When deciding to give a complete aquarium set up to someone as a gift for Christmas or another special occasion, there are some things that need to be considered before doing so. These helpful aquarium gift giving tips from your Guides will help you avoid pitfalls that can occur when buying such a gift, like purchasing unnecessary equipment and supplies, ending up with something that the giftee doesn't have room for, or spending beyond your budget.

More Gift Giving Help

Giving the right gift to aquarist can be challenging, but there are affordable gifts like an Automatic Fish Feeder or even a spare Submersible Aquarium Heater which are always appreciated.

Nano Cube Photo by PriceGrabber

It's not too late to make your own greeting cards to send out to friends and loved ones this holiday season! To make things even easier, I've added this new delightful Yellow Tang Santa with Ho-Ho-Ho greeting, which I designed using another one of my original watercolor paintings.

That's not all. Here are more Christmas fish art pictures that were also just added.

• Santa Yellow Tangs with Happy Holidays! Greeting
  

• Santa Yellow Tangs with Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Greeting
  
• Santa Yellow Tangs - No Text, Add Your Own Message Design

Aside from these new items, any of the free for personal use designs in my Yellow Tang Santa and Humu-Humu Ho-Ho Christmas Triggerfish collections can be combined when making cards and applied to make other items, so have fun being creative, or try these quick and easy to print specialty items.

• Santa Yellow Tangs Wrapping Paper (Template 1)
  
• Santa Yellow Tangs Wrapping Paper (Template 2)
  
• Santa Yellow Tang Gift Package Name Tags

-- HAPPY HOLIDAYS! from Debbie and Stan

Contrary to what some people would like you to believe, protein skimming ain't rocket science. Skimming is no more than injecting air bubbles into a water column, twirling them around for a bit, then skimming off the crud (proteins) that they collect. Exactly how different protein skimmers do this is a bit of an art, however. Here are the simple nuts and bolts of protein skimming. Understanding the principles makes it easier to find the right skimmer for your saltwater aquarium.

More: Top In/On Tank Protein Skimmers If you are planning to install a protein skimmer in or on your aquarium, these are the ones you will want to see. Compare Prices and save $$.

More: Top In/On Sump Protein Skimmers Compare prices on these state of the art sump mounted protein skimmers.

Some aquarists believe a QT is a waste of time and money, thinking that fish can stave off disease, parasites or infections on their own. Most experienced aquarists would disagree, having seen entire aquarium systems wiped out by the introduction of a new critter which brought a disease with it. You can decide for yourself if a QT is worth it.

More: Cheap, Easy DIY Quarantine Tanks. QT's don't need to be fancy or cost a lot of money, they just need to work.

Flash View the Top Cup & Sun Coral Species Photo Gallery, submitted to About Saltwater Aquariums for display in the Gallery, on coral photo pages and for entry in About Saltwater Aquariums Reef Tank Photo Contests.



Forums: Coral suggestions: I looking for some suggestions for corals to add to my tank. I have used up all of the real estate on the top of my rock formation, but there are lots of partial shade and full shade sports along the front of my rock wall....

Photo By Robert Bailey

When you start seeing those little white spots on your fish, quickly determining if it is Velvet (Oodinium) or White Spot (Cryptocaryon) Disease makes all the difference in the world if you want to cure it. Learn the difference between these two types of saltwater Ich, how to diagnose and properly treat each one.

More: Top Saltwater Ich Medications Which treat Ich and other parasitic infestations. Some of these are reef safe, others are not, so read the reviews carefully. You might want to keep this in your Aquarium First Aid Kit for immediate treatment when an outbreak occurs. Rapid treatment of Ich is best for a rapid and complete cure.

More: Saltwater Ich (Cryptocaryon) Life Cycle Shows when the Ich parasite can be treated.

More: Osmotic Shock Therapy A simple, effective, chemical free treatment for Saltwater Ich.

Forums: DF Puffer with Ick? My Dog Face Puffer has all of a sudden shown signs of ick. He has tiny white spots on ...

Mini-Reef Tanks are particularly good candidates for DIY Sumps. A sump can dramatically increase the equipment you can utilize in your aquarium system. Why pay a ton of money for a simple sump if you don't have to?

Forums: Wet/Dry Filter overflowing Help! I have a 72 Gallon Bow front tank that has been set up for about 4 years. I will start by saying I have done nothing different recently, made no changes. The last 2 times I have done a water change I have experienced the following: I turn off my pump before starting the ...

More: DIY Cabinet & Stand Plans Easy to build and can save you a lot of money.


More: What is a Sump? Do You Need One? Handy for holding pumps, skimmers and for use as a refugium.

Photo By Luis Contesini

Are air stone bubbles a sufficient source of oxygen? Just how efficient are those little bubbles that come out of air stones, or diffusers? Many aquarists believe they play an important role in an aquarium when it comes to oxygenation and aeration of the water, and that this air source is adequate. Not so! Low DO (Disolved Oxygen) levels in your tank water can cause a myriad of subtle problems. Fortunately, it isn't hard to increase your DO with little to no money.

More: Top Air Pump Picks Compare prices on aquarium air pumps your Guides consider to be some of the best choices on the market.

More: How To Use Powerheads for Water Circulation Increase the dissolved Oxygen in your aquarium with the use of a powerhead.

Having the opportunity to work in the fish department at the Animal Jungle Pet Store in Kinston, NC has given rise to many interesting questions from customers that want to start a saltwater aquarium. A particular question that we hear often is, when is live rock, well, live, which is a very good one.

What do you think? Read the conceptual points we have outlined in this discussion on what makes live rock live and see if you agree or disagree with them, and give us your input by participating in our poll.

More: Live Rock & Its Purpose What the heck is Live Rock, anyway? Why do people put it in their marine aquariums? How do you know what good Live Rock looks like? All of your questions are answered here.

Most people agree that there aren't many things more entertaining than watching Clownfish frolicking in Sea Anemones, as in these Top Clownfish/Anemone Photos.

From the prolific Aiptasia to the colorful Hawaiian Maroon to the Blue Carpet to the Rose Bubble Tip, Anemones are terrific additions to most marine reef aquariums. Did you know that, without sea anemones, there probably wouldn't be any Clownfish in the oceans today? In the wild, Clownfish have little defense against predators other than the stinging tentacles of anemones. In an aquarium, anemones make colorful, cozy houses for Clownfish which seem to revel in being massaged by their stinging tentacles.

It used to be thought that all anemones required a very high water quality as well as fairly intense tank lighting in order to thrive. As more anemone research and experimentation has been done, it has been found that many anemones actually prefer lower lighting levels and seem to do quite well when their diet is supplemented with a few bits of the seafood found in your local grocery store's freezer case.

Not all Clownfish will take to diving into all Anemones. Before purchasing a Clown or Anemone, some research should be done to see which ones will most likely pair up. Host Anemone & Clownfish Matches will show you which match ups are most likely to succeed in your tank.