Mark Valderrama

Mark is the founder of Aquarium Store Depot. He started in the aquarium hobby at the age of 11 and along the way worked at local fish stores. He has kept freshwater tanks, ponds, and reef tanks for over 25 years. His site was created to share his knowledge and unique teaching style on a larger scale. He has worked on making aquarium and pond keeping approachable. Mark has been featured in two books about aquarium keeping - both best sellers on Amazon. Each year, he continues to help his readers and clients with knowledge, professional builds, and troubleshooting. He maintains the content of this site with a strong Editorial Process and provides a practical and real-life review process on all products reviewed and tested.
Honest Blogging about Aquarium Keeping.
Best Aquarium Wavemaker

The 10 Best Aquarium Wavemakers Of 2024 – Tested and Reviewed

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Technology has gone a far way since I started in aquariums. Before, there were standard powerheads that would distribute a fixed flow and stream in your water column. Now you have these items called wavemakers that provide a wider and more powerful stream of water flow in your aquarium. A lot of manufacturers have entered the fray release their own wavemakers, but what is the best aquarium wavemaker? 

There are so many wavemakers out there and now there are DC powered wavemakers that have a ton of controllability. Which one is the right one for you? Today’s post hopefully will clear that all up for you in deciding what wavemaker will work best for your aquarium.

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How to Get Rid of Dinoflagellates – Control, Prevention, & Removal

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Unfortunately, dinoflagellates quickly become a nuisance in an aquarium environment. 

Dinoflagellates quickly overrun the surface in your aquarium because there is no specific ecosystem for them to survive. Depending on the conditions, dinoflagellates can multiply up to a million cells in one milliliter of water in just a short period of time. The bigger the population, a higher chance that it will make the water toxic and can kill other life form inside your tank. So, it’s important to control dinoflagellate population as early as possible before it occupies every space inside your aquarium. 

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Algae Scrubber Vs The World (Algae Reactor, Biopellets, GFO, Cheato, Fuges)

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Algae scrubbers are finally starting to pick up mainstream acceptance in the Reefkeeping community! As someone who has advocated, for many years it great to see them more widely accepted. There is still a lot of skepticism in the industry though and many store still push other products and solution. I created this article below so you can see the differences between an Algae Scrubber (AKA Algae Turf Scrubber) and other solutions like there. Let’s get started.

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