Guides

Most people test their water hardest in the first fortnight and then taper off. That is roughly the opposite of what a tank needs. A brand new aquarium wants daily numbers for a few weeks and then almost none. A three year old reef with corals consuming alkalinity wants a weekly rhythm forever. Owning a fish tank gets easier once you know which of those two situations you are in, because the answer decides how many test kits you actually need to buy. Which numbers actually matter The full list of things you can measure in aquarium water runs to...

A skimmer is the one piece of life support most reefers fuss over, and for good reason. Get it right and your water stays clear, your nitrates sit low, and feeding heavily stops being scary. Get it wrong and you either drown in micro-bubbles or wonder why the cup never fills. This guide walks through how to choose one, sized for real Australian tanks rather than the optimistic number on the box. On this page What a skimmer actually does How to size one for your tank In-sump, hang-on, or external Pump types and why they matter What to look...

Most skimmer boxes quote a tank size like "up to 300L" and leave it at that. That number is measured against an empty glass box with no rock, no sand and no sump plumbing, which is why so many Brisbane reef tanks end up either drowning in microbubbles or barely skimming at all. Sizing a protein skimmer properly means working from your actual water volume and bioload, not the sticker on the packaging. This guide walks through nano tanks, mid-size reefs, and larger systems, with real stock and price bands to match.In this guide Why the box rating is misleading...

Scroll through any coral seller's site and you will hit the term WYSIWYG sooner or later, usually sitting next to a price tag that looks steeper than the frag two rows down with the same species name. If you have wondered what does WYSIWYG mean coral sellers keep stamping on their listings, the short answer is simple. The long answer, the one that actually stops you being disappointed when the box arrives, takes a bit more unpacking.Table of Contents What WYSIWYG Actually Means What It Guarantees and What It Does Not Why the Same Coral Looks Different Under Your Tank...

If you've spent any time browsing a Brisbane reef shop or scrolling coral listings online, you've probably noticed most corals for sale are tiny, thumbnail sized pieces glued to little plugs rather than full grown colonies. That's not a marketing trick. It's how the entire modern reef hobby sources its livestock, and understanding why will change how you shop, mount, and grow your first pieces.Table of Contents What is a coral frag Coral frag vs colony How coral frags are propagated Coral frag plug mounting What size to expect buying online Frag options compared Good, better, best starter picks FAQ...