Aquarium Care Is Important

There is a common saying which goes ‘good things take time yet bad things happen quickly’.

This is a saying which is very true in the aquarium hobby.

An important aspect of the aquarium hobby is performing the correct care and maintenance. This aspect is also quite often the first part which aquarists start to slip on.

At first they are very passionate about caring for the aquarium and its inhabitants, however over time for various reasons they start to slip on what was once a strict regime.

Not all aquarists are like this, there are many, many people who are exceptionally diligent in this area.

Failure to perform the correct care will at first appear not be impacting the aquarium however behind the scenes thing may slowly be starting to decline. Aquarium equipment may slowly start to fail, lighting may become inefficient, the protein skimmer may not be as efficient, the various filtration areas may not function to the best of their ability and many more areas which at first you will not notice.

Over time this will slowly start to get worse and it could happen at a pace where you may not notice it. Perhaps not even until something goes drastically wrong for example nitrate readings rapidly increasing, coral colour loss, equipment failure and perhaps even fish/coral loss.

At this point the aquarist faces a decision point. These are sort the aquarium out and return it to its former glory or give up on the hobby.

A lot of people actually do choose option number two. In my opinion this is down to one of two things. The first being that they liked the idea of keeping colourful corals and fish and do not like the idea of having to look after them. The second is a lack of knowledge as to what they need to maintain and why.

I personally believe that a lot of people head down this path as they enter the ‘I’ll do it later’ area i.e. they put off various aspects until the week after. Again this could be down to various reasons, however let’s face it how many of these people actually do perform it later. Some will I’m sure however also I am sure that a lot of people wont.

From this point the decline begins.

Caring for an aquarium in my opinion is not that hard work as long as you know why you are doing these tasks and how it is beneficial to the aquarium environment.

Effectively this does depend upon what stage your aquarium is at. If the aquarium is new then there will be some aspects which you will perform now but will not perform later when the aquarium is more mature. Some examples of these tests are ammonia and nitrite water tests. Once the nitrogen cycle has completed then you will not need to perform these tests unless you believe that there may be problems in the aquarium system.

Later when the aquarium is more mature there are various areas which you will need to test and check on a regular basis.

These are various water tests to ensure that the water parameters are the best that they can be, the protein skimmer will need to be emptied and cleaned, various equipment like the water pumps, heaters etc will need to be checked for failures, the glass will need to be cleaned and the fish/corals will need to be visually observed.

To be honest if you set yourself a regime and allocate a little bit of time per week then it does not interfere with your social life and you can be happy in the knowledge that your little aquatic world is in the best condition it can be.

I set myself an hour on a Sunday evening when Josh has gone to bed. Sometime I do it earlier in the day before he has gone to be if he wants to help me do it.

In this time I first check all the water parameters and record the results, after this I clean the glass followed by a visual check of all the required equipment. If my little notepad states that I need to either replace or check an item which is only done every so often then this is completed - this could be lighting, calcium reactor media, activated carbon etc. Once this is done I then empty the skimmer and give it a really good clean.

Once all of this is done then I sit back and quietly watch the fish and the corals. I check each fish one at a time and ensure that they appear to be well fed and have no visible damage. I then move onto the corals and give them a good check. As a final point of inspection I check for any ‘clean up crew’ which may have become stuck or is upside down.

Once everything is done then I simply sit back and enjoy my little slice of the ocean.

For me I find the care of my aquarium quite easy. The reason for this is that I do not skip things. I have a weekly plan which I follow and if everything is acceptable then it does not take long at all. I know that if I skip any then problems are going to occur and I will regret it later - something I don’t want to happen.

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Tags: aquarium, Aquarium Maintenance, aquarium-cleaning, Care, Equipment, saltwater-aquarium

The Seahorse - Should You Put One In A Reef Aquarium

Seahorses come in different types and they are all endearing, interesting and super to keep. In the wild they are, unfortunately, under intense pressure from collection. They are gathered by the millions; some are for the aquarium hobby but most are for alleged medicinal purposes or dried souvenirs.

It isn’t all bad news though, I’m pleased to say. There have been a lot of successes with breeding seahorses, and quite a number for sale are from these efforts. Anyone contemplating keeping the creatures should attempt to source these home-bred or commercial versions.

