brusletto

Rolf Brusletto — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:57:40 +0000

Figured this one would fit right inline..

In: Inaccurate guesses about calcium reactors and causes of alkalinity/calcium offset without backing articles.

Out: Accurate guesses about calcium reactors and causes of alkalinity/calcium offset with backing articles.

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:56:06 +0000

Lest we forget:

In- Cone Skimmers!
Out- Square / Cylindrical Skimmers?

By: Matt

Matt — Tue, 12 May 2009 02:06:15 +0000

This hobby is one trend after another… sps/acans are out, chalices are in… T5s are out, metal halides (using lumenbrights) are in…. two part is out, balling is in…. but wait isn’t WWC, just using kalk to maintain their awesome LE display?!? Honestly, I’ve never had good growth with two part, I’ve dosed it a la Grotec, did the manual additions. Not clue as to why, calcium reactor and even kalkwasser by itself worked much better….

It’s all one fad after another…. zoos are getting hot again (yuck!)… Don’t be trendy, its your aquaria, do what you want with it.

By: Mike Clifford

Mike Clifford — Mon, 11 May 2009 19:29:10 +0000

One other follow-up, that I think the crowded sandbeds and open aquascape trends are related, in that so often I see otherwise gorgeous openaquascapes diminished because all that carefully-planned open sandbed is covered in frags. So hopefully the next step is clearing up the sandbed. Also, this isn’t to say a few strategically placed corals on the sandbed doesn’t look good, because it can. But IMO, having large areas of clean sandbed really gives the tank a better visual effect.