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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.
When an aquarium is ready for coral stocking, or is up and running and additional coral stocking is being contemplated, a trip is usually taken to the local retailer to decide on what to purchase. On arrival, more often than not there is a large range of corals on display of both the hard and soft varieties, though the latter may be in higher numbers.
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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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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.
The filtration system of any aquarium is absolutely essential. This filtration is the life blood of the aquarium system. It is especially more so in a marine tank as the life maintained is more sensitive to change. You must implement an effective and efficient filtration system. Think of it this way, when you are building a flat pack piece of furniture you slowly assemble everything using as much patience and care as you can muster, you follow the instructions to the letter and at the end you have a fantastic piece of furniture which will take pride of place in your home. However….
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.
When the aquarium is clean it can look amazing to the eye - both for yourself and for anyone who see’s it. The trouble is they don’t keep themselves clean do they.
When this topic arose I wondered what to do with it. The reason I wondered is that this website is designed for beginners and ‘earlier-on’ aquarists (though I notice that experienced aquarists are now visiting, and they’re more than welcome). Lighting is a scientific and technical subject.
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!
The function of the filtration is to ensure that the relevant nutrients in the water are processed. These nutrients occur due to the inhabitants being kept in a closed environment - the aquarium. Of course life in the ocean also creates waste yet the ocean is so vast that the waste/nutrients are controlled. Look at the oceans filtration - huge sumps, loads of live rock, the biggest deep sand beds ever, mangrove swamps etc.
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.
Everyone who goes to the seaside for a day out or a holiday and has a paddle or a swim knows that a mouthful of water is salty. This saltiness is important, and the level of it. Livestock that comes from the wild reefs is used to stability, and this stability requirement also applies in the aquarium.
After water quality and then lighting water circulation, in my opinion comes next. Not just any water circulation though - you can’t just chuck powerheads left right and centre into the aquarium and turn it into a washing machine - you have to create the right water flow. The water flow which you need to create depends upon the livestock you keep in the aquarium. If you are a fish only aquarist then the water circulation requirements are minimal. Corals, however are more demanding in water circulation for various reasons. Years ago the only option which was available to saltwater aquarists was the powerhead and to be honest we had to be creative as to the ways we positioned these powerheads to achieve optimum results.