A mixed reef aquarium, that is one containing fish and corals, is going to be competitive at feeding time. Once the food goes into the water the fish are at it with gusto. Seahorses are not quick enough to compete and will not get enough of the food. They particularly like frozen brine shrimp, or better live. So do the fish of course so it is going to be gone before the seahorses have eaten. Seahorses like food that is close at hand so they can eat easily, they’re not going to get that opportunity with other competitive fish present. The only fish that seahorses should be housed with are pipefish, which are not so competitive that the seahorses lose their chance to eat.

So a standard reef aquarium is unsuitable. Perhaps a seahorse can be placed in a coral only reef. In view of the lack of fish and what has already been said, this would seem to be fine. Unfortunately once again, it isn’t. Seahorses are slow, and they cannot deal with strong and swirling seawater currents. What is one of the important needs in a coral reef aquarium? That’s right, strong and swirling seawater currents. These currents are needed for the sake of the corals to keep them healthy. Some corals need less than others, but the need is still there. The currents will also most likely move the food around too rapidly for the seahorses. So, despite the lack of fish, the coral only reef is not a good home for the seahorse.

So where can seahorses be kept? The answer is in a species aquarium, where the seahorses can be accompanied by pipefish if desired and the habitat can be tailored to them. The aquarium need not be large. Seahorses often occupy ‘grassy’ areas and this can be duplicated. Live rock can be placed in the aquarium with a decorative sand bed to create a pleasing picture, and the macro algae Caulerpa can be grown. The Caulerpa will need sufficient lighting which can be provided, if the aquarium is not too deep, by white and actinic fluorescents, the actinic blue being mainly for a ‘dawn/dusk’ cycle. If the Caulerpa growth is successful it will need to be carefully harvested from time to time.

Having live rock in the aquarium will provide bio-filtration, and the bio-load will not be large. Having Caulerpa in the aquarium will have the same effect as an aquarist with a standard reef placing it in a sump: nitrates and phosphates will be used by the algae as nutrients.

Seawater movement should be gentle. A small powerhead or two can be placed in the rear corners of the aquarium, and there should be enough current to make the Caulerpa sway about very gently, like long grass in a light summer breeze.

Feeding can be by frozen shrimp, brine and mysis. Live brine shrimp can be used if available and from a good source. The food will be available to the seahorses without undue competition.

Seawater quality needs to be tested routinely as in a normal marine system and routine seawater changes undertaken.

In a tailored system such as this, the seahorses should be happy and healthy, not being faced with excessive competition and seawater currents, just eating the available food with their tails wrapped around a strand of Caulerpa.

Who knows, all things being equal the aquarist may have the good fortune to see baby seahorses, this time born from the father.

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Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Aquarium Water, aquarium-livestock, Care, Equipment, reef-tank

Water Salinity

Everyone who goes to the seaside for a day out or a holiday and has a paddle or a swim knows that a mouthful of water is salty. This saltiness is important, and the level of it.

Livestock that comes from the wild reefs is used to stability, and this stability requirement also applies in the aquarium.

The measurement of salinity in professional circles is usually in parts per thousand (ppt). In the marine aquarium hobby the measurement commonly used is specific gravity (SG). This is easily and quickly measured by the use of a hydrometer. Hydrometers are specifically made for the hobby and are easily obtained.

The SG scale that is of interest to the marine aquarist is from 1.022 to 1.025. For special reasons aquarists have run at a higher or lower SG than the scale given, but this will not be gone into here.

The initial consideration is the aquarium system itself: is it a fish only aquarium or a reef aquarium? If it is a fish only aquarium then running the SG at 1.022 is reported to be advantageous. This is because the fish are not physically ‘stressed’ as much as they would be at a higher SG - the outer surface of the fish body permits the passage of water (osmosis) and the fish automatically has to work to compensate for this. The lower SG reduces this process somewhat. In addition, it is reported that certain fish skin parasites do not do so well at the lower SG, and anything that makes life more difficult for a parasite is welcome. The lower SG also means that there is less dry salt required for routine seawater changes, meaning costs are lower, though this is not a priority consideration.

For the reef aquarium (no fish) and the mixed aquarium, it is probably better to run at an SG of 1.024 (or 1.025). This is primarily for the corals, as reports have indicated that they do not do so well at a lower SG. This applies to both soft and hard corals. My soft coral reef has been running at 1.024 for years.

