ChromisReef.com is dead- Long live ChromisReef.com!

Dear readers,

My domain name (ChromisReef.com) has expired and will not be renewed.

After nearly a decade in the aquarium hobby and industry, I have temporarily (or possibly permanently) left the hobby to partake in other things in life that I enjoy (like keeping my money in my pocket, not my tank- WOOOAAA ZING!).

It has been fun sharing about my aquarium, tested products and new exciting products on the market. Without this blog, I may have lost interest much sooner.

I'd like to say thank you to my visitors that helped motivate me to post about whatever product or tank change I made. Also, while I received no monetary assistance from manufacturers, I'd like to send special thanks to the great teams at Marine Depot and PetStore.com for linking to my blog, providing me with products to test, and other assistance. Kudos to you guys!

Going forward, I will leave this site at it's hosted address: http://chromisreef.blogspot.com

Please feel free to browse around. I hope my few pages help you on your journey and help get someone into (or further into) the great world of freshwater and marine aquariums.

Thanks again, and keep on reefing!


Until next time,


Chris "Chromie" R.
ChromisReef.com

MarineDepot's Sneak Peak: JBJ RL-20 20 Gallon Frag Tank

(source: facebook/marinedepotdotcom)

Online aquarium retailer (and friends of ChromisReef.com), Marine Depot (MarineDepot.com), posted some sneak peak photos of the new JBJ 20 Gallon Rimless Frag Tank. Visit their Facebook Page for the detailed photos: www.facebook.com/marinedepotdotcom.

Chromis' Reef has the details, however!

The RL20, as it is called by JBJ, is a rimless aquarium measuring 24" x 20" x 9", equaling approximately 20 gallons of water volume. The aquarium is an All-In-One (AIO) system with built in filtration system, and a 266 gallon per hour power head. It is a solid aquarium, constructed of 6mm thick glass tank with a stylish curved front design. While the prototype shown features an outlet/return at the top of the aquarium, the final release will have the return at the bottom of aquarium. More on this in a moment.

The aquarium could be used as a display, but is designed with the coral propagator in mind: it's a frag tank. It is also suggested as a great tank for clams as you see the best of clams from the top.

More details after the break/jump...

May 2013 Aquarium Update

My aquarium is filling up quicker than ever. I owe a lot of the health to simple consistent maintenance... And my good friend, Kalkwasser.

The biopellets seem to be doing a great job at keeping nutrients down. Nitrates are still 0, and I've noticed almost no algae growing on the glass. I have also completely rid the tank of hair algae and cyano, so things are sitting pretty.

My only issues seem to be the loss or bleaching of SPS at the top of my rock. I lost two separate colonies of Green Slimer, my Pink and Damicornus isn't looking great, and my bird's nest is starting to show signs of bleaching. At this time I'm attributing it to the new Maxspect Razor (lighting system), and my attempts to increase the output past 50%. I have since reduced it back to the high 30's. Fingers: crossed.

More images after the jump...

Interesting Reef Finds at PetSmart?!

"Grabber Tool"

I know PetSmart has the reputation of being a "newb" spot... and with reason... However, we all know that any "advanced" hobbyist going to PetSmart for aquarium advice is probably not as "advanced" as they claim to be online (internet trolls), and I've been to plenty of Mom-and-Pop local fish stores (LFS) that dispensed the worst advice possible. I have a general distrust of many LFS as often they have incentives to sell you incompatible livestock and supplies you don't need. That's just me, and I know there are MANY great LFS out there (when you find a good one, stick with them and keep them in business!)... That said, I go to PetSmart primarily for dog supplies. I then tend to drift into my old stomping grounds, the fish department.

There's always a little room for freshwater

Reef tanks are beautiful and challenging, but I've always had a soft spot for freshwater aquaria and fish. While picking up some dog food, I made a trip to the oh so familiar fish section ("pet care") of PetSmart.

The Beta fish has always been one of my favorite fish, and it's been a while since I had a Betta. I was easily persuaded into taking home a new friend...

Jasper the Betta, rocking the 1.2 gallon

And we needed to add some more fish to add to the 18 gallon freshwater aquarium in the family room. I saw some Bolivian Ram Cichlids and had to get a pair. We also got a few Red Wag Platties.

Bolivian Ram Cichlids

Freshwater aquariums can be quite colorful and interesting too. While not a reef tank, freshwater aquariums can still be interesting and fun.

 

Red Wag Platties

Until next time...

Oppa Chromie Style

Rearranged the rock and coral a bit...

Saturday was reef maintenance day. To go along with the BioPellet experiment, I should post my test results:

Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0
Calcium: 420
Alkalinity: 7 dkh
Magnesium: 1500
Salinity (SG): 1.025
pH: 8.1

So far, Nitrates look good... BioPellets seem to be doing their job. The test results were decent enough considering the lack of attention I had paid to my aquarium. I do want to increase the Alkalinity and pH a little bit, but not too worried in the short term.

A "FishEye" View

24 hours later...

The Nano-cube is still cloudy. I cut up a filter sock and added it into the overflow. The tank is clearing up slowly. Started adding Microbacter7 to the tank. I'll seed the sand with some sand from an established tank, and I'll add some live rock from the same aquarium to speed up the cycle. More to come...