Mr. Saltwater Tank

Reef Junkie

Deep Cleaning a Protein Skimmer

Protein skimmers, like any piece of equipment in your tank get dirty – real dirty. Cleaning the neck is important, but every 6 months, your skimmer should be taken out and given a deep cleaning.

In this episode of Mr. …

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The One Piece of Tank Maintenance That If You Aren’t Doing, Could Cost You Your Tank

If you have a reef ready tank with a built in overflow, make sure you check and clean your your down pipe breather tube regularly! (If you run a hang on the back overflow box, you’re insane)

I awoke at …

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In the Spirit Of Friday Night: Mandarins Mating

I picked up a male Green Mandarin last week and to my delight, he paired right up with my female and they mated last night.

The mandarin’s mating dance is quite the sight to see as the male darts around …

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The Most Important Thing To Do Once You Replace Your Bulbs

When bulbs age, they lose their brightness, (called PAR) and their spectrum of color shifts. No matter how good your eyes are, you can’t see these changes.

So when you put in fresh bulbs, the new bulbs have more PAR …

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The 6 Month Rule for Lighting

One of the biggest debates in the saltwater tank world is how often light bulbs should be replaced.

Some people say every year, some say not until it burns out, some say every 6 months.

Here is the answer broken …

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Monster Tank Build with Liquid Cooled Lighting

For me, I’m ok with a 90 gallon tank.

For Stephen Keen of Hydro Innovations…not so much. 440 gallons is the right size for him.

I caught up with him in the early stages of his tank build so he …

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Global Warming…in My Tank Room?

Earlier in the year, I did a Mr. Saltwater Tank TV show on how to fix low pH issues in your tank.

One of the steps was to open your windows to let excess CO2 (carbon dioxide) in your house …

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Tank Personalities: It’s Not about the Skills

Moving between tank personalities is not a matter of a skill set. You can be brand new into the hobby of saltwater tank keeping, and be a reef enthusiast. Likewise, you could have years of experience, and be a tank …

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Auto Top Offs (ATO) Biggest Secret

Running an Auto Top Off (ATO) is one of the easiest ways to keep your tank running smoothly. An ATO unit keeps a constant water level in your tank, which makes sure your protein skimmer runs correctly and keeps your …

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Where I’ve Been and What I’ve Been Up To

For those of you who read my blog regularly, you’ve probably noticed that things have been a little quiet in Mr. Saltwater Tank world.

Why is that? Well, I’ve been spending time with my son, Bridger, who was born in …

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