Care guides
No-fluff guides, written by reef-keepers.
Cycling, chemistry, lighting, aquascaping, fish health — the articles we wished existed when we started.
Browse by topic
Beginner
Start here. The fundamentals of keeping a saltwater tank.
Equipment
Lights, skimmers, return pumps, controllers — what to buy and why.
Water Chemistry
Salinity, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, phosphate.
Coral Care
Lighting, flow, feeding, and placement for SPS, LPS, and softies.
Fish Health
Quarantine, ich, common diseases, and how to treat them.
Aquascaping
Building rockwork, flow planning, and visual design.
Advanced
Deep cuts on biology, automation, and reef chemistry.
All guides
How to cycle a saltwater tank (the right way)
Cycling builds the bacterial colonies that keep fish alive. Done wrong it kills livestock. Here is the patient, no-shortcut version.
Your first saltwater fish: 7 species that won't break your heart
Once your tank is cycled, you need a hardy fish that survives beginner mistakes. These seven species have a track record.
Saltwater vs. freshwater: an honest comparison
Saltwater isn't 'just freshwater with salt added.' Here's what's actually different — cost, livestock, time, and the satisfaction at the end.
Equipment essentials: what your first reef tank actually needs
Strip out the marketing. This is the gear list that matters for a stable, beautiful first reef — and what you can defer.
Water chemistry, demystified: salinity, alkalinity, calcium, and friends
Reef chemistry is intimidating. It shouldn't be. Here's what each parameter actually does, what numbers to target, and why.
Reef lighting 101: PAR, spectrum, and what your corals actually need
Behind every coral that grows is a light it likes. Here's how to think about lighting without getting lost in the spec-sheet weeds.
Water changes: how often, how much, and how to make them painless
Water changes are the single most reliable maintenance task in reef-keeping. Done right, they're 30 minutes a week. Done wrong, they hurt.
Aquascaping fundamentals: building rockwork that actually works
Aquascaping is part art, part flow plumbing. Here's how to build a rockwork that's beautiful, stable, and supports a healthy reef.
Quarantine: the unsexy practice that saves your tank
Quarantine is dull, slow, and the single most effective thing you can do to prevent catastrophic fish loss. Here's the protocol.