Why Do We Do Partial Water Changes?
January 26, 2008
For a fish only aquarium or reef aquarium to look at its best there is one area that needs constant and careful attention. That area is water quality.
What is water quality?
I’ll mention water movement first, because I tend to include this with water quality. Many do not, listing it as a separate item. I include it as efficient water movement ensures adequate gas exchange leading to sufficient dissolved oxygen, and the movement helps bring nutrients to and remove dirt from corals. Insufficient water movement brings problems in itself.
There are the standard water quality tests. These include ammonia (should be nil), nitrite (should be nil), nitrate (should be as low as possible, hopefully less than 10ppm), phosphate (should be nil) and pH (should ideally be between 8.2 and 8.4, but the first figure can be lowered to 8.0). SG is important (should be between 1.022 to 1.025 depending on livestock). There are elements that are checked for in reef systems, such as calcium and magnesium. Alkalinity is another.
All of the checks are for water quality, indicating if remedial action should be taken, by supplementary additions and the like. The aquarist by adhering to [tag-tec]aquarium maintenance[/tag-tec] can maintain generally high water quality, but this is not the whole story.
Not everything within the seawater is measured for. There is a long list of seawater constituents that range from high proportions to minute trace proportions. As far as I know, science cannot state that the X or Y constituent is not needed by fish and/or corals. They may well be needed as they are present all the time on the reefs. Manufacturers attempt to produce a salt that is as close to natural as possible.
A major problem with water quality would be the appearance of ammonia or nitrite, both being toxic, maybe because of a sudden extra load on bio-filters or too early stocking of a system.
Another problem that is often met is an excess of nitrate and phosphate, perhaps caused by a common mistake, overfeeding.
So we have the water change. Obviously, doing a water change will not have an effect on water movement. What if ammonia and/or nitrite is detected and livestock is stressed. If the bio-filter cannot cope for a while, then water changes will control the problem, the size of the change dependant on the level detected. Similarly, if nitrate and/or phosphate is detected at high levels, then reducing the level to a tolerable one is most easily achieved by a water change, again size dependant on problem.
The normal water change is the routine one, done as a part of ongoing aquarium maintenance. The routine water change is usually 10% of the system net gallonage weekly. This amount can be flexed a little with care after the first few months of an aquariums life, provided a close watch is kept on water parameters and livestock health. Routine water changes should continue though. Why? The routine water change ‘freshens’ the seawater. It puts back, or partly puts back, many trace elements that may be depleted by livestock. Protein skimming removes trace elements, and so does the use of activated carbon. It helps with a stable alkalinity level, which means there should be more resistance to the seawater moving toward a lower pH reading because of the pressures of acidity. A water change helps with the control of nitrate and phosphate, both nutrients of nuisance algae, so it follows that the threat of nuisance algae should be reduced.
Quite apart from emergency action, the routine water change is a really valuable tool in the maintenance of high quality seawater. This