If the corals are known to have come from the Red Sea, where the salinity is higher, it will probably be better to have the SG at 1.025 at least to begin with, or even 1.026.

There isn’t a reason why the higher Red Sea SG cannot be lowered carefully, but this must be done slowly. A sudden reduction in SG is not good. Reducing the SG from 1.025 to 1.024 could be done over a fortnight or more. Corals have evolved over a very long time and must be watched for any adverse reaction. An SG lower than 1.024 is not recommended for a reef aquarium.

Of course, when discussing the suitability of corals and SG, two things come to mind. The first is that perhaps the coral has been home propagated. If so, it will already be acclimated to a normal aquarium environment. The seawater SG is easily discovered by a simple enquiry. Second, a coral imported from the wild reef will usually be seen in a dealer’s display tank. Is the coral open and extended, looking beautiful? If so, what is the dealer’s SG? How long has it been in the tank?

It is not likely that the seawater in the dealer’s display tank and that in the aquarist’s aquarium will be matched, there could be differences in pH, temperature, SG, alkalinity etc. Therefore it is of great importance that the introduction of livestock - of any type - to the aquarist’s seawater is done properly and over an extended amount of time. This will allow at least some adjustment to be made. Livestock is very resilient given the chance, despite the fact it comes for the most part from a very stable environment, the wild reef.

Once livestock is in the aquarium and settled, it is important that the SG continues to be stable. First, routine seawater changes should be at the same SG and the same temperature. Second, any evaporation from the seawater needs to be topped up. Seawater should not be used for these top-ups, but fresh water, preferably reverse osmosis water. This is because the salt does not evaporate, and if seawater were to be used then the SG would slowly get higher as more salt is being added. Topping up can be automated for a large aquarium if desired, or done manually once a day for smaller ones.

There are some basic and important parameters that need to be monitored and kept stable, and salinity is one of them. A check with a hydrometer is recommended at least weekly.

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

The Hydrometer

Aquarists can use a small arsenal of tests to assure themselves that the seawater quality in their fish only aquariums or reef aquariums is high enough. One of these tests is carried out using a hydrometer.

The hydrometer measures the Specific Gravity (SG) of seawater. SG is the measurement method used overall in the hobby, though more scientific circles could well measure in parts per thousand (ppt).

The hydrometer is a very simple piece of equipment and very easily obtainable for a reasonable price. It comes in two main types, the ‘swing needle’ and ‘floating needle.’ Both types are suitable for a marine aquarist.

The ‘swing needle’ type is usually a plastic box about four inches square, which is very narrow in width and marked with graduations on one side. Inside the box is a needle that can swing in a vertical direction. When the unit is filled with seawater the needle moves and indicates the SG.

The potential problem with these type hydrometers is that small bubbles could be attached to the needle and not be noticed by the aquarist. This will cause the reading to be incorrect. All that is needed is for the aquarist to gently tap the needle with a pencil of similar a few times and any bubbles will be dislodged.

The ’floating needle’ type consists of a cylinder, made of plastic or glass, and a narrow needle which is marked along its length. The cylinder is filled with the seawater to be tested, and the needle is floated inside the cylinder. The needle will float at a certain position, and the aquarist can read off the SG.

The potential problem with this type is that the aquarist will read the needle float point at an angle, and thus an incorrect reading will be obtained. So obviously it is important that the aquarist has his/her eye level with the top of the seawater in the cylinder.

Hydrometers that are specially manufactured for aquarium use are preset for warm temperatures, usually 75 deg F. This is because temperature affects the reading. Aquarist may keep their seawater at a different temperature to this, so the manufacturers often put in a chart to permit an easy adjustment of the reading to be made. These adjustments are often shown in marine aquarium books. However, there is no need to be overly concerned - what the marine aquarist is aiming for is stability, and if the reading of seawater at, say, 77 deg F is the same each week then there is little to worry about.

Another important point about hydrometers is that they must be kept clean to avoid salt deposits that could cause an incorrect reading. This is easily done - with the ‘swing needle’ simply fill it with tap water after use and leave for an hour or so, then empty and leave it to air dry. The ‘floating needle’ type can be the same - fill the cylinder above the level the seawater reached with tap water and let the needle float (it will not be supported by tap water) for an hour or so, then empty it out and dry with a clean cloth.

