Blue Horizon Aquarium Services Request a quote
0.0 m
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San Diego, California · Aquarium maintenance

Your tank lives by its readings. We hold them in range.

Scheduled aquarium maintenance, water testing, fish health consultations, tank setup, equipment installation and coral care — for reef, marine and freshwater systems across San Diego.

Request a quote See what a visit covers
San Diego, California Reef · Marine · Freshwater Scheduled maintenance contracts
−06 m
Filtration & equipment
Filtration & equipment

The parts you don't look at.

Most problems start below the display tank. Sump, pumps, plumbing, media and skimmer are inspected, cleaned and measured against the system they were built for — then serviced, upgraded or replaced when they stop holding.

Equipment installation is done with the cabinet open and the system running, so the tank never has to come down. Tank setup follows the same sequence, from plumbing and rockwork to first fill and first reading.

  1. 01 SurveySump, pumps, plumbing, media and skimmer checked against the original design.
  2. 02 CleanMechanical media, glass, skimmer cup and return lines brought back to spec.
  3. 03 InstallNew equipment fitted, primed and run in before the cabinet goes back together.
  4. 04 RecordWhat was found, what was changed, and what to watch before the next visit.
Hands working inside a lit aquarium filter cabinet
Service cabinet — media, pumps and return plumbing
A large reef aquarium glowing in a dim living room at dusk
Installed system, running at spec
−14 m
Water testing
Water testing

Numbers first.

Water is drawn and tested at every visit, with the results written down and the corrections made the same day. Nothing is dosed by feel, and nothing is adjusted without a reading in front of it.

If a value is drifting, you hear about it before it becomes a problem in the tank.

Test vials and a syringe laid out on a work bench
Samples drawn and read on site
Parameter Reference band
Temperature75–79 °F
Salinity1.024–1.026 SG
pH7.9–8.4
Alkalinity7–11 dKH
Calcium400–450 ppm
Magnesium1250–1400 ppm
Nitrateunder 5 ppm
Phosphateunder 0.05 ppm

Reference bands. These are the ranges we hold a mixed reef system to. Freshwater, marine fish-only and planted systems are held to their own set of numbers — we test to the system in front of us.

−22 m
Fish health
Fish health consultations

Fish health is a water question.

A fish that hides, stops feeding or breathes fast is telling you something about the system it lives in. We read behavior against the last set of numbers before anything is treated, moved or added.

Consultations are part of the maintenance visit — not a separate call-out you have to schedule around a problem.

Marine fish moving through rockwork in a lit aquarium
Behavior read against the last set of numbers

What a consultation covers

  • BehaviorFeeding response, territory and time spent in the open.
  • RespirationRate and gill movement, checked against the water's oxygen and flow.
  • ConditionColor, fins, body weight and any sign of injury.
  • ParasitesVisible spots, rubbing and lesions, caught early.
  • LoadStocking level measured against what the filtration can carry.
  • AcclimationQuarantine and introduction guidance before anything is added.
−30 m
Coral care
Coral care

Stability, then growth.

Coral responds to what is steady, not to what is dosed hardest. Lighting schedule, flow, alkalinity and calcium are kept inside a narrow band, and the tank is checked for pests and recession at every visit.

Coral care, by the visit

  • LightingSchedule, spectrum and placement on the rockwork.
  • FlowDirection and turnover across the colonies.
  • ChemistryAlkalinity and calcium held in a tight band.
  • PlacementAcclimation and spacing as the colonies grow out.
  • HealthPests, recession, bleaching and recovery.
Coral colonies growing under deep blue aquarium lighting
Colony placement and flow, checked at every visit
−40 m
The floor
Request a quote

Tell us what's in the tank.

Send the system details and we'll come back with a maintenance plan and a quote. Reef, marine or freshwater — tell us what the tank holds and what needs attention.

Serving San Diego, California

Blue Horizon Aquarium Services

  • Based inSan Diego, California
  • SystemsReef · Marine · Freshwater
  • ContractsScheduled maintenance, cleaning and water testing
  • AlsoTank setup, equipment installation, fish health consultations, coral care