Old Tank Syndrome - What Does That Mean?

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.

If the beginner sets the aquarium up well, shows patience with stocking and stocks suitable livestock it is likely that all will be well. At this stage the aquarist is as keen as mustard, doing seawater changes, parameter tests and all the other maintenance tasks religiously. The aquarium reflects this with healthy fish displaying beautiful colours and corals well extended and growing. The months and perhaps years pass by.

Because everything is maintained well and stocking was properly done, the livestock remain healthy. No unwanted arrivals appear, such as hair algae and the like.

The aquarium is always the same. Same inhabitants. Same routine maintenance jobs. There is a danger that ‘routine’ becomes ‘boredom.’ No excitement from the purchase of a new fish. No watching corals develop, they have, and all that happens is that they are ‘fragged’ (cut) from time to time.

Very slowly during maintenance corners start to be cut. The intakes for powerheads and canister filters etc are not cleaned so regularly. The odd seawater change is missed and these ‘misses‘ increase. The protein skimmer doesn’t get cleaned - the aquarist is a ‘bit busy’, it could get cleaned tomorrow.

The outflow from tube delivered seawater reduces, there is a slow build up of calcareous deposits within the tube.

In the aquarium, corals grow larger and interfere with the seawater flow patterns causing some corals to lose flow. Similarly, the growth overshadows lower corals.

Lighting bulbs or tubes are not changed on time as they look bright enough, maybe the aquarist will do them eventually, but in the meantime the colour spectrum shifts and light output reduces because of age.

The aquarist, who is not as keen by any means as in the beginning, becomes despondent as problems are appearing in the aquarium. Smear algae here and there, corals that are not extending as before, corals lower down that do not open up, fish that are less lively and colourful than they used to be. There are two ways at this stage that the aquarist can go.

First, no longer enthusiastic as earlier, and unhappy with the aquarium which is now viewed as a chore, the aquarist could give up. Sell the system as a whole or in parts. For the sake of the livestock this is probably the best option in such a case.

Or, hopefully, the aquarist will be jerked awake! What’s going on? What’s the matter with the system, it was fine before? Then a seawater change will be done, parameters checked, corals cut, detritus and algae removed. Light bulbs or tubes will be obtained. The fight back has begun, and it will be won. All that was needed was ongoing maintenance and some discipline on occasion.

It is easy to let things slip.

So ’Old Tank Syndrome’ is, as the name implies, the opposite of the ’New’ version. It is caused by cutting corners and an increasing lack of attention by the aquarist. Easily remedied, the aquarium can be brought back to its former splendour.

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Tags: aquarium, Aquarium Maintenance, Care, marine-aquarium, reef-tank, saltwater-aquarium

Water Surface Scum

There are one or two things that can happen to an aquarium once it is running. The first, and most desired, is that it will be a beautiful and successful reef aquarium or fish only aquarium. There isn’t any reason why it shouldn’t be if research and design have been adequate.

High seawater quality is a requirement for success. The aquarist will spend time doing tests to confirm that the standard is being met. If it isn’t, then corals may well not extend fully, and fish, particularly the more sensitive types, will signal their displeasure by being less active.

The aquarist faced with a downturn in the quality of the aquarium display will sometimes be puzzled. The first and correct action is to carry out a full array of tests, including specific gravity (SG), pH, nitrate, ammonia and nitrite. The reef aquarium needs more if all parameters are to be checked for normality.

There is one parameter that is not often tested for, and that is oxygen. A carefully designed aquarium should never have a problem with this, but it can occur. A reduction in oxygen could be serious, obviously because the livestock require it, including the very important bio-filtration, and also because a lack could cause a pH fall (this is one indicator in overall testing).

Gas exchange, when oxygen is taken into the aquarium seawater, occurs at air/water interfaces. It follows that gas exchange is very important. One of the major areas, if not the major area, for gas exchange is the water surface in the aquarium. With adequate water movement oxygen is being replenished continually.

If the seawater develops a surface scum, then interference with gas exchange will occur. This surface scum can be made up of detritus and dissolved organic matter (DOM). How can DOM occur at the surface when a highly efficient protein skimmer is running? The skimmer can only deal with DOM that passes through its bubble chamber. The skimmer works because part of the organic molecule is attracted to air. There is a large air/water interface at the surface, so DOM ends up there and not in the skimmer.

This situation must be rectified and it is generally easy to do so. Having first made sure that seawater circulation is adequate, the aquarist can create a weir. This is where seawater is forced to overflow at the surface down to a sump, or trickle filter etc. The surface scum will flow over the weir with the seawater, get mixed in and become generally available to the skimmer. Many reef systems employ a weir or two. In systems where a weir cannot be employed because of the general construction of the system, such as their not being a sump present, then consideration to a sump could be given. There are advantages to using a sump. Where the aquarist cannot employ a sump or just doesn’t want one, then a canister filter could be the answer. The filtration employed will be purely mechanical. There are attachments available from one or two manufacturers that take seawater, or some of it, to the filter from the surface. A flat opening is situated at the surface where seawater can exit to the canister, taking any scum with it. The detritus that could be accumulating at the surface will be removed, and the DOM will be mixed into the seawater and become more available to the protein skimmer.

