Observations on Dry Rock Aquascaping

Throughout my years in the marine aquarium hobby, I’ve typically aquascaped my systems using cured live rock from Fiji. However, when setting up my 125-gallon tank in our new home about a year and a half ago, I wanted to…

Important Water Parameters For Keeping A Saltwater Aquarium

Healthy water equals healthy fish and coral, but how do you know what’s best? Water quality is a fundamental aquarium skill, and understanding how to read and decipher water tests can clue us in on problems. The first parameters you…

Salty Q&A: Can I Kickstart My Cycle with Aquarium Water?

Q: I’m a newbie aquarium hobbyist and just starting to set up my first tank, which will be a 40-gallon soft-coral reef system with a few small fish. A friend of mine, who is also fairly new to the hobby…

MicroBacter Start XLM Makes Cycling Easy

MicroBacter Start XLM is a new live nitrifying bioculture from Brightwell Aquatics for starting a saltwater or reef aquarium in record time. Cycling a saltwater aquarium has never been easier and there’s numerous live bacterial cultures available in the aquarium…

Beginners Guide To ‘Cycling’ A Saltwater Aquarium

Nitrogen Cycle For Saltwater Aquariums No we don’t mean strapping your tank to a bike and taking it for a spin! Cycling your saltwater aquarium is a critical process all aquariums must endure before they are ready to be populated with…

How long should you wait to add livestock to your reef tank?

How long should you wait to add livestock to your reef tank? That question has plagued saltwater aquarists for years. Odds are you would receive different responses to the question from anywhere from a few days to months. The later…