Education

Here are some easy acclimation procedures for newly arrived saltwater fish. To reduce any additional stress on your saltwater fish, turn off all the lights on the tank before introducing the new fish. Complete the following steps within one hour of delivery.

1. Float the sealed bag in your aquarium for 15-20 minutes to equalize temperature.
2. Open the bag and add a half cup of tank water to the bag.
3. Repeat the water addition every 5 minutes for 20-25 minutes.
4. As you add water, remove an equal amount of bag water to keep the volume manageable.
5. After acclimation, use a net to move the fish into the tank — do not pour the bag water into your tank.
6. Discard the remaining bag water; never introduce it into your aquarium.
7. Keep the lights off for a few hours after introduction to help the fish settle in.

Corals and clams are much more sensitive to changes in water chemistry than fish, so we recommend the slower drip acclimation method below rather than a simple floating acclimation.

1. Turn off the lights on your display tank before you begin.
2. Float the sealed bag for 15 minutes to equalize temperature.
3. Empty the bag, coral and all, into a clean acclimation container.
4. Set up a drip line from your display tank into the container using airline tubing and a control valve (or drip clamp), and start a slow drip of about 2-4 drips per second.
5. Let the water in the container double in volume over roughly 30-45 minutes.
6. Once doubled, discard half the water in the container and let it drip and double again.
7. Gently move the coral or clam by hand (never pour) into your display tank, keeping it submerged the entire time.

Algae is one of the most common headaches in the hobby, but it's almost always a sign that one of a few key factors is out of balance:

• Temperature: Keep your tank in a stable range, generally 76-80°F for a saltwater reef tank. Fluctuating or elevated temperatures encourage algae growth.
• Lighting: Excess light duration or intensity is one of the biggest algae triggers. Start with 6-8 hours of light per day and adjust based on how your tank responds.
• Phosphates & nitrates: Elevated phosphates are a leading cause of nuisance algae. Running your top-off water through an RO/DI filter removes phosphates before they ever enter the tank, and a phosphate-absorbing media like Seachem PhosGuard (see our Phosphate Control products) can pull existing phosphates out of the water column.
• UV sterilization: A UV sterilizer helps control free-floating algae and pathogens by neutralizing them as water passes through the unit.
• Clean-up crew: Snails, hermit crabs, and other clean-up crew members graze on algae naturally and are one of the best long-term defenses against an outbreak. Contact us and we can help put together a custom clean-up crew for your tank.