What I Look for in a Light: 5 Things Most Hobbyists Overlook on Amazon

We’ve all been there. You’re scrolling through Amazon, and you see a reef LED with “2,000 Watts” (at least that’s what the title says) for $69.99. The photos look photoshopped, the reviews are glowing, and your wallet starts twitching. As someone who spends my days in a lab testing the spectral output of the MegaReef […]

Small Tank, Big Light: How I Managed Thermal Issues in Nano-Reef Setups

I’ve always had a soft spot for Nano reefs. There is something incredibly rewarding about packing a diverse ecosystem into a 10 or 20-gallon tank. But as I’ve learned from building the MegaReef 100, putting a high-performance LED over a small volume of water presents a unique challenge: Heat. In a small tank, your light […]

Identifying “Light Stress”: Is Your LPS Bleaching or Just Hungry?

One of the most common SOS messages I get from reefers starts with: “My Torch coral looks pale and retracted. Is it getting too much light, or not enough?” In my years of troubleshooting reef tanks, I’ve realized that LPS corals (Large Polyp Stony) like Hammers, Torches, and Elegance corals are the “drama queens” of […]