The DIY Aquarium Stand - Some Resources To Help You
November 30, 2007
Planning and researching your saltwater aquarium is an important and at times very frustrating stage.
One of these areas is what to place the aquarium on.
There are many ways in which to do this. You can purhcase an aquarium which is sold with an aquarium stand. If you are not interested in DIY then you can have someone make a stand for you, however a lot of people, like me, prefer to make their own aquarium stand.
At first the idea of making your own stand appears quite straight forward, however when you start to think about it it becomes apparant that it is not as simple as your first thought. You have to take into consideration the strength of the wood so that it can hold the weight, the type of wood so that it does not rot, the plan of the design so that any plumbing can fit and sumps can be installed and accessed plus many more details which need to be considered.
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Tags: aquarium-stand, DIY, home-aquarium, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquariumRemember To Protect Your Reverse Osmosis Membrane
November 29, 2007
Water quality in the aquarium is of upmost importance and the aquarist needs to do everything they can to ensure that the water qualty does not drop to below par levels.
Water quality is measured in many ways with probably one of the most important being the water which is used to mix with the salt - in this instance reverse osmosis water.
The majority of reverse osmosis units are made up of numerous stages. Each of these stages has a function the main one of which is the reverse osmosis membrane.
The other stages used are normally along the lines of a pre-filter (sometimes called a sediment filter), a carbon filter and a DI stage.
The pre-filter and the carbon filter are normally located prior to the membrane and the DI unit located after the membrane.s
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Resources To Help You Make Your Own Live Rock
November 28, 2007
Live rock is a fantastic tool to use as a method of filtration in the saltwater aquarium. Another good thing about live rock is that it looks so natural in the aquarium.
There are a couple of issues however:
1. Live rock, dependant upon the amount required is not that cheap
2. You never quite get the shapes and sizes you need to create the rock structure you hoped for.
For these reasons and some others which I have not mentioned there are some people in this hobby who are now looking at making their own live rock.
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Oxydative Redox Potential (ORP)
November 27, 2007
Before reading this description it may be useful to read ‘Aquarium pH.’ This can be accessed by clicking on Articles (top of page), then scrolling down to the section named Water Quality.
Initially it should be stated that the aquarist has no need to delve into ORP unless there is a wish to, or the aquarist has advanced enough to believe that understanding will be of value.
The Redox Potential (RP) can be measured by means of a probe, and is measured in millivolts (mV). (The pH can also be measured likewise in mV.) The RP and pH of an aquarium are interdependent.
At RP 300 (pH 8.2) the seawater is considered to be moderately polluted. The RP relates to the pollution load and pH. At a pH of 8.2, if the seawater is polluted, the RP could measure less than +100mV.
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Deep Sand Bed Construction
November 26, 2007
The construction of a deep sand bed (DSB) is very simple and straightforward with only a few requirements.
Many marine aquarists undertake this job as they wish to maintain high water quality and at the same time have additional interest in the aquarium, which takes the form of the tiny, and sometimes not so tiny, life forms which hopefully will make the DSB their home.
Dr Ron Shimek is a very well known aquarist who undertakes research. Following is a link which provides all the information needed - sand type, depth etc - in the making of a DSB. In addition, some of the life forms that may inhabit the sand are given. It is very well worth a visit if a DSB is being considered.
http://www.ronshimek.com/Deep%20Sand%20Beds.htm
Tags: Aquarium Filter, Aquarium Filtration, deep-sand-bed, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium
Coral Problems
November 25, 2007
Anyone sitting down with a good gardening book can be taken aback by the number of problems that could be met by any particular plant. Some are hardier and more resistant to disease than others. This is of course true for all life forms.
The marine hobby world, be it a fish only aquarium or reef aquarium, is no exception. The fish can fall to disease, and so can corals.
This is not intended to be a cover-all for aquarium coral problems. The subject would be far too large. However, an attempt will be made to consider perhaps the more likely troubles.
To avoid as far as possible any problems arising in the first place, there are four areas that need attention.
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What To Look For When Considering Purchasing A New Fish
November 24, 2007
I went down to my local fish shop today as I needed some more salt. I have known the owner for many years now and he knows my saltwater aquarium nearly as well as I do.
I had a good look at the corals and the fish whilst I was there and then settled down with a coffee to have a good chat with the owner.
People came in and out of the shop - some purchased and some did not.
There was one person who came in, had a quick look in one of the fish tanks, came over to the counter interrupting our conversation and said to the owner ‘I want that fish’- not even a please. No questions were asked by the customer as to how long the fish had been in the shop etc.
If the owner had not started asking questions about his other stock, the aquarium setup etc then it would have been a disaster.
Why - well he did not even have a saltwater aquarium - he had a freshwater aquarium!
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