Advice

Remember, there are no set rules to fish keeping. Every tank is slightly different, so what may work for you may not work as well for someone else.

Ask to see the fish eating before you purchase it

If it doesn't want to eat, chances are it might not eat when you take it home.

Ask questions

Ask as many questions as you like, we are happy at Reeflections to sit down with you and answer your questions about the fish keeping hobby.

Do your research

Ask the staff at Reeflections and do your own research on fish keeping. Use the internet, books or your local library.

Do regular water changes

Do regular water changes to keep your nitrates as low as possible. Remember the more fish you have in your tank the more often you will have to do water changes.

Topping up your tank

Whenever your tank has some loss of water due to evaporation, use reverse osmosis (RO) water to top it up. But if you cant get hold of any RO water a simple tap water filter will do until you can get hold of some RO water.

Use a protein skimmer

This is one item you should put a lot of thought and time into. Because a cheap or not so well designed skimmer will not skim as much waste, and can sometimes be quite noisy. We at REEFlections recommend AquaMedic, Skimz, Tunze, and Deltec Skimmers.

Do not mix water

Avoid mixing water from any other source with your tank water. All shops sometimes have to use medications or water conditioners in their systems that can have an adverse effect on other creatures, especially corals and invertebrates.

Stocking your tank

At Reeflections we recommend that you stock your tank/s slowly, say about 2-3 fish at a time, but this will depend on the size of the fish and the size of your tank.

Good water movement

Good water circulation in a reef aquarium is always desirable for the health of your corals and fish. Usually around 20 x times your tank volume per hour is a good target to aim for. There's no hard science to it, there are tanks out there with anything from 15x up to even 60x per hour water movement, usually depending on what types of corals are being kept.

Test your water

Test your water as often as you can, we recommend about once a week until you get to know your tanks condition (more often when cycling your tank). If you are unsure of your tank condition or of your test kits, bring a sample of your water down to us (in a glass jar) and let us test it for you.

Fish grow

Some fish grow quite large, and will soon out grow your tank. So find out how large your purchase will get before you take it home. It may out grow your tank very quickly.