This week I managed to get myself a new toy. You guessed it, an IPhone 4. So far I haven’t experience any of the issues that others have. No dropped calls, no white balance issues with the screen, or yellow spots. I’m must be one of the few.

This is my first IPhone and first smart phone. For the longest time I just couldn’t justify spending $50 + on a rate plan. But now I don’t know why I waited so long.

Well off I go to enjoy this wonder little phone.

Happy reefing.

Interested in a reef aquarium, but don’t want the large expense? Consider starting a nano reef! A nano aquarium is any aquarium with a water volume of 30 gallons or less. Nano aquariums are becoming increasingly common because of their small size, lower price, availability of pre-fabricated units, and unique look. However, there are greater challenges to successfully maintaining a nano aquarium than there are in a larger aquarium with a more forgiving water volume. After my share of nano reef trials, I’ve written a three step guide which will help you avoid some of these “small tank” woes.

1. Essential Planning

I recommend starting out with one of the commercially available nano aquariums on the market. These systems come complete with the tank, hood, lighting and filtration – all you’ll need to do is add sand, live rock, water, and a heater. Simplicity is your friend with a nano aquarium! I especially recommend the Oceanic’s BioCube models, which come in 8, 14, and 29 gallons. With an all in one nano aquarium, the only additional equipment you’ll need to purchase is a heater!

Once you’ve gotten the aquarium and other essential hardware, now the fun begins. Add aragonite sand (I’m not a fan of bare bottom aquariums) to a depth of .5-3″ before adding freshly mixed salt water (cover the sand with a bowl to prevent it from going everywhere!). Ensure the water has a specific gravity of ~1.025, and a pH of 8.3-8.4, and a temperature of ~75-78F before adding live rock.

In a nano reef aquarium, live rock combined with water movement will be all the filtration you’ll need. A pound of rock per gallon of water is the general rule of thumb, though more can be used if you’d prefer. Break up laminar (stream) currents by directing them on rocks or the tank walls to produce more natural, turbulent water motion. Try to elevate the live rock, creating ’shelves’ for future corals. Quality live rock is essential – do not skimp on live rock just to save a few dollars. I have found Gulf View rock to be of excellent quality, and fairly priced.

2. Stocking

Stocking options for a nano aquarium are very limited, and you should plan your purchases! Small fish such as some clownfish, damsels, dottybacks, basslets, and gobies will work well, but you won’t be able to keep very many. Pick one or two small fish to enjoy, but resist overstocking. If you want to keep larger fish, a nano aquarium isn’t for you.

Another benefit of an all-in-one tank is the built in lighting, if you’re interested in keeping corals. Many species of corals also make excellent candidates for the nano aquarium, such as zooanthids, ricordia, leather corals, mushrooms, and more. Be sure to research potential tank mates to make certain you can provide a suitable home.

Some of the all-in-one nano aquariums have enough lighting so that more advanced aquarists can stock ‘SPS’ (stony) corals, and other light demanding invertebrates. While not recommend for the beginner, success is certainly possible for a knowledgeable aquarist.

3. Water Quality

At one point, I was having a lot of trouble maintaining proper water quality. I was using various additives, which would cause my water chemistry to go out of whack because of the small water volume, which would lead to more water chemistry problems, causing a never ending cycle of problems. I finally realized something so simple it should have occurred to me sooner: stop using additives, and just stick to water changes! Weekly water changes of 50-75% are highly recommended to remove wastes and replace trace elements and calcium, especially if you plan on turning your nano aquarium into a nano reef. Just make sure your mix water is the same pH, temperature, and salinity as your tank water!

This “Nano in a Nutshell” guide should get you on your way to your first successful setup, but don’t neglect further reading as a tool to help you continue to achieve success with your new nano aquarium! Don’t forget to stop by my blog at blog.captive-aquatics.com for more valuable information about freshwater, saltwater, and reef aquariums!

Article by Mike Maddox
More information about freshwater aquariums, saltwater aquariums, reef aquariums, and ponds can be found at The Captive Aquatics Blog
For aquarium service, design, maintenance, installation, help, or consulting, visit the Captive Aquatics Homepage

Author: Mike Maddox
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Information

Well, this week I had to learn the hard way.  My 320 gig hard drive crashed totally unexpected.  Good thing I have a friend in the IT field.  He’s helping me recover my files.  Out of all the data that I have potentially lost, the 1500 pictures of my 17 month old daughter are the ones that bother me the most.  Hopefully this weekend I’ll be able to recover them.  Included in the lost files was my back up files for this site.  GGRRR!!!   What really pisses me off is the fact that I had bought an external drive a while ago that I was going to use for backing up my photography.  I definately learned the hard way.

To replace the crashed drive, I’ve since purchased a new Western digital 500Gig drive.  Since I’m not an IT guy, I’ll be calling on my friend one more time to to get me up and running again.  Thanks for you help Gary!

Happy Reefing…

Rich

Ever wish you could take a peek at a real living reef?  Well, here is an excellent live web cam.  There are several web cams to choose from.  From time to time you’ll see divers on the reef.  Hope you enjoy!  Breathebonaire.com

Happy Reefing!

Sad news this week. A local aquarium shop in the Toronto, Ontario area was hit by vandals, as reported in The Toronto Star. It is believed that a chemical substance smelling like bleach was poured into their main system kill hundreds of saltwater fish.

Reading around the web there is a lot of questions as to how this could have happened. Some say that the incident seems suspect and are pointing the finger at the owners and accusing them of allegedly doing this themselves as part of an insurance scam, others say that maybe it is the local competition. Read some of the comments on this local reef keeping forum. Hopefully whoever did this is brought to some justice. It is so unfortunate that there has been such a huge loss of aquatic life.

Here’s wishing the owners a speedy recovery!

Happy Reefing,
Rich

GreatReefTanks.com will be relaunching soon.  I hope you haven’t forgotten about me!