Chemi-Pure more than just aquarium carbon. Review

Chemi-Pure is a nylon filter bag filled with a high grade blend of activated carbons and ion exchange resins. The activated carbons filter particulates and waste while the ion exchange resins help remove nitrogen (ammonia and nitrate) build up which is harmful to your fish. Chemi-Pure also stabilizes water chemistry while keeping your pH levels perfectly constant.

I prefer Chemi-Pure over regular carbon because it last four times as long and it helps stabilize pH levels.  You should replace the Chemi-Pure depending on how many fish/corals you have in your aquarium.  If your aquarium is crowded than you should be replacing your Chemi-Pure sooner than someone with less of a bio load.

Kent Marine Lugol's Solution Iodide

Kent Marine Lugol's Solution provides a strong source of free iodine and iodide to reef inhabitants and macroalgae.  Aquarium systems containing xenia and soft corals benefit the most from the use of Lugol's Solution.

Overdosing Iodine can have serious consequences on your tank, as it is both a strong oxidant as well as bacteriocidal. In other words, if you add too much iodine, you can wipe out your tank.

There are many Iodide products on the market today but I have had the most success with Kents Lugols Solution in my soft coral reef aquariums.

Help with Aquarium Algae

Has your aquarium ever looked like the picture above?  I want to go over several common reasons your aquarium would be over run with algae.  First off algae is a type of plant.  What makes a plant grow? The answer is fertilizer and sun light.  In the case of your aquarium the fertilizer would be high Nitrates and Phosphates.

Nitrates can come from over feeding your fish, poor aquarium filtration, and not doing proper aquarium maintenance.  If you are having algae problems you should have a water test done for Nitrates and Phosphates..

Sun light can come from the aquarium being located too close to a window or leaving the aquarium lights on too long.  If you have a fish only system.  I recommend only having the aquarium lights on when you are home and viewing your fish.  Cutting down on the light will reduce the amount of algae your aquarium receives.

So to help prevent algae blooms you must keep up on your aquarium maintenance, cut back on aquarium lighting when you can, and have your water tested for Nitrates and Phosphates.

Top 10 Common Mistakes for Aquariums

1. Overfeeding fish
Fish always look hungry. You should only feed your fish a small amount once or twice a day.  After feeding you should not see any food on the bottom of the tank.

2. Not letting your Aquarium Cycle
A new aquarium takes 4 to 6 weeks to go through the Nitrite cycle.  If you keep adding new fish to your aquarium during this time they will die. 

3. Not adding fish to start a Cycle
In order for your aquarium to go through a Nitrite cycle you must add some starter fish or if its a saltwater aquarium you can add live rock.  Just setting up a new aquarium by itself will not work.

4. Poor aquarium maintenance
The rule of thumb is to do at least a 20% monthly water change/gravel vac.  Of course this depends on what types of fish/invertebrates you are keeping and your aquarium set up.

5. Selecting incompatible fish or invertebrates
If you are reading this you have access to the Internet and have no excuse about not researching a fish or invertebrate before purchasing.  Do not just take a local fish stores employee's word for it.  Do your homework first!

6. Buying sick fish
Ask the fish store employee to feed the fish for you.  Make sure the fish is not showing any abnormal signs.  When in doubt do not purchase the fish and come back in a few days to see how it is doing. 

7. Beginning with a small aquarium
All too often beginners want to try out the hobby, by first getting a one gallon aquarium.  Which is really just a glorified fish bowl.  Small aquariums are hard to keep because of the volume of water.  I always recommend getting at least a 20 gallon aquarium for a beginner.  The volume of 20 gallons is a lot more forgiving to mistakes than a 1 gallon aquarium.

8. Poor aquarium set up.
Aquariums can be expensive but if you want to keep say a reef aquarium.  You need to get all the proper equipment required.  Do not try to skip out or go cheap.  You will only end up losing a lot of fish or corals and give up all together.  Remember you can find some good deals on craigslist.

9. Overcrowding
When purchasing a fish you should be thinking about how big the fish gets as an adult.  Also try adding more decorations instead of trying to fill your tank up with fish.

10. Not using a quarantine tank
This is a simple way to prevent your aquarium from getting disease.  Also you can medicate your sick fish safely in a quarantine tank.

Keeping Sharks in a Saltwater Aquarium

There are only a few sharks I would recommend for a home aquarium.  Unless you have the time, money, and expertise to do a 500 gallon + aquarium.  I would stick to the smaller sharks.


