From the category archives:

Aquarium Water Quality

Chelated Copper

June 18, 2010

Not the stuff of great literature, but if you’ve lost a one hundred and fifty dollar Emperor Angle to Cryptocaryon irritans you will know it is the stuff for which an answer would be nice to have. The common name, “Ich”, seems appropriate on several levels, none of which are essential to this discussion, except [...]

Read the full article →

Choosing the Right Aquarium Filter

June 18, 2010

The filtration system is the single most important factor in maintaining a healthy environment and healthy fish. A recent article in Aquarium Fish Magazine estimates that more than 80 percent of all fish health problems in aquariums are directly linked to improper or inadequate filtration. There are several types of filters used by today’s hobbyists. [...]

Read the full article →

Aquarium Filtration Systems

June 18, 2010

For aquatic animals, good water quality is synonymous with good health. Good water quality is dependent on efficient filtration of the water in your tank. Understanding filtration is one of the most difficult tasks facing the new aquariust. Even the novice aquarist is aware that high levels of ammonia will quickly spell the end to [...]

Read the full article →

Tips for Testing Calcium

June 18, 2010

Calcium testing in marine systems is fraught with difficulties. Test kits generally don’t work well in the ranges run in reefs, and many ions in marine water interfere with the kit. If your calcium level does not make sense, try diluting the aquarium water sample 50/50 with distilled, deionized or R/O water and testing. Multiply [...]

Read the full article →

Test your Aquarium Water Quality

June 18, 2010

When a new aquarium hobbyist leaves a pet store with an aquarium and all the accessories to set it up, the one product likely to be missing is a water test kit. Few new hobbyists are even aware of them. A typical test kit retails for between $5 and $25, which is not a lot [...]

Read the full article →

Calcium & Hardness

June 14, 2010

“pH” is a term used by chemists to describe the acidity or basicity of a solution. A measure of 7.0 is neutral: neither acid nor base. pH ranges measured below 7.0 are considered acidic. pH ranges above 7.0 are considered basic. Sudden changes in pH are very stressful to fish. Four terms describe the total [...]

Read the full article →