Expert Authors
Most Rated Articles
Nano/Pico's Articles
When a beginner starts to research this hobby cost obviously becomes a factor and for very good reason. The larger the aquarium which is chosen the more equipment which is required, more water, more lighting, more salt etc. The list goes on and on.
Recently Approved Articles
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.
Random Articles
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.
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.
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.
The canister filter has been in use for decades. Freshwater aquarists were the first to make use of them and they still do. Then along came the marine aquarium and the canister filter was employed to support those to. Canister filters have been around for so long that they are now very dependable and failures are rare.
Live rock is so called because it bears some of the tougher life forms that have survived the processes between the wild and the dealer’s sale tanks. In addition it harbours beneficial bacteria that are able to deal with ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
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.
In Part 1 stocking a fish only aquarium was considered. This time the reef aquarium will be looked at. Whatever the type of salt water aquarium, fish only or reef, water quality is important. In the reef aquarium, water quality needs to be excellent. Again, it is assumed that the aquarium is fully set up with suitable equipment, and the biological filtration (probably a ‘live’ rock reef with maybe a sump containing further filtration) is settled and adequate.
Keeping a seawater aquarium nowadays is a generally straightforward affair. Provided the design and setting up is satisfactory and the aquarist does the necessary periodic maintenance properly, the aquarium will give pleasure for a long period.
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 salinity of the marine aquarium is one of the major parameters that must be routinely checked. Salinity can change because of evaporation, and it is important to keep it stable. Daily top-ups of the water to a pre-determined level is an easy way, or using an auto top-up device.