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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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Ensuring that the aquarium is level is important. Sometimes if it is slightly out of level it doesn’t matter as the water surface is often above the lowest part of the aquarium hood, or there is a black band on the aquarium to hide the water surface. If the water level can be seen it needs to be visually correct, and in any case it is best if the stand is level in any circumstance for support.
There is a variety of equipment to assist in the maintenance of a marine aquarium. Some are essential such as the heater/thermostat, others are supportive for example the auto top-up system. The calcium reactor is often supportive, but in some circumstances it can be argued that it is essential.
The purpose of acclimatisation is simple - the water that the animal is packaged in may have a different temperature, pH and salinity than that of your aquarium. Aquatic life (especially corals and invertebrates) are very sensitive to minor changes in water parameters therefore acclimatisation is a requirement for success. There are two ways which are recommended to acclimatise your new purchase to your aquarium. Neither of these should be rushed and should both be performed with the aquarium lights off. The lights should also remain off for a further 6 to 12 hours after the animal has been introduced to the quarantine tank, or the main display tank, whichever you are using.
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
One of the questions which I am asked quite a lot is how do I hide all the plumbing and/or wires around the back of the tank so that they are not visible from the front. And I agree it does not look natural. You set your aquarium up and all the rock is aquascaped perfectly yet all you can see through the back of the tank is the wall, wires, pipework etc.
Once the aquarium is up and running then the aquarist should stand back and admire it. This relaxing period is well deserved, after all a lot of time has been spent in planning and obtaining equipment never mind the cost of it all.
Not more testing! Those aquarists with a reef aquarium will no doubt feel that they do enough already. The testing here is not of the aquarium seawater, it’s what goes into the aquarium in the form of routine seawater changes and evaporation top-ups. These routine seawater changes are designed to assist in maintaining high quality by replacing at least partially trace elements and ‘freshening’ generally. Taking this into account there doesn’t want to be anything being put into the aquarium that could be detrimental to it.
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.
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.
Whilst doing your research (which if you have not gathered by now is very important!) you will have probably heard of a term called the ‘Berlin Method’ but do you actually know what it is and what it means?