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Mention the word algae to a marine aquarist and the first thought is usually ‘marine nightmare’. Hair algae usually meets this criteria. It is unloved and unwanted. Strange to think that in the very early days of the marine aquarium the aquarist would be pleased to see the algae growth as it would improve the water quality by feeding on nutrients. Under good lighting, the algae also produces a lot of oxygen. That was true and still is, but nowadays all the aquarist wants is rid of it, or at least the excess growth. There are better ways of maintaining water quality.
The questions that arise about algae seem continuous, particularly those algae types that are considered a nuisance. New aquarists running a fish only aquarium or a reef aquarium can be subjected to the displeasure of nuisance algae, and the methods of dealing with the problem are all basically the same with small variations.
When you start a saltwater aquarium and have purchased your live rock or whatever decorations you are going to use then there will probably not be that much coralline algae in the system (especially if you have chosen not to use live rock!) If you are using live rock then dependant upon the quality of the live rock you should have some coralline algae of some type or other.
Coralline algae in the marine aquarium in my opinion makes the overall appearance much more attractive and natural. There are some people who dislike coralline algae and each to their own. I have a personal hatred to having any on the front glass and as soon as I spot any out comes the blade to scrape it off!
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Amino Acids are quickly becoming one of the most popular additives to any serious reef keeper’s arsenal. There are many different reasons why they are being used and many why I suggest everyone should use them.
Many aquarist’s have been bit by the red bug, or the monti nudibranches or flatworms etc etc. In this article I will explain a few ways to prevent these mishaps.
As an aquarium professional I would like to discuss the pressure our hobby as put on the worlds reefs and what we can do to minimize damage. First and foremost we must promote responsible reef keeping by learning and researching these wild animals we wish to care for out of their natural environment. Management through collector and consumer education as well as captive farming and aquaculture we can make this hobby sustainable.
The seas and oceans cover the majority of the planet surface. Within those seas the wild reefs have grown and all of their needs are met, be that calcium or whatever
Most marine systems are set up to house tropical livestock, which means that attention has to be given to maintaining a moderately high seawater temperature
…..I need a very basic list of needs for the basic marine system There are a lot of individual items about setting up a marine aquarium in the blog and article areas on this website, but nevertheless flicking around locating topics for a beginner who has little idea of the basics could be confusing. So an ‘in a nutshell’ list could be of help. We’re told it will be anyway, so here goes! Remember this is basic. At the end I’ve put article locations which could be of use.
Whatever type of marine system is kept lighting is important. With a fish only aquarium the fish need a day cycle and of course need to see where they are going.
Disease in the aquarium is one of the main fears of aquarists. Once the presence of a disease is known the aquarist’s stress level shoots up and quite understandably so – at the worst there could be a full aquarium wipe-out.
These lovely and strange life forms are very endearing and become a household pet very easily. Children in particular seem to be fascinated by them. The care of seahorses is not to be undertaken lightly. They need very similar maintenance to a fish only marine system, so the requirement to carry out maintenance regularly needs to be accepted.
There is understandably great fascination with some anemones, mainly because of their well known association with clownfish. Seeing these colourful little fish nestling in among what are normally dangerous tentacles is amazing.
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Water hardness in the marine aquarium is important. The term ‘water hardness’ is maybe too general. It would probably be better to call it carbonate hardness. Another term that is perhaps more recognised in marine hobby circles is alkalinity.
Aquarium filtration is at the very heart of the aquarium. Without it fish waste, uneaten food etc cannot be processed and with the aquarium being a closed environment before long the aquarium inhabitants are going to suffer. An aquarium cannot function without filtration. There are various ways to implement a filtration system to the aquarium one of which is the bio ball. But are they any good - do they work?
Over and over again I have said that research is imperative prior to starting your first home marine aquarium and I still stand by that it is and I am sure that lots of other people would agree with me. However with research comes the belief that the costs may be higher than they actually need to be. One of these such costs is the calcium reactor. For some reason there is a belief amongst many people that a calcium reactor is required right from the offset. A calcium reactor is a great device to install into the aquarium to ensure that the calcium requirements etc of the aquarium inhabitants are met and maintained.
Disease in the aquarium is one of the main fears of aquarists. Once the presence of a disease is known the aquarist’s stress level shoots up and quite understandably so – at the worst there could be a full aquarium wipe-out.
Our everyday lives are controlled by time. We may not like it but that is how it is. On the wild reef things are much the same. I know, reef life doesn’t have a lunch hour! What they do have is dawn, day, sunset and night. Life on the reef is controlled by these changes in light intensity. Daylight fish prepare to disappear into their secure holes when sunset arrives. Night life prepares to emerge. At dawn it reverses.
For once this is not a mistake of a beginner aquarist. This time it is the aquarist who has been ‘at it’ for a good while. A time period cannot be placed on the problem or its likely occurrence. It could appear after months or a couple of years. More likely it will be longer than that. At the other end, ‘New Tank Syndrome’ is a beginner’s mistake. The aquarium of whatever type was set up and the novice, itching with impatience, started to stock too early. Perhaps the bio-filtration was matured reasonably, but then stocking was too rapid and problems, or even disaster struck.
Shrimps are very well known to the marine aquarist. Perhaps the most well known are the cleaner shrimps, which are so interesting and ‘friendly’ - they climb around on the aquarist’s submerged hand without a care, though they’re actually looking for a morsel to eat. The hand must look like a very strange fish, but then there are some very strange looking fish in the wild, just look at frogfish as an example.
Aquarists use different types of equipment to assist in the running of their aquariums. These can be very important ‘must haves’ such as a protein skimmer and circulation pumps, or labour saving devices such as an automated evaporation top-up device or calcium reactor.
Mother Nature provides the habitat for the livestock that we aquarists keep in our fish only aquariums or reef aquariums, and this, of course, is the wild reef. Mother Nature is also the provider of the other obvious essential, and that is seawater. Having written the above it would seem absolutely wrong to state that natural seawater is not recommended. So it would be - natural seawater is recommended.
When setting up a marine aquarium one of the trickiest, most frustrating and ultimately most neglected things is when you get to the stage where you are ready to aquascape your marine aquarium.