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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.
The aquarist has had the choice of two major forms[ of lighting for the reef aquarium, first, fluorescent tubes, and second metal halides. Many very beautiful captive reefs have been lit using one or the other, or a combination of both. Fluorescent tubes have been used to great effect on soft coral reefs where light doesn’t need to be so powerful. Hard coral reef aquarists, however, have usaquaed metal halide bulbs because of the more intense illumination they provide. Many aquarists have supplemented this lighting with actinic fluorescent tubes for two reasons - to supply the blue light which satisfies the light needs of symbiotic algae, and to provide a light step-down system (dawn and dusk) by using timers, for the benefit of fish.
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.
Aquarium lighting for a reef aquarium is very important. It is second in importance only to seawater quality. The lighting system needs careful consideration if corals are to prosper. In a fish only system the lighting is not particularly important. The fish need to see and also be seen, that’s all. Two fluorescent tubes¸ one white and one actinic blue are sufficient. Two tubes are required in order to create a ‘dawn and dusk’ cycle. Of course, the aquarist could use more tubes if desired.
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.
Water quality (in which I include water movement) is top of the list in importance when it comes to keeping a saltwater aquarium. Closely following water quality is aquarium lighting, as much life on the reef depends on it. The lighting used for a reef aquarium is more intense than on any other type. The reason for this is that we are trying to simulate the sun as far as humanly possible. Reef aquarium lighting is normally more towards the blue end of the colour spectrum as we are trying to produce the lighting colours present at between 10m and 30m in water depth.
A refugium can be made from many things in the aquarium but for the concept of this article we shall classify a refugium as an area which contains a sand covering and macro algae being grown. This type of refugium allows for two things to be completed : 1. A safe refuge for for animals to populate without fear of predation. 2. Excess nutrients to be removed by the macro algae growing.
Many reef aquarists see hard corals as the height of achievement and the closest thing to a real coral reef in captivity. This isn’t quite true of course, as parts of coral reefs are dominated by soft corals. Nevertheless, a hard coral reef can be very beautiful, and if the aquarist has selected the corals for shape and colour carefully it makes a stunning picture. The very first requirement for a successful hard coral reef is seawater quality - it must be high and consistently so. This includes the necessary levels of calcium, alkalinity etc. Water movement must also be appropriate, and hard corals generally prefer considerable movement, more so, again in general, than the soft corals.
In the refugium we are attempting to grow macro algae. The reason for this is that as they grow they remove nutrients like nitrate and phosphate out of the water. In a previous post I have discussed what type of lighting should be used so that you can get optimum algae growth plus I have also talked briefly about harvesting the algae from time to time. One thing which I have not really touched upon is how long you should provide lighting for. There are two methods available - one which I agree with and one which I don’t.
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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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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.
The protein skimmer is a device that is essential to the maintenance of high quality seawater in nearly all systems. There is a system that claims to not need a skimmer, but aquarists often run one anyway. Using a protein skimmer is particularly useful to experienced aquarists and beginners alike.
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.
There are parameters that need to be monitored in any marine aquarium, though reef aquariums need the most tests. One check applicable to all marine systems is salinity which should be checked weekly. The instrument used is the hydrometer, which sounds very scientific but in fact is simple and easy to use. It must be one of the quickest tests that the aquarist performs.
I thought I’d jot down what I consider to be the five major sins of a marine aquarist, be that for a reef tank or a fish only tank. They are not in any particular order. The list is not just aimed at beginners to the hobby who are just starting a saltwater aquarium but at aquarists of any level.
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.
Routine seawater changes are recommended for good reasons, for example minimising nitrate, re-introducing trace elements removed by protein skimming and/or activated carbon, and general freshening up.
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.
With keeping a saltwater aquarium there is one thing that you are definitely going to need to do : Keep the water warm. Not just warm but at a constant level with as few fluctuations as possible. Fish do not like fluctuations in temperature and corals are even more sensitive to it. Aquarium heaters come in all sorts of shape and sizes and this is where confusion can sometimes set in.
Aquarists keeping cold water systems very often employ chillers (coolers) to prevent the seawater warming up excessively. Warm water systems that are in naturally warm areas may well need to do the same to prevent overheating.