Even if there isn’t a noticeable reduction in the vitality of corals and/or fish, as part of ongoing awareness an occasional glance at the seawater surface, particularly from below, should be made to ensure that it is clear.

With modern aquarium systems the likelihood of surface scum is small, but the aquarist should be aware of the possibility. Keeping all aspects of aquarium functionality at optimum helps ensure the health and long life of our livestock.

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Tags: aquarium, Aquarium Maintenance, Aquarium Water, Care, marine-aquarium, Water Quality

The Fun Begins - Aquascaping

It can seem endless waiting for the aquarium to ‘happen.’ All the equipment to research and obtain never mind the mounting cost that always seems to be more than estimated. Nevertheless, the aquarist knows when the really exciting time is close as thoughts of aquarium interior design arise.

It may be a fish only system that is being considered, or a full-blown captive reef. Whatever, there are some considerations that must be applied, and other aspects can be the aquarist’s free hand.

The aquarist needs to decide, or maybe already has, what type of rock is to be used. Is it going to be live rock, or will it be porous and inert rock? Whichever, the aquarist needs to ensure that there is sufficient rock to complete the structure in mind. In addition, if live rock is to be used then there must be sufficient of high enough quality to ensure the filtration of the aquarium will be adequate.

Seawater flow in the aquarium is very important. Good movement ensures that there is good gas exchange at air/water interfaces. Flow throughout the rock formation is important as oxygenated seawater is available everywhere and the chance of stagnant areas is minimised. It also means, in the case of live rock, that the beneficial bacteria can inhabit more rock areas thus increasing available filtration (subject to available nutrients). So the first item to be kept in mind is that the rocks should not be tightly packed but more of a loose formation, though of course they need to be stable. Naturally obtained rocks are usually very random in shape and this is of help - it would be difficult to pack them closely together.

Another point to be kept in mind is that livestock need a home where they can feel secure. For example, fish need somewhere to retire for the night. It is a good idea to try and build in a cave or two as construction proceeds. As already said, it is likely that the rocks themselves, being randomly shaped, will create crevices and channels.

It is great fun creating a rock formation or reef. Of course, the aquarist with a nano aquarium will have less scope than someone with a much larger one. The small aquarium may take very few pieces of rock, but it can be surprising just how many formation variations can be tried with those few rocks. The larger aquarium can have a formation much more like a reef (whether a captive reef is intended or not), and the very large aquarium provides the freedom to really be creative.

Quite a few aquarists create a reef which is well constructed and interesting. These reefs go from one side of the aquarium to the other, and their top and front surfaces are generally straight. There’s nothing wrong with that, and if the aquarist wants that kind of construction then fine, so be it. However, these reef types have been likened to a greengrocer’s shop with the vegetables (corals) laid out. If the aquarium is fairly large, that is not a nano, why not slope the reef from one side to another, or run it flat and then let it drop away before it gets to the other end? In a large enough aquarium, the formation could start high, drop down lower in the middle then climb up again at the other end. The centre could pull back from the front glass to give some swimming space. In a larger aquarium, a central but offset pinnacle could be used, with a decorative sand bed around it. Or there could be two pinnacles, again with decorative sand around the bottom. As said, it depends on the size of the aquarium, but there is scope for imagination whatever the size might be.

The aquarist is going to look at his/her creation a lot in the future, so time spent in the initial construction of the reef is time well spent. Anyway, as said, its fun!

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Tags: Aquarium Filter, Aquarium Filtration, Aquarium Maintenance, Care, Equipment, live-rock

Night Time Is Just As Important As Day Time

Most (perhaps all?) life runs to a light and dark rhythm. Humans certainly do, we need our sleep.

Life on the wild reef isn’t an exception. During the day many fish and other life forms are out and about finding food. As soon as darkness approaches they find a safe sanctuary where they can pass the night, as at night other life emerges, much of it predatory.

So life is tuned to a night/day cycle. So it is in the aquarium as the livestock need the cycle to function. I don’t know what would occur to daylight loving stock if the lights were left permanently on, or vice versa, but it isn’t an experiment I’d care to undertake.

Providing a day/night cycle is simple. Let’s start with a fish only system. This system type is not normally lit by metal halide bulbs, but by fluorescent tubes. For the cycle to work there needs to be at least two tubes, one actinic and one marine white. There also needs to be two electric timers.

Each tube is connected through its ballast to a timer. The timers are set so that the actinic tube switches on about ½ hour before the marine white. At the other end of the cycle, the marine white is set to switch off ½ hour before the actinic. The marine white can be left to run between 8 and 10 hours, meaning that the actinic tube will be on 9 to 11 hours. The fish will now wake up to a ’dawn’ and be stimulated to prepare for night at ’dusk’.

The reef system is very similar, except that lighting on a reef system is more critical and more lights will often be present. This does not make any difference to the lighting cycle system though. If a metal halide is in use, then an electric timer will be required for this. The metal halide is the main light for the day period. If marine white tubes are in use, they will need to be connected through one electric timer. If not already present, the aquarist will need to provide one or better two actinic tubes, which need to be wired through the other electric timer. Again, the actinics switch on and off ½ hour before and after the main lighting. The main lighting can again be left on between 8 and 10 hours, again meaning the actinic will be on for between 9 and 11 hours.

The lighting periods suggested above are not critical, and the aquarist can make the timing choice according to the needs of the livestock.

Sometimes it is recommended that the main marine lighting should be on for 12 hours. This recommendation relates to the average tropical day which is circa 12 hours. However, there isn’t a need for intense lighting for this length of time as it doesn’t occur in the tropics. Either side of midday the light is intense, but earlier and later it is less. In addition, the power of the sun cannot be equated in the aquarium.

If a lighting regime such as outlined above is implemented, the aquarist will perhaps be surprised at how quickly the fish ‘learn’, appearing a little after ’dawn’ and preparing for night at ’dusk’.

The lighting regime is also good as it is much more natural than plunging the aquarium into light or darkness, which is bad. The closer to nature’s dawn/dusk environment the system is the more contented the livestock will be.

There is an advantage to the aquarist too. Watching the fish react to lighting changes is one. Using a torch and watching the night life is another, though more for the reef system. The aquarist could be surprised at the amount of life and movement there is after dark.

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Tags: Aquarium Lighting, Equipment, lighting cycle, marine lighting, moonlight, reef-tank

Demand For Clownfish May Be Putting Them In Peril

I read an article today which is basically saying that the numbers of clownfish have fallen by the region of 75% in some areas of the world.

The marine biologist who performed this study is putting this down to the Finding Nemo film.

I am not sure how true this is as it was just an article I was reading and was not the actual report from the marine biologist in question.

What they have said is that even though the Finding Nemo film is now around five years old children and adults alike are so taken with ‘Nemo’ that they want their very own Nemo lookalike.

I remember thinking at the time of the film that this could be good for the hobby but also thinking that it could be quite bad for the hobby. I was very dissapointed to see a lot of Finding Nemo aquariums coming up for sale with clownfish, regal tangs etc all being made available for sale in aquariums which were just too small for them. A lot of shops I admit refused to sell these items but there was a lot that did.

Don’t get me wrong I do think that the film did a lot of good for the marine hobby as it raised awareness of it but people started purchasing fish just because of the film without doing any research first as to what their requirements were. As we all know and John and I go on about it all the time research is imperative in this hobby - there is life at stake and we as responsible aquarists need to ensure that we do everything in our power to ensure that they are well cared for.

Anyway the study was apparently a five study of clownfish in Australia and on one coral reef his research found numbers had fallen from 25 to just 6.

If true it is quite worrying. I admit that you are able to purchase captive raised clownfish and I urge anyone who is interested in purchasing a fish to consider captive raised. not just for clownfish but for any fish.

It is the belief of the marine aquarists that clownfish should now be put on the endangered list.

One statement the marine biologist made was one I actually quite liked :

‘My message to kids who love the film is simple - tell your parents to leave Nemo in the sea where he belongs’

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Tags: Care, clownfish, Coral Reef, finding nemo, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium

Keep That Hydrometer Clean

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.

The hydrometer can only perform properly if it is in good condition. Any instrument that is damaged is suspect. Similarly, if there is a large change in the hydrometer reading to the previous week perhaps there is something amiss with the instrument. The best way of checking a hydrometer is to use it against another - an aquarist colleague can use his/her hydrometer and then the suspect one and compare, or the same thing can be done at the local retailer.

Usually there isn’t anything wrong with the hydrometer but the reading is being affected. With the ‘swing needle’ type instrument it can be salt deposits on the needle or the pin area. This can be avoided by leaving the hydrometer after use for an hour or so full of tap water, then emptying it out and allowing the instrument to air dry. If the hydrometer is the tube and floating needle type, again salt deposits can accumulate around the floating needle, sometimes where the water surface reaches. The solution is the same - leave the tube full of tap water and put the floating needle in. Be careful as the floating needle will sink. Leave for an hour or so and empty, wiping the floating needle dry with a clean cloth.

If the hydrometer seems to be giving an unusual reading, before finishing the test try the following. This should be done routinely at each test anyway. When using a ‘swing needle’ type make sure there aren’t any air bubbles attached to the swing needle by tapping it gently a few times with a pencil or similar. With the tube and floating needle type, make sure the reading is being taken with the eye horizontal to the top of the seawater surface, otherwise the angle could cause an incorrect read-out.

Also remember that if the aquarist has adjusted the aquarium temperature for any reason, this can affect the hydrometer reading.

It is unlikely that the hydrometer will fail as they are such simple pieces of equipment, particularly the ones designed for the hobby. All that is usually required is for a simple precaution to be taken when in use, such as the described lack of bubbles or a correct viewing angle, and also that there aren’t any salt deposits before the unit is stored away.

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Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Aquarium Water, Care, Equipment, salinity, Water Quality

You Tube Time!

Found this on You Tube.

Made me laugh - hope you enjoy it

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Tags: video, you tube

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