I Blame The Children…

I was sitting thinking the other day. Nowadays I try to avoid thinking too much, as in this world there is always so much to think about that I just try and enjoy ‘now’. Anyway, you know how it goes, one thought leads to another.

I got to thinking about the fish in my reef aquarium. I wondered if they missed the wild reef. ‘No’ was the answer, because as far as I know they only have the brain to eat, avoid being eaten, reproduce and respond to light. So thought processes of any sort don’t occur. They just accept, the reef aquarium is home. Great food though, occurs very timeously!

Then I thought back to the aquarium before the current one, which was also a reef though larger, it was in my previous house and when I moved I sold it all off. I also had a ‘picture’ aquarium as well, not the very thin ones but a proper sized aquarium built into the wall. That was also a reef and, excluding the current one, the most successful I have owned. There have been a few.

Anyway, as said I thought through the aquariums I have owned and upgraded. Eventually I got to the very start of things, the pre-marine days. That was a while ago. I had a tropical freshwater aquarium and thought it was really something else until I saw marine fish. Say no more, I’m sure there are plenty who have the same story.

However, I didn’t ever sit down and make a decision to keep fish, any kind of fish. I did have a cold water aquarium when I was a child; it was located in the hall of my parent’s house. There were a couple of goldfish and a small catfish in it. I remember hatching frogspawn in an old bath, and then later the fish appeared. My father did the maintenance of course; I just spent time watching them. The fish were obtained maybe to avoid the great numbers of tiny frogs that appeared.

So I as a child was the cause of the fish appearing.

When I had become a parent and had two fairly small children of my own, Peter and Michael, we all visited the fair as families do. One of us, I don’t recall who, won a goldfish in a plastic bag which came home, and very swiftly a very small aquarium was acquired to keep it in. The aquarium was on a shelf.

It wasn’t long before another goldfish took up residence as someone, again I don’t recall who, thought the original might be lonely.

I had to maintain the aquarium of course. I also used to watch the goldfish swimming about and found it quite relaxing – my job used to carry quite high occasional stress and it probably helped.

It was from those two goldfish that a freshwater tropical aquarium began. It was quite absorbing setting it up and doing the maintenance and again I would sit and watch.

As said, marines made their appearance when the beautiful colours were seen.

So, I was the cause of fish in the house when a child. My children were the cause of fish in my house.

I know that Michael has resisted attempts by his 5 year old daughter Emily to obtain a rabbit. He hasn’t diverted her attention with any fish – yet. There’s his son Jamie, now 3½, so it probably won’t be long before another request is forthcoming, for a dog, or guinea pig, or whatever. That will start Emily off again. I wonder if some fish will appear.

Peter has got it the wrong way round, but it was still caused by his son Joshua. Peter set up a tropical fresh water aquarium which very soon became larger and marine. This was before Joshua arrived. Joshua, just 6, has now got his own cold water aquarium, with two goldfish (‘Sunny’ and ‘Cloudy’). It even has an electrically powered filter unit. Joshua feeds them very well under Peter’s watchful eye.

I bet there are lots of households where children have been the major influence in the appearance of an aquarium. Perhaps the parents saw it as the easier option, as there isn’t any need to take a fish for a walk!

If you haven’t any children just yet, then enjoy your time but watch out. It could very well be that an aquarium will appear.

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The Location For A Deep Sand Bed

The deep sand bed (DSB) is a popular filtration addition used by many aquarists. Also, interest is added to the aquarium – the DSB over the course of time should develop its own population of life.

Using live rock for bio-filtration is popular nowadays. Linking the live rock with a DSB gives a really good filtration base and the overall environment of the aquarium should be improved.

The question is, where should the DSB be placed? The first and obvious choice is the display aquarium because the sand will also provide a decorative effect. Is this the best choice though?

The DSB is at least 4″ (circa 10 cm) deep, so at the front viewing plate this depth of sand will show. This may not bother the aquarist, and if it does it is a simple matter to place a decorative strip across the bottom of the front glass. So that isn’t a problem.