  Maintaining great water quality is key to keeping saltwater sharks.  When selecting an aquarium set up you should choose a long aquarium with limited decorations.  Sharks need room to swim and tend to bump into rocks and other things.  I recommend getting a large wet/dry filter with a in sump protein skimmer.  Also its important to make sure your aquarium is properly grounded using a titanium probe.

The Banded Shark  (Chiloscyllium punctatum) is a good choice for the home aquarium.  It is commonly seen in most local fish stores.  The Banded Shark will readily eat krill, squid, and live ghost shrimp.

The Coral Cat Shark (Atelomycterus marmoratus) is another good choice for the home aquarium. This shark will get two feet in length so you should be needing a large aquarium.

The White Spotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum) is one of my favorite home aquarium sharks.  Remember the cute little shark you see at the local fish store will get big and you need a large aquarium to keep them successfully.

AquaEuro USA 1/10 HP Aquarium Chiller Review

The AquaEuro USA 1/10 HP Aquarium Chiller is made by Hamilton Technology.  This is a great choice for a chiller for several reasons.  First the manufacture is local in Southern California and they have a great 1 year warranty.  Hamilton really stands behind there chillers and takes care of there customers.  The 1/10 HP AquaEuro USA Chiller will cool up to 80 gallon aquariums.  It can be used for both saltwater and freshwater aquariums.  The inlet/outlet are 1/2" and the chiller should have a flow of 200 - 315 gph.  The chiller does not come with a pump or tubing.  I like the digital temperature control, but you should always have a back up thermometer to make sure your chiller temperature is accurate.  Over all I recommend this chiller because its made in the USA and if anything goes wrong with it you can get it fixed by  Hamilton Technology.  You can find the AquaEuro USA 1/10 HP aquarium chiller on sale at FishKris.com

New Seahorse found!

In 1995 Hippocampus paradoxus was found off the waters of south-western Australia and taken to a local museum.
But it went unnoticed until 2006 when a staff member realized it was unusual.  The staff member performed a CT Scan of the specimen and found it was a new species of seahorse.  Notice Hippocampus paradoxus does not have a dorsal fin.  Scientist are now on the hunt to find another one but because this seahorse has very specific habitat requirements it may be already extinct.

 

Octopus in the Saltwater Aquarium

Octopuses are difficult but not impossible to keep in saltwater aquariums.  You will need at least a 40 gallon aquarium for them and you must be able to completely seal off the top of the aquarium or your Octopus will escape.  The Octopus needs an aquarium with plenty of live rock and ample hiding places.  They are a Nocturnal so Actinic lighting would be best.   I would recommend keeping them by themselves.

The Octopus can be fed live crayfish, live ghost shrimp, krill, and mussels.  There water quality must be optimal at all times, especially nitrates.  You should do small frequent water changes to siphon any left over food. 

Octopuses unfortunately only live 1 – 2 years.  They are one of the smartest and fascinating aquarium creatures you will ever keep.  I have heard stories of them breaking out of there aquarium and sliding across the floor into another aquarium to eat the fish and than return back to there original aquarium.   I was lucky enough to keep an Octopus for a year in a 60 gallon aquarium.  I trained my Octopus to take live shrimp out of my hand.  I can’t say enough how fun they are to watch but I would only recommend them for an advanced aquarist.

Salt Water Ich or White Spot Disease

Salt water Ich is one of the most common diseases found in the aquarium.  Saltwater Ich or Cyrptocaryon is a parasite that attaches itself to the skin of the fish.  Ich is present in most aquariums at all times.  Healthy fish can fight off the parasites with no problem. 

Signs of Salt Water Ich are salt like crystals on the skin of the fish.  Other signs include brushing up against rocks, heavy breathing, and lost of appetite.
Ich is a stressed induced disease.  The most common cause of Ich is temperature fluxuation and water quality.  One of the first things you should do is make sure your aquarium temperature stays the same through out the day.  Also, you should never have your aquarium by a window.  Any sudden drop in temperature will cause your fish to get Ich.

In fish only systems you can use Copper or Ich Cure for Saltwater Ich.  But I recommend raising the aquariums temperature to 82 F (this speeds up the Ich cycle) and using a garlic supplement.  The garlic supplement is reef friendly where Copper and Ich Cure will kill invertebrates.  Also make sure you check water quality, temperature fluxuation, and make sure your aquarium has a grounding probe.