If I had to pick one of the two types of hydrometer, though there is not much to choose between them, I would go for the ’swing needle’ type. This is because it is probably a little easier to use and, at least in the case of glass, stronger than the ’floating needle’ type.

A hydrometer is an essential piece of equipment and every marine aquarist should have one. Specific Gravity should be tested at least weekly, and should certainly be in the aquarist’s testing routine.

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Tags: aquarium, Aquarium Maintenance, Aquarium Water, Care, Equipment, saltwater-aquarium

Aquarium Lighting Advance

In years gone by aquarists lit their aquariums with tungsten lights. They probably had no idea of spectrum, probably had lots of algae growth, and I would imagine the heat output would have caused problems too. Methods advance.

Nowadays there are two main lighting systems, fluorescent tubes and metal halide bulbs. Fluorescent tubes are mainly used for fish only and soft coral systems, with metal halides lighting mostly hard coral reef systems.

Aquarists have a wide choice of tubes and bulbs, with spectrum being tailored to need. One major ‘fault’ is that to achieve high power output, that is, use metal halide bulbs, there is a premium to pay for electricity. In addition, nowadays we are more aware of our carbon footprint, with all the concern about global warming that has arisen.

Well, the ‘advance’ I’m writing about is not exactly new. I’ve written about it before at some length. The lights are LED’s, which up to now (as far as I am aware) have been available in two forms - moonlight low power and full lighting high power types. It is the high power types that have ‘advanced’.

Up to now the only LED lighting available to light a reef are full arrays, where a high number of LED’s are inbuilt, with different colours incorporated. These arrays come in different sizes for different size aquariums. Trouble is, they are very expensive despite the many advantages they offer (see under Articles and under the sub-heading Equipment - ‘LED Lighting’).

The advance is not so much in technology (as far as I know) but in choice. Power LED’s are coming on to the market which offer choice in much the same way as fluorescent tubes do.

The units which, as said, resemble a fluorescent tube, are a little under 20″ (circa 51cm) in length. They each have 5 LED bulbs and can be obtained as full spectrum, natural daylight, marine white, reef white, marine blue and reef blue. I am not aware at the moment what the difference is between ’marine’ and ’reef’ in the white and the blue. Perhaps one of the blues is the actinic equivalent?

Anyway, with LED’s the aquarist can now ’mix and match’ according to need.

The big drawback, as before, is cost. I understand the light ’tubes’ individually will cost around $175. Ouch! This is tempered however by the cost of running them, which could be as low as around $15 per annum. The lights run at 12v DC. The bulbs are said to last about 50000 hours! The heat output is reported to be very low, so further savings might be made on the cost of a chiller.

The only power output indication I’ve managed to discover is that at 50cm from the aquarium, the LED ’tube’ produces around 33% more light than a 24W compact fluorescent. Fluorescents are usually much closer to the water surface than that, but at a closer point the ratios would remain the same.

I’m hoping for more information particularly on power output. I don’t know if the lights will challenge the supremacy of metal halides yet, maybe the light output close to the water surface will be something like a lower powered metal halide positioned much higher? Hmm. Maybe?

The exciting point is that the LED is still developing and slowly presenting a bigger choice to the aquarist. If the LED now, or does eventually, offer flexible lighting fully suitable to the varied needs of aquarists particularly those with reefs, then metal halides, considering the running cost and heat output, will no longer dominate. Definitely so if the LED price falls somewhat.

I feel fairly certain that in the course of time LED’s will be the light of choice, particularly for reefs, with all the advantages, especially those of running cost and lack of heat into the aquarium. Power output is the thing for the reef - that will come if it isn‘t here already.

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Tags: aquarium, Aquarium Lighting, Equipment, led lighting, metal-halide, saltwater-aquarium

At What Times Should The Lighting Be On Above The Refugium

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.

I shall cover the one that I don’t agree with first.

Option 1 - Provide Lighting Over a 24 Hour Period.

So why don’t I agree with this?

Basically it’s because it does not happen in nature. There are some aquarists who believe that providing lighting over a 24 hour period prevents algae crashes from happening. This is where all the algae suddenly dies and all the nutrients which are removed are released back into the aquarium.

