700 Gallon Jellyfish Aquarium 400 Gallon Mixed Reef Aquarium 800 Gallon Living Reef Aquarium 300 Gallon “Room Divider” Aquarium 500 Gallon Living Reef Aquarium Smithsonian’s 1200 Gallon Indo-Pacific Living Coral Reef Reef Aquaria Design is a full service aquarium design company that focuses on creating the finest examples of custom aquarium systems available. We focus on quality, providing our clients with systems that work. We want our projects to look fantastic on day one and better every day for years to come. We are a full service operation offering services ranging from consulting to complete design, fabrication, and installation packages. We see all of our projects through to completion and coordinate with contractors, architects, and designers to create functional pieces of living art for discerning clients around the globe. Over the past five decades, we have been creating aquariums of all types at the highest level possible. This commitment to perfecting our craft has allowed us to build a team of professionals with the common goal of bringing our clients’ dreams to life.

Take a look at a sampling of our custom aquarium projects, designed, built, and installed by our team. 810 Gallon Living Coral Reef Built from the ground up in 2010 on a stunning piece of waterfront property in Miami Beach, this home was designed around a massive 810 gallon living coral reef... 340 Gallon Living Coral Reef A gift from one client to her husband of decades, this reef aquarium was fast tracked from concept to completion within a month to ensure that the gift was a surprise...fish tank heater 200l 760 Gallon Jellyfish Aquariumfish tank heater not turning off The ever-changing graceful form and movement of these captive bred Moon Jellyfish create an amazing aesthetic in this stylized ultra-modern residence. fish tank snails floating

2000 Gallon Jellyfish Aquarium Reef Aquaria Design was contacted by a renowned French designer to help bring his vision to life for Steak 954 at the W Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale Beach. The history of RAD, is in part, a history of marine aquarium keeping itself. Jeff Turner grew up under the guidance of his father, Joe Turner, the first president of the Florida Marine Aquarium Society. online fish tank for catsA passion for the new hobby of marine aquarium keeping passed from father to son, and in adulthood, Jeff has dedicated his life to the industry. fish tank bigger than standBeing involved in all aspects of the aquarium industry came naturally, but a love for creating beautiful large aquarium systems would always remain central.fish tank for sale in atlanta

Read our entire history HERE. Reef Aquaria Design has built a dedicated team of professionals that work together to bring our clients’ aquarium dreams to life. Meet the whole team HERE. Jeff has spent almost the entirety of his life fully immersed in the aquarium industry. From working as an aquarium service technician as part of his father’s aquarium shop, to operating one of the first commercial live rock collection and wholesale companies and starting the first commercially successful marine ornamental aquaculture facility, Jeff has truly seen it all. J.R. combined his background in construction management with his saltwater aquarium hobby to settle in to a role at Reef Aquaria Design that allows him to create dream systems for discerning clients. Working closely with designers and architects, he has helped the company bring its visions to life through the development of detailed plans and 3D modeling technology. Gio brings an unrivaled enthusiasm to his work overseeing the care and continued support of all of our projects.

Always happy to help, he experiences a great deal of pride in watching Reef Aquaria Design’s projects grow and thrive over time. Gio manages a small team of highly qualified aquarium service technicians to ensure that all of our systems are as beautiful as ever. Mark brings a strong set of mechanical abilities in combination with a degree in Marine Biology to our efforts at Reef Aquaria Design. Mark handles complex installation work along with integrating upgrades into existing systems to ensure that everything is working in the most efficient manner possible. Please welcome back Desiree Leonard to That Fish Blog. We as biologists at times take our knowledge for granted and forget that not everyone that is involved in the hobby is fully aware of all of the natural processes and progressions which occur in a saltwater aquarium. Frequently we are contacted by frantic new aquarists with the following:  “I have little bug – like things crawling all over the rock in my saltwater tank. 

