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When an opinion was sought about which type of aquarium to keep, the intention wasn’t to pit one against the other in some sort of competition. It was asking me for an opinion and I have to openly admit that I am hopelessly biased. I think the marine side of the hobby, be it with a fish only aquarium or a reef aquarium, is unsurpassed.
A marine aquarium, be it fish only aquarium or a marine reef aquarium, is very attractive. Therefore it is quite understandable that the aquarist wishes to place it in an area with the most visual impact. The aquarium could go nearly anywhere in the house without too much difficulty.
Can the aquarist running a fish only aquarium has gained a great deal of valuable knowledge about husbandry. He/she has also been able to keep fish that the reef aquarist cannot. These fish are considered as not ‘reef friendly.’ This is the first consideration before any move is made towards a reef aquarium. The aquarist will know the fish being kept - are they reef friendly? If there is any doubt then research is needed. Chances should not be taken. If the aquarist cannot bear to part with any fish then either the aspiration for a reef aquarium should go, or a reef aquarium should be set up separately.
This is not an attempt to lay down railway lines for a converting aquarist to religiously follow, but hopefully a thought provoker that indicates some of what lies ahead. Quite a number of freshwater aquarists are tempted to keep marines because they see a stunning aquarium somewhere, or they realize that keeping marines is not as difficult as they first thought, or they feel they have accumulated enough experience to make the change. Not all freshwater aquarists are the same of course. There are some really beautiful decorated freshwater aquariums about, and keeping one of these is as difficult as a reef aquarium.
Whatever the reason the need arose to move an aquarium, and the sump if there is one, it is an action aquarists would mostly prefer to avoid. Avoidance unfortunately is usually not an option. Some aquarists take the opportunity to start again. They sell the aquarium system in entirety, and use the money obtained towards a new one. A good idea maybe, but the move still needs to take place. The advantage is the buyer usually collects and the buyer has the headache of putting it all back together again. Other aquarists will set up a new system in the desired location dry, and then move the contents of the old system directly to the new home, which does make things somewhat easier. Then the old system is sold.
There are many aspects in the aquarium which generate heat. There are pumps, heaters and of course the lighting. The choice of lighting normally determines if you will actually use a hood or not. If you choose to use fluorescent tubes then quite likely you will implement a hood or canopy as they are sometimes known. An aquarium hood may be used with metal halide lighting, however this will probably be determined by the choice of metal halide. If you elect for a pendant type then you may not use a hood, however if you use another type of metal halide then you may choose to use one.
If you have an aquarium where it is all self contained ie. all the equipment is installed in the main display aquarium then you wont have to worry about any plumbing - with the exception of course of external protein skimmers, canister filters, denitrators etc. If, however you have decided or are in the process of deciding whether to have an external sump, refugium etc then you are going to need to get the water down and back up again - this is where aquarium plumbing comes in.
For me I just love the sight of an anenomefish living in symbiosis with an anemone. An anemone which due to its very nature loves to eat fish and any other animal which fall prey to it. But not the anenomefish. It could be said I suppose that the anemone uses the anenomefish as a lure for other fish. Whatever it is it is a sight to behold.
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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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The salt water aquarist runs tests to ensure that the water quality in his/her aquarium is up to scratch. One of the tests should be phosphate, particularly in the case of a reef system. Phosphate (PO4) is measurable in the sea and is a requirement of living organisms. It is present in a very small amount, 0.03 ppm (parts per million).
The reef aquarium with hard corals (SPS) is the desire of many an aquarist. The sight of pictures on the internet and in books only serves to increase that desire. With modern aquaria and equipment, plus the knowledge gained over recent years, this desire can be met, and more easily than some suspect.
A deep sand bed is probably one of the most common additions to live rock filtration utilised within the marine aquarist world at the moment. The other is called a plenum which I will cover in a future post. A lot has been discovered over the years in relation to sand beds perhaps the biggest of which is the importance of the sand particle size and the depth of the bed. Let’s concentrate on the sand particle size first of all.
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?
This is a question which I get asked quite a lot. I have my own personal preference but in reality it is down to you as an aquarist to make your own decision based upon your personal preferences. I suppose really it depends upon whether the aquarium has water in it or not.
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.
The first thing that needs to be done after writing the above is to ensure the spelling is correct. It is a strange word to us ordinary mortals, but came into being with marine biologists. In the marine world one of the most fascinating double acts to watch is that of a clownfish and an anemone. The clown swims to the anemone and gains protection from the stinging tentacles, and, though there is argument, the anemone may gain by the clown chasing off unwanted threats to the anemone or dropping bits of food on it. To my knowledge anyway the anemone’s advantage is not fully clear.
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.
In some areas of the world, including mine, it isn’t often that the words “isn’t it warm” can be heard. Often it is the pitter-patter of rain, or in the winter the howl of winds and the formation of snow drifts. There are places in the world where it is always or mostly warm (coral reef areas are an obvious example). In the summer the weather can be warm and very pleasant where I live. Well, no problem with that says I! It can be a problem, though, if you keep a salt water aquarium.
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?