Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.

  • You know you’re an aquarium nerd when…

    You know you’re an aquarium nerd when…

    You know you’re an aquarium nerd when… You’re enjoying a nice dinner out, with the family, at an Australian-themed steak house, and you are fixated on the kids’ activity book (I have three children, who are AWESOME, by the way), because there is a picture of ‘The Great Barrier Reef’ that they are supposed to…

  • Earth Day: 5 Ways to Be a Better Saltwater Aquarium Hobbyist Today

    Earth Day: 5 Ways to Be a Better Saltwater Aquarium Hobbyist Today

    Today is April 22nd, also known by some, as Earth Day. The first Earth Day was in 1970 and is credited for inspiring the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as the passage of the Clean air, Clean water and Endangered Species Acts. 5 Ways to Be a Better Saltwater Aquarium Hobbyist…

  • What is in the skimmate produced by a protein skimmer?

    What is in the skimmate produced by a protein skimmer?

    What is in the skimmate produced by a protein skimmer? It certainly isn’t sugar and spice and everything nice. The ooey-gooey smelly gunk inside the collection cup of my protein skimmer is a nasty, brown sludge. From a visual standpoint, there isn’t a single characteristic of that mess that seems like it belongs in my…

  • Daylight Savings Challenge For Saltwater Aquarium Enthusiasts

    Daylight Savings Challenge For Saltwater Aquarium Enthusiasts

    Daylight Savings Time is Coming Sunday is Daylight Savings, which means you are supposed to adjust your clock by one hour. Don’t just set your clock–take the Daylight Savings Aquarium Challenge A quick history lesson about Daylight Savings The concept of daylight savings was first popularized by Benjamin Franklin in 1784 as a notion to lower…

  • Clownfish and their anemone mutualism relationship

    Clownfish and their anemone mutualism relationship

    The common clownfish is probably the single-most popular saltwater aquarium fish out there–ever. There is just some universal appeal about the bright orange color with white and black stripes that captivates the human mind. I know that was one of the first fish I had to have, and I suspect it may have been one…

  • How to install an aquarium grounding probe in less than a minute.

    How to install an aquarium grounding probe in less than a minute.

    Want to know how to install an aquarium grounding probe? It’s easy. I’ll show you how. Installing the probe in my saltwater tank took me less than one minute. In fact, it took longer to take a few pictures and open the package than it took to install. How to install an aquarium grounding probe…

  • Paradox of the partial water change…do you ever get it all?

    Paradox of the partial water change…do you ever get it all?

    I rolled my sleeves up tonight and did a water change. While I was elbow deep in tank-water I found myself wondering if it was possible to calculate exactly what the perfect water change frequency was. To keep things simple, I will just focus on a single parameter–nitrates. I know that we all do water…

  • The Amazingly Simple Aquarium Refractometer

    The Amazingly Simple Aquarium Refractometer

    One of the items on my wish list this past year was a refractometer. For years and years, I have always used one of those swing-arm style hydrometers (specific gravity meters)…and I was convinced that refractometers weren’t worth all the hassle. Well, this year I put the old refractometer on the list and my wish…

  • Nothing good happens quickly in the saltwater aquarium hobby

    Nothing good happens quickly in the saltwater aquarium hobby

    Ironically, the topic of today’s blog post is patience–something I don’t have a lot of–and chances are, if you don’t have a lot of patience yourself, it may be too late for you. For the last several weeks, I wrote Holiday Gift-Giving Guides to help along the sometimes awkward conversations we have with our loved…

  • Holiday Gift Guide to Answer the Question “Where is That Fish I Bought You?”

    Holiday Gift Guide to Answer the Question “Where is That Fish I Bought You?”

    Happy Holidays. I know you were planning to buy (or bought) your loved one a fish for their saltwater aquarium. I wrote this guide to help them explain the question that is inevitably on your mind…”Where is that fish I bought you?” Scenario: I’m guessing your friend or loved one asked for a cool new…

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