Prior to The Reef Tank blog, I didn't do much if anything at all on the threats of ocean acidification.  I'm happy to state that as our blog grows to include experts on hot topics outside the aquarium realm (including marine conservation and ocean acidification) I've become more and more educated on the subject.

For instance, I just received word from Lina, the project manager over at the European Project on Ocean Acidification (they run a great blog that recently did an amazing guest post for us) that the Monaco Declaration on Ocean Acidification was released last Friday. More than 150 leading marine scientists from 26 countries have signed the declaration, supported by Prince Albert II of Monaco. The scientists are asking for immediate action by policymakers to reduce CO2 emissions sharply so as to avoid widespread and severe damage to marine ecosystems from ocean acidification.

Looks like we're well on our way to making the marine world a better place!

Above is something you usually never want to see in an established aquarium.

And it's the result I was hoping to get. You see, I've got a bacteria problem, and I got it bad.

Ammonia, the bane of all aquarium newbs. For months I had a constant ammonia reading in my 180 mixed cichlid tank. I was embarrassed to blog about it; after repeated attempts to correct the problem I was even scared to test for ammonia readings.

After all, ammonia's a test I and all of us have passed long ago. So why's it kicking my ass now?

I kept fish in elementary school, with varying success. I got a pair of bettas to spawn in fourth grade -- never any live ones burst from the bubble nest. I had another tank with various tetras and a pair of kissing gouramis, and, knowing nothing of the nitrogen cycle, you can imagine how that turned out in the end.

Back when the natural world could be neatly divided into plants and animals, the corals were a source of puzzlement. Like the related sea anemones, these animals look more like plants. What are they? In the 1700s, the great Swedish botanist and founder of modern taxonomy, Carl Linnaeus, dodged the question by classifying them in a group called Zoophyta (animal plants). Truth is, they are both.

By that I mean that the coral animal hosts algae that live inside its cells. (The technical term for this sort of mutual arrangement is endosymbiosis.) These microscopic, single-celled algae gave up their free-living lifestyle in exchange for accommodations provided by the coral. Algae aren't exactly plants, but like plants they contain chloroplasts and carry out photosynthesis. Being microscopic, they fall into that catch-all category—microbes. They are the zooxanthellae, their name coming from the Latin for animal-yellow-small.

Whalefishes, bignoses and tapetails - these three groups of deep-sea fishes couldn't look more different. The whalefishes (Cetomimidae) have whale-shaped bodies with disproportionately large mouths, tiny eyes, no scales and furrowed lateral lines - narrow organs on a fish's flanks that allow it to sense water pressure.
The tapetails (Mirapinnidae) are very different - they also lack scales but they have no lateral lines. They have sharply angled mouths that give them a comical overbite and long tail streamers that extend to nine times the length of their bodies.

Last week, I started a weekly column, taking advantage of the new Comparison Shopping tool at The Reef Tank.

As I mentioned last week, my goal with this column will be to emphasize the importance of researching before buying anything for your tank. I was in for a few surprises when I focused on Protein Skimmers.

This week, I am focusing on Water Pumps. I checked more than half of the 136 products in stock in this category. 

But with even more products in stock, I figured there would be even more drastic price differences.  Nevertheless, many of the differences again ranged from 10 to 20 % for most products.  

But there were quite a few big surprises.  I did find many brands where the price differences were as high as 40 and 50% for the same product between stores. Some were even higher.

Take a look at the big differences in the Little Giant products (particularly the Little Giant 3-MDQ-SC Pump and the Little Giant 3-MDQX-SC Pump),  Reeflo pumps (check out the huge range in the Reeflo Dart)and pumps from Iwaki (i.e. the Iwaki MD20RLT Water Pump w/ a Japanese motor.) 

Upon noticing these price differences though, I realized that a lot of the reason for the really really inexpensive price was that a lot of the pumps could be found on EBay and Amazon. Again, that goes to show you that like the protein skimmers last week, it might just be worth it to buy used stuff, especially when you don't want to pay a hefty sum.  

Perhaps you're new to the saltwater tank hobby? I was---and it was the advice of the experts that helped me through. Back when I had still had a 30-gallon saltwater aquarium on the brain (I have since upgraded to a 75-gallon!!), I asked Logan of StonyReef.com for some suggestions for my new tank.  Here's what this saltwater pro had to say.--Ava

A: So as I mentioned, I'm currently setting up a new tank. It's in its beginning beginning stages. It's a 30 gallon tank and I have a Power Head. Just starting to look out for things like live rock, decorations, heater, etc. etc.  I'm not even sure yet whether I want to keep it reefs only or a mixture of live rock and fish! "

L: The best first step, in my opinion, and possible time / money saver, is deciding what you want to keep. Just fish (FO “fish only”), fish only with live rock (FOWLR) or a mix of it all with coral (reef tank). Beauty can be had in any of the set ups, but I think the initial decision is important, as it's going to play a role in the equipment, time & maintenance that the tank will require. Obviously that may change along the way, but if you can avoid buying extra equipment you don’t end up needing, or spending time getting that ‘skilter’ to work, not to mention making well researched choices in livestock (compatible fish, minding appropriate tank size, etc), you’ll save yourself and the animals some time and headaches.

This is the time of year, the beginning of a new year, where there always seems to be “Top 10” lists put out for everything.  Top 10 songs from the past year, Top 10 grossing movies, etc…The lists go on and on, so why not a Top 10 fish for a reef tank?  Now these are going to be my personal favorites so I am sure there are some that you will agree and some that you will disagree on, but that is all part of these lists.  For some I listed an individual fish, while others I listed a family of fish.  But I did try to pick my personal favorite from that family just to try to narrow my list down some.  So without further ado, let’s dive into my Top 10 fish for a reef aquarium:

10: Tangs  

A Sailfin Tang.  Photo by K. MacNeil

There are a number of different tangs available for a reef tank with all different colors of the rainbow.  You have Yellow tangs, Blue (Hippo, Regal) tangs, Sailfin Tangs, Powder Blue or Brown Tangs, etc… The list goes on and on.  My personal favorite is actually one that isn’t overly colorful compared to the others, the Sailfin tangs.  They have a darker body color, deep brown to almost black in color with yellow/gold colored stripes.  When they “stretch out” their fins, you can see where the name Sailfin comes from.  They almost double in size just from their fins fanning out.