To me this has never been proven. If you look at nature the algae beds in the sea are exposed to sunlight over a determined length of time. The same as provided for the corals. You would not leave your lights on for 24 hours to provide light for the corals so why do it for the algae.

I am firmly of the opinion that we should attempt to replicate nature wherever we can. It works in nature so why try to change it in our aquariums?

I also believe that the algae needs a rest!

There is another factor to this as well. This is that in darkness the micro organisms come out more and start to feed and reproduce. It has been noted by many aquarists that they have experienced a pod explosion when the lights are out for a length of time.

Option 2 - Provide Lighting Over A Shorter Period.

This is my preferred option.

I have covered some of the reasons above. i.e. lighting is not provided over a 24 hour period in nature so why do it in our aquariums and the factor of the little critters which we are providing refuge to.

So how long is a shorter period. Well it can be many things but the method I use is that the lights above the refugium turn on when the main lighting turns off above the display aquarium - i.e. the metal halide lighting. They stay on all night and turn off when the metal halides turn on the next day. This is sometimes called reverse sunlight lighting.

So why do I do it this way and not have them on at the same time as the metal halides?

Basically this is so that I do not experience a drop in pH over the nightime hours. The reason this happens is that when the lights are on photosynthesis occurs, carbon dioxide is used and oxygen given off into the aquarium and the pH rises or in this case remains stable.

Stability as we all know is a major factor we are all hoping to achieve.

If we had the refugium lights on at the same time as the main display aquarium when all the lights went off there is a possibility that the pH will drop.

So that’s why I prefer option 2 - it simply makes sense to me.

Another thing that I also do is occasionally turn off the lighting above the refugium for a couple of days. I have found that when I do this I get a lot more ‘critters’ in the refugium. The more ‘critters’ there are the happier I am!

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Tags: Aquarium Filtration, Aquarium Lighting, Equipment, macro-algae, marine-aquarium, refugium

The Fish Tank Hood - Keep It Cool

There are many aspects in the aquarium which generate heat. There are pumps, heaters and of course the lighting.

The choice of lighting normally determines if you will actually use a hood or not. If you choose to use fluorescent tubes then quite likely you will implement a hood or canopy as they are sometimes known. An aquarium hood may be used with metal halide lighting, however this will probably be determined by the choice of metal halide. If you elect for a pendant type then you may not use a hood, however if you use another type of metal halide then you may choose to use one.

As we all know heat rises and if a hood is chosen then all the heat which is generated by the various aquarium equipment will build up in the hood and therefore could have a detrimental effect on the water temperature. Something we dont want to happen is an increase (or decrease) in water temperature. If the heat builds up in the hood then you will also experience a higher level of water evaporation which could mean fluctuations in salinity plus you could experience an electrical failure due to the elevated heat levels.

The good thing is that it is really easy to rectify.

What you can do (and this is one solution out of many) is install fans into the aquarium hood.

Small fans will suffice and could be installed in both sides of the hood. The fans on the left could be installed to blow cool air from the room into the hood and the fans at the other end installed the other way around so that they are blowing air out of the hood. This way you will get an ever moving flow of cool air through the hood.

There are some people who drill holes in the hood rear or top. Whilst this does remove some of the heat I personally do not believe that this will allow for the heat inside the hood to cool down quick enough - unless the holes are of a large size. I personally believe that there needs to be cool air drawn into the hood.

The ambient temperature of the room also needs to be taken into consideration. If it is a hot day for example then the air surrounding the aquarium will be warm and unless you have invested in an aquarium chiller then probably you are going to struggle to maintain the heat within the aquarium. In these instances if you do not have a chiller it is probably best to remove the top from the hood to allow some of the hot air to escape.

Not always possible though is it as you are not always at home.

Computer fans in my opinion are a good option to use as they are cheap to purchase and easy to install, however there are many other fans which can be used. What you need to look at is how you are going to power them. I suppose an interesting way to do this would be via the use of solar power. This way you could use the lighting as the source of power. When the lights are on the fans are activated and when the lights turn off the fans turn off. Perhaps solar powered fans from a greenhouse could work.

Of course another way would be to just hook them up to the power outlet!

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Tags: aquarium-hood, DIY, Equipment, reef-tank, saltwater-aquarium

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