I swear they weren’t there before.  What are they and where did they come from? Are they going to make my fish sick?  How do I get rid of them?” Well, after talking the caller down off the ledge (so to speak), I give this answer: In all likelihood, these are Amphipods and Copepods; shrimp-like crustaceans that dwell in the substrate and rocks.  Because of the thousands of species contained within these groups in Class Crustacea, I am not going into detail about the taxonomy of these organisms, but here are some basic facts about these tiny crustaceans. • There are both pelagic (free swimming), and benthic (bottom dwelling) bugs. • Copepods occur in all types of aquatic ecosystems; freshwater, estuarine (brackish) and marine. • Amphipods are mostly found in marine ecosystems, but there are some freshwater and terrestrial species. • They are just a few of the tiny animal organisms that make up zooplankton, which contributes to the overall make up of plankton.

• These creatures eat phytoplankton (tiny plants and algae that also help make up plankton), small microzooplankton (the division of zooplankton that are smaller than 200 microns, or 1/127th of an inch in size), and detritus. • Only a few of the thousands of species of copepods and amphipods known are carnivorous or parasitic, and these are rarely found in a saltwater aquarium system. • For many saltwater fish and other marine species, copepods and amphipods are a primary food source, both in nature and in captivity. • Because these tiny organisms are a natural part of the plankton food chain in the ocean realm, they are naturally going to occur in a saltwater aquarium environment. They are also micro-cultured as food for various species of adult marine animals, as well as used and tested as a food source in the research of culturing and rearing all kinds of tank-raised fry. • Copepods and amphipods most often appear in closed aquarium systems after live sand and/or rock has been added. 

They will “bloom” in the tank when the temperature is slightly warmer and a food source is available. Another critter that may be seen is the isopod.  Also called pill bugs, fish lice and rolly-pollies, these animals are found in all parts of the marine environment.  Most isopods are free living and harmless, feeding on detritus and algaes, however, some are predatory, or parasitic, and dangerous to other reef aquarium animals. How did these “pods” get into the tank?  Well, they’ve most likely been there for a while, just not in numbers large enough to notice.  These organisms are microscopic or plankton sized when they start out, so until they grow large enough to be seen with the naked eye, you don’t know they are there.   They hitchhike in on live rock and sand, and it is only after you have placed it into your aquarium that these organisms crawl out and make themselves at home. If you have a large population of “pods” naturally, count yourself among the lucky few. 

Many aquarists go to great lengths to create a large healthy population in either their tank or refugium.  Remember, these “bugs” are a natural part of a healthy aquarium ecosystem, as well as an important food source required by some species to survive.  In most cases they won’t hurt anything.  You shouldn’t have to do anything about them.  If you are concerned however, you can provide a natural predator which should keep the population under control.  Here is a list of species which pick at live rock, or sift substrate in search of these tasty morsels.  Keep in mind those fish marked with a * are species which feed on these bugs as their primary food source.  They are challenging to keep, requiring a well established aquarium with a consistently high “pod” population to live on lest they starve.  Keeping more than one of these obligate “pod” eaters in a tank will most likely lead to a depleted food source.Synchiropus splendidus Blue/Psychadelic Mandarin, Synchiropus picturatus Green/Spotted Mandarin, Synchiropus stellatus Red Scooter/Starry Dragonet

• *Sand sifting gobies; Valenciennea spp. Sleeper Gobies, Signigobius biocellatus Twinspot/Signal Goby • Most Firefishes are planktivores which may occasionally pick these bugs from the rock. • Most Angel, Butterfly, Hawk, and Wrasse species spend their days grazing on fauna found on the rocks, however, do not consider this as a primary food source – merely an opportunistic treat. • Seahorses feed primarily on these “pods” but are not a beginner fish and should not be housed with other fish. Amphipods, copepods, and isopods are just a few of the fun little hitch-hikers we get questioned about, and we enjoy helping our customers with identification issues.  If you should have other fun things pop up in your ecosystem, here are some other things you can do to help identify them: • Buy some good invertebrate identification books for your saltwater reference library. • Refer to marine invertebrate database and profile information, as well as photo galleries.