A couple tips we sent out via our email list!

Hi,

It’s Gavin from Aquarium Arts. Here’s this week’s quick tank upgrade.

Saltwater Tip of the Week: How to get new tank syndrome algae under control.

A lot of new hobbyists in the saltwater hobby get gnarly algae growth in the first couple weeks. Sometimes this goes away on its own but other times it lingers.

Here’s a quick checklist to manage it:

Make sure your lighting is on a timer. 8-10 hours a day is enough for most setups.
Be sure you are not overfeeding.
Establish a cleanup crew. Some of our favorites are astrea snails, trochus snails, blue leg hermit crabs, nassarius snails, cerith snails, and conchs. Different snails can reach different parts of the aquarium.

Pro Tip: Tropic Marin reef actif is a great additive to establish your bacterial population so you don’t see as many serious outbreaks of things like dinoflagellates or other more serious nuisance algaes. It acts as a light form of carbon dosing (different from carbon filter) that is easy to use. Along with keeping nuisances at bay, it also helps feed the corals. It works well in any saltwater aquarium, not just reef tanks. We simply dose the recommended amount after water changes in our systems, and it helps keep them stable!

A recent success we saw:

2 months ago a customer came in with extreme cyanobacteria. We had them cut back feeding 20% to help dial in phosphate and we recommended Tropic Marin reef actif. Since then, their corals are popping and the cyanobacteria is nearly all gone! When it comes to aquariums, sometimes all it takes is a small tweak and some time and consistency.

Freshwater Tip of the week: Managing Arizona water.

At this point I probably sound like a broken record but we keep having people come in week after week struggling to keep fish on the freshwater side and it is almost always due to their water source. Tap water or hose water out here in Arizona simply cannot be trusted even with a “50/50” mix and even with a dechlorinator. TDS is still through the roof and PH is out of control.

Here’s what we do:

RODI water. This can be purchased at the shop here by the gallon or you can purchase an RODI unit and hook it up to an extra sink (laundry room, garage).
Remineralizer (Seachem equilibrium or Brightwell remineralize p). Follow the directions. We like a tds of 150-300 for most freshwater fish and plants.

Since we switched over to this method a few years ago, we haven’t looked back. The fish stay healthier longer. They color up better, and we have been able to massively increase our plant selection. It takes us more time and costs us more, but it is much better for the fish.

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