One problem often arises because of the construction of the DSB. This is from very fine sand, so fine it can drift easily. It is very important for the health of livestock that the seawater has sufficient movement. These currents could easily blow the fine sand and spoil the sand bed. Much like sand affected by waves on the shore, the sand could pile up in some areas. It could even leave a bare aquarium bottom in others. This is obviously not desirable as the sand may rise above the decorative strip placed to hide it, and worse the DSB will not properly function. The fine sand could also accumulate on rockwork which would spoil the décor.

A DSB in the display aquarium could have another disadvantage. Rockwork is always placed on the aquarium bottom, or raised above it on a plastic support, not on the sand. This avoids instability and avoids sand compression. The DSB is pushed around the rock base and at first could look decorative and natural. It is a potential area for accumulation of detritus as seawater flow may well be reduced low down in the aquarium, particular around some bottom areas of the rockwork. This detritus needs to be removed with minimal disturbance to the sand, a task that is not particularly easy with fine sand present.

Livestock such as fish are usually present in an aquarium, the exception being the coral only reef. Fish are constantly looking for food and the tiny life that should appear in and on the DSB will be subject to predation. This sounds fine as live food is good for fish. However, in such a small area this sand dwelling life may not survive the predation. Some will survive in the live rock, but sand dwelling life is important to the health of the DSB.

So if having a DSB in the display aquarium is not the best course of action, what is? Many, perhaps most aquarists have a sump. This may have equipment in it and be used solely for this and the extra seawater gallonage it provides. If this is the case then a DSB could go in.

The aquarist will still require the sump to house equipment and this can be arranged. Fixing a glass or marine safe plastic plate into the sump to keep sand away from the return pump is straight forward, even with an operating system. If heaters are present they can be positioned above the DSB, and if a protein skimmer is present the intake can be the same.

The guideline for the minimum surface area of a DSB is 2/3rds the base area of the display aquarium – this is not always achievable, so the largest area that is should be used. The sump probably presents the largest area as the whole of the base, excluding the return pump area, is available. It depends on the size of the sump used of course. In the display aquarium the area between the rocks and the aquarium glass is available, and then not often down the back.

There will not be a problem with fine sand blowing about – the guideline for the flow rate through the sump is 3 times the total system gallonage per hour. The DSB can be placed into position more easily and the depth can be uniform. There will not be a problem with unwanted detritus and if anything does accumulate it can be more easily removed.

The life forms that inhabit the DSB will be protected from predation, though there will probably still be predation from other tiny sand living life. The DSB life is more likely to maintain its presence and population.

There is another way that a DSB could be introduced and that is to include an area above the sump to include it. This is done by placing a shallow (5 or 6″ high (circa 12.5 to 15 cm)) glass container above the sump, level with one end but stopping where the pump area in the sump begins. The down feed for the seawater from the aquarium is diverted to the DSB at one end; it then overflows at the other into the sump, being returned to the display aquarium as usual. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to find alternatives to the same theme. This method keeps the sump area clear for other uses, and doesn’t add much seawater to the system (though adding more gallonage is not a bad thing).

Some aquarists run their display aquariums bare-bottomed, though the bare bottom doesn’t usually last long as various marine growths take over. Others employ a decorative sand bed 1″ to 2″ deep (circa 2.5 to 5 cm), this one made of coarse sand, though this too could be blown by seawater currents. The advantages of having a decorative sand bed are that there aren’t any filtration requirements so changes to the bed don’t matter, and they are easier to clean by stirring if dirt appears.

As said, keeping a DSB is a good move in aquarium husbandry. For practical reasons, it is better housed away from the display aquarium.

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Air Pumps And The Marine Aquarium

Air pumps are those buzzing boxes that can be felt to vibrate slightly when touched. Another type of air pump uses a piston attached to a revolving wheel, which gets rid of the buzz and the vibration but only pushes air at the compression stroke of the piston. The latter type has never been used much by the hobbyist.

The air pump was, and possibly still is, used extensively by fresh water aquarists. In the earlier days of the marine hobby it found favour as well.

Nowadays it is unusual to find an air pump in use on the marine display aquarium as the role has been taken up by powerheads and the like. This is a good thing as there were problems with the air pump.

Reliability wasn’t a particular problem though of course routine maintenance had to be done, comprised of checking the air ‘stone’ and occasionally the diaghram inside the pump housing. The problems were secondary rather than primary.

The reason for using the pumps was first to try to ensure that the seawater was oxygenated. Then it was to create seawater currents. Finally it was to operate the early protein skimmers, once they had arrived on the scene.

The aquarist would position the air ‘stone’ (called a stone but normally made of wood as the bubbles created were small) so that a small ‘mound’ of seawater was created at the surface. This was important as the splash from the bubbles would be minimized. This annoying splash could never be completely eliminated and there would always be salt deposits above the mound if there was anything there, such as wires or cover glasses, for the splashes to land on. Oxygen would get into the seawater not from the bubbles, though a little would enter from them, but mainly because the flow of bubbles lifted a column of seawater to the surface, an air/water interface. When the seawater curled over at the surface and moved downwards and sideways, it would do so all round the mound creating random movement. An air stone was used on the air driven protein skimmers as the tiny bubbles created were helpful in increasing the efficiency of the device, though the air stone needed regularly renewing.

Protein skimmers are now for the most part motor driven and far more efficient. Air driven skimmers are still for sale and may be used here and there but are much less popular. So that’s one area where the need for an air pump has generally gone.

Air pumps are not used for oxygenation or circulation anymore as they cannot compete with, for example, the powerhead. The powerhead circulates the seawater very well and, provided the aquarist has positioned the units carefully, the currents produced are chaotic and random. Seawater oxygen is well catered for as the efficient circulation should bring seawater to air/water interfaces continuously.

The need for an air pump in the marine hobby has nearly gone. Why nearly? Well, they are still useful when a routine seawater change mix is being prepared. An air pump will be easily efficient enough to turn the seawater over permitting oxygenation and heating. It is true a powerhead could be used, but a small air pump is good enough if the aquarist wants to follow this route.

There is one more role, and this is where the aquarist finds that there is a continuous slightly low pH reading and it is puzzling why. This could be to do with oxygenation and the efficient movement of seawater to air/water interfaces. To check is simple. Remove say two gallons or so (the amount is not critical) of seawater from the aquarium and place it in a seawater safe container (the routine seawater change mixing bucket is ideal). Put the heater normally used into the bucket and also the air stone, just as in a routine seawater preparation. Allow it to aerate for around two hours, again the exact timing is not critical. Then measure the aquarium pH before returning the tested seawater to the aquarium, and rinse the hydrometer in fresh water. Drain the hydrometer as well as possible then, using seawater from the bucket, rinse the hydrometer to ensure any fresh water is cleared. Then test the pH level. If the pH level is higher than in the display aquarium it suggests there is a gas exchange problem.

The seawater in the bucket can be returned to the aquarium.

The aquarist must now consider how gas exchange could be improved. The first thing is to check if the powerheads or other devices in use are circulating the seawater sufficiently as given in the guidelines for different type displays – if not increase the circulation. If the circulation appears to be fine, then are the currents generated as they should be, that is random and chaotic? If not, adjust the circulation devices so that they are.

It could be that all the checks in the previous paragraph are fine. If so then try running an air pump in the display aquarium. This will be for a test period of, say, a week. As mentioned earlier adjustment will be needed to minimize splashing. This could well be the answer to the pH problem. The display aquarium is the first choice but if necessary the air pump stone can go in the sump, though this will possibly not be so effective. Check the pH two or three times during the week, if it has risen great.

There isn’t a need to go and buy another air pump as the one in the aquarium can be removed after the test. It can now go back to routine seawater change mixing.

There is a need to purchase a new powerhead, which will replace the air pump in the aquarium. This new powerhead should be placed in the display aquarium if that is practical, or as a second choice in the sump. This time the powerhead will not have the output set horizontally but vertically. The powerhead could be placed at one end or the other or at the back to minimize visual impact. Seawater will be continuously and efficiently lifted to the surface, where a fairly large mound of seawater should form – there shouldn’t be any salt splash as there aren’t any bubbles. The flow of the seawater coming off this mound will not be detrimental to the flow already present.

It is best if the new powerhead is placed fairly low down in the aquarium so that lower seawater is lifted, but it should remain accessible for maintenance. Different aquariums have different depths and obviously the powerhead should be capable of lifting the seawater from the required depth. To obtain a guideline, temporarily detach a powerhead and put it at the required depth pointing upwards. Is there a good mound of seawater created? If so, the needed power of the new powerhead will be known, it is the same as the one already in use. If not, obtain a more powerful one.

So, as can be seen, the air pump is not necessarily obsolete just yet.

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Compare Air Pumps Prices At Aqua Compare

Review Air Pumps At Aquarists Online Reviews

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Emergency Action For Seawater

In this case we’re not considering action where the aquarist has found an ammonia or nitrite reading, but suitable action when the seawater has overheated or is too cool.

Overheating could be caused by a rise in the temperature of the air surrounding the aquarium which is maybe made worse by metal halide lighting. This is most likely in the summer months. The heaters function correctly and turn off when the design temperature is reached, but the seawater continues to get warmer. This can be dangerous to corals which can tolerate very high temperatures for only a fairly short period, and to fish because of oxygen reduction. If there are many fish in the aquarium demanding oxygen in addition to the oxygen hungry bacteria in the bio-filter then trouble or even disaster might not be far away. Cold seawater holds more oxygen than warm and as the temperature rises so the oxygen continues to reduce.

Most aquarists are aware of their probable summer weather and take care to be prepared. Some arrange fans to blow across the seawater surface and these could be controlled by a sensing device. The movement of air created serves two purposes, first warm air generated by the lighting system is countered and secondly the seawater temperature rise is controlled or at least reduced. In an area where a temperature rise is regular the aquarist could have invested in a more effective cooling device called a chiller. The chiller’s temperature control is set 2 deg F above the design temperature, meaning that the heaters will have turned off before the chiller activates. These two methods, fans and a chiller, used together or separately, should be sufficient to deal with any seawater temperature increase except perhaps one.

The possible exception is where the heater/stat sticks in the ‘on’ position. If the aquarist has followed the recommended route and installed two heater/stats, each rated at one half the heating requirement of the system, then the trouble should be reduced – in this case when the design temperature is reached one heater/stat will turn off leaving one on. The temperature rise will therefore be slowed and the cooling system(s) in place will slow the increase further. Hopefully, the temperature increase will cease at the point where heat loss equals heat being applied. The aquarist should notice the problem before any real damage is done.

What if the aquarist is using one heater/stat rated at the full heating requirement for the system. If it sticks in the ‘on’ position the heat being applied is double that in the previous paragraph and the temperature rise will be more rapid. Any cooling devices will have an effect on the rise but it will still be more rapid. If a chiller is employed, can the chiller, in direct opposition to the heater, control the temperature?

Sometimes seawater heats up only once or so and it is not worthwhile obtaining a chiller. Usually a fan is sufficient but the aquarist finds that the seawater is quite a lot warmer than it should be, maybe because of a particularly hot day. There isn’t a problem with the heater/stats, they have turned off.

The first thing is to turn off the lights over the aquarium if they are capable of putting heat into the seawater, and this applies particularly to metal halides. Corals will not suffer from one short day. Next the seawater temperature should be reduced and there are ways of achieving this. There isn’t any need to turn off a properly functioning heater/stat of course. The first possibility is to place plastic bags filled with ice in the seawater preferably in an area of good circulation (watch out for displacement), this could be in the sump if there is one and it is practical. These cool ice bags should be kept away from livestock. The ice will of course melt and if necessary the bags can be refilled.

Another possibility if it is practical is to run the return tube from an external filter through a bucket of cold water. This could mean temporarily extending the tube. The seawater flowing through the tube will be cooled by the cold water. The seawater could need to circulate through the cold water many times before it is sufficiently cooled, and a check will need to be made periodically to ensure the water in the bucket remains cold.

The advantages with these emergency cooling systems are that first they’re effective and second the seawater doesn’t cool too rapidly which in itself could cause problems.

What if the seawater is too cool? This could happen because of a power cut or because a heater has failed.

The first option, probably not the best, is to obtain a glass pan or other seawater safe utensil suitable to have heat applied to it, and fill it with aquarium seawater. This is then carefully heated on the oven to a temperature higher than usual but well below boiling. The heated seawater is then returned to the aquarium. There is a problem with this – if there is a power cut the circulation system will have stopped. So, at the same time as the heated seawater is being returned to the aquarium, the aquarist will need to stir the seawater with a clean suitable utensil to try and mix it reasonably. Another way is to copy the ice bag system for cooling the seawater. This time, obtain screw top glass bottles and fill them with hot fresh water (watch out for bottle glass cracking and seawater displacement). Leave enough air in the bottles to allow them to float. Refill with heated fresh water once they cool down. In this case as well the aquarist will need to stir the seawater in an attempt to spread the heat.

If the seawater is found to have cooled because of a power cut, once raising the temperature has been achieved the aquarist could lay blankets across the aquarium to reduce heat loss, though a periodic check of temperature will be required.

Having a battery operated powerhead would be an advantage for moving warmed seawater in the event of a power cut. Some aquarists have battery back-up for the essential parts of their system, such as circulation and heating.

If there has been a heater/stat failure, then once the aquarist has cooled (or heated) the seawater sufficiently there will hopefully be time to obtain a replacement as seawater cools naturally slowly, subject to the air temperature surrounding the aquarium.

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Ozone

Oxygen is represented as O2, ozone is O3. So it can be seen it is oxygen with an extra! Ozone is unstable and breaks down into oxygen quickly. It can be detected by smell if it is present in enough quantity. Some retail stores use it on their seawater, usually in conjunction with protein skimmers, though UV sterilizers have superseded ozone to a large extent. It could also sometimes be used in public swimming pools and sometimes even in sewerage processing plants.

Ozone is a strong disinfectant and oxidizer. It is because of this that it has been found useful by a few aquarists in the maintenance of high quality seawater.

At the very start I would suggest that a beginner, or a novice with a few months experience, should steer clear of ozone, at least until there is enough experience to maintain quality seawater and keep livestock healthy. By this time the aquarist will no doubt have decided that there isn’t much point in using ozone! Fair enough, the use of ozone in the home aquarium is fairly rare. This is good as ozone can be very damaging if misused.

Ozone is normally used in conjunction with a protein skimmer and the first requirement is to ensure that the skimmer is ozone resistant – the information that came with the skimmer will advise this, or a phone call to the manufacturer should do the trick.

The ozone is produced by an ozonizer, or ozone generator. This works by passing oxygen through a high voltage discharge. The ozonizer will work with ordinary air but is less efficient by perhaps 50% if the air is damp. Therefore the pump supplying the air is usually connected to an air dryer. This can be a specialist piece of equipment, or a container with silica gel. The silica gel needs to be changed regularly, and the used gel regenerated.

Using a larger ozonizer in the belief that air drying won’t be needed should not be done. There is the potential for an ozone overdose which could have dire consequences.

So the ozone is passed into a protein skimmer when the efficiency of the skimmer will notably increase. This is because ozone is a strong oxidizer, more so than oxygen (O2) alone. To ensure that ozone doesn’t pass into the aquarium the seawater leaving the protein skimmer should be passed through activated carbon. The carbon should be regularly changed for new.

Aquariums using ozone should have really clean seawater with some advantages. However, there are clear dangers. If the aquarium is badly overdosed with ozone all livestock could be lost. If slightly overdosed then livestock could be adversely affected. Ozone is also dangerous to the aquarist – if ozone can be detected by smell then too much is being generated. As already said, ensure the generator cannot overdose by not buying one that is too large.

So how much ozone should be applied? The guideline is that 5 mg and no more than 10 mg should be dosed per hour for each 100 litres (circa 26.5 US gallons) of seawater in the whole system. So it is very important that the aquarist knows the net gallonage.

With an efficient and properly sized protein skimmer and a high standard of husbandry maintaining a good environment, I don’t see a reason why a home aquarist would want to employ ozone. The aquarium should be in fine condition without it.

So if I’m not a fan of ozone, why write about it? Well, I have on occasion seen new aquarists reading packaging on ozone generators and they may think that they are worthwhile if they ‘enhance’ the aquarium, particularly if the skimmer manufacturer advises that their product is ozone resistant. There are dangers that should be known.

In the correct hands ozone can be a useful tool, but for most home aquarists it is not needed and is best left alone.

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Introducing – Aquarists Online Reviews

We are always looking for ways to expand Aquarists Online and one of the things which both myself and John have been thinking about is reviewing aquarium related products.

Initially we thought about providing reviews in the blog area however we decided that the problem with that is that we can only review items which we either physically use or have used in the past and there are a lot of items which we have never used.

So we had a think and John asked if there was any sort of way in which we could have an area on the site where anyone could leave reviews. I had a look and identified some software which was suitable for the task and after a bit of implementation and modification Aquarists Online Reviews was born.

So what is it?

It’s a really simple concept – anyone anywhere can leave reviews of products about which they have an opinion. Other people can then read these reviews when researching a potential purchase. It does not have to be one review per product though – each product can have many reviews assigned to it. Various criterias are assigned to each product and when a review is left each of these criterias can then be scored. This criteria is then converted into an average and if multiple reviews are present an average of all  is taken.

At present there is just over a thousand products loaded into the system for which reviews can be made. The software has been setup so that you need to login to leave a review. The reason for this is spam and unrelated content. If the system was configured to be a free for all then quite quickly the area would become full of useless information which would make the area useless to anyone.

Even though we have loaded various products into the system I am sure that there are quite a few that are not there. For this reason we have configured the application so that any registered user can submit an item into the area. When an item is submitted information can be input about the product, plus images, from where it can be purchased  as well as an editor review. All submitted items are then put into a moderation queue so that John and I can ensure that they are aquarium related – if not they will be deleted.

Both myself and John will be leaving reviews for items that we either use currently or have used in the past and would like to invite you to leave reviews of the products you use as well.

We believe that this area can be a useful resource for many aquarists, especially aquarists who are researching products prior to making a purchase. However, this type of area does require input from website visitors. As said, myself and John will be leaving reviews but we can only realistically leave reviews for products we have used -  otherwise it will be a false review. Therefore this is a resource for anyone to use and it is driven by the users of this site.

With this new addition we now have the following services available here at Aquarists Online:

Articles Section – This is where John and I load our most informative articles for others to read, rate and share. It is also an area where other people can submit their articles for others to enjoy.
The Blog – The area where we post our daily information which ranges from short pieces to informative articles.
The Forum – If you have a question or a desire to help others the forum is the place to do this.
Aqua Compare – A price comparison site purely for aquarium products.
Reviews Section – The section where aquarium related products can be reviewed.
Electronic Book – A downloadable book produced by John and I to assist beginners progress in the hobby.

So there we go – another addition to Aquarists Online! If you are researching products then this area is for you – you can see what other people think about the product prior to purchasing. Then when you are happy to purchase you can always pop over to Aqua Compare and compare the prices of the relevant product and save some money. Once you have purchased you can always pop back to the reviews section and leave your review on the product – the more people that leave reviews the more useful it will be.

Both John and I are quite happy with Aquarists Online and John jokingly calls it the A to Z site for marine aquarists. However, as we always say ‘if there is something you would like us to do on Aquarists Online let us know and we’ll see if it is possible’.

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Plug And Play Or Do It Your Way

Marine aquariums are supplied in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Even if there isn’t one that will directly suit the aquarist’s needs it is straightforward to have one manufactured.

So once the aquarist has decided what size of aquarium is required for the space available (remembering that the larger it is the more expensive it will be to run) all that is required is to go and get one.

There is a choice at this point as the usual bare aquarium, possibly with stand and matching hood, has an alternative, this being the ‘plug and play’ aquarium.

The ‘plug and play’ aquarium has strong attractions. There is a good choice of such aquariums available, some large and others being small nano types. There is probably more choice in nano aquariums than the bigger ones. Whatever the size, the major attraction is that they are complete. The system will be housed in an attractive enclosure. All the required heaters, protein skimmer, pumps, circulators, lights and possibly sump are included. This means that the aquarist does not have to research and pick particular models as the correct capacity devices are provided.

Even though the devices mentioned above are included the aquarist should do some research if a novice. As said, there isn’t a need to worry over the capacity of various models. However, it is certainly a good thing to know why there needs to be a protein skimmer, circulators etc for the seawater. With a reef system it is good to know why specific lighting requirements have to be met. Understanding the basic operating principles of the system will stand the aquarist well. There will be operating and maintenance notes provided, but why are the devices there at all? This needs to be known.

The ‘plug and play’ system will still need seawater of course! This is very straightforward and the aquarist needs to know the guidelines for specific gravity (SG) and temperature for fish only and reef systems. Also aquascaping is required, so research will show how much live rock should be purchased. The manufacturer’s manual will advise the gallonage of the system without rocks, sand etc. Manufacturers seem to assume, understandably, that the bio-filtration will be live rock, but if inert rock and canister filtration are to be employed the canister filter will need to be purchased. Live rock is the better choice.

Most aquarists obtain bare aquariums. As said, these may be supplied with a cabinet and lighting hood. From then on the aquarist has to make all the choices. Should there be a sump? If so a return pump is required that will pass the system seawater through the sump adequately. The aquarium will need to be drilled for the supply and return pipes. There needs to be heaters that are capable of maintaining a stable temperature. There need to be circulating pumps to move the seawater adequately. A protein skimmer is a must, and it is essential that the device has the capacity to adequately deal with the total seawater gallonage. Lighting should be appropriate and adequate particularly for a reef system. As with the ‘plug and play’ aquarium, the gallonage when empty will be known – the amount of live rock required for the whole system needs calculating. If inert rock is to be used, a canister filter that can adequately process the bio-load it faces needs to be obtained. As above, live rock is the best choice.

So the aquarist who puts a system together from a bare aquarium has the biggest job. It is with these systems that money is often wasted, often because the aquarist attempts to save money during construction. A prime example of this is the protein skimmer – one is bought that seems fine, but as experience grows the shortcomings are seen and another is purchased. It would have been better and cheaper to have obtained an adequate one in the first place.

The advantages for an aquarist who builds a system are first on price (not that it will be cheap, but cheaper). Second it is most likely, when researching the requirements of the system, the reasons why the various devices are present and hopefully also how they work will be understood.

The advantages for those who purchase a ‘plug and play’ system are that it is almost ready for use and there is no requirement to research the equipment capacities required. The aquarist as said will find it advantageous to understand how the various devices work. Required maintenance information for the equipment will be supplied. The aquarist will also need a well stocked wallet, particularly for the larger systems.

Whichever route is followed, provided equipment is satisfactory, livestock needs to be selected carefully, again research is essential. Ongoing maintenance of equipment, high quality seawater and (for a reef) lighting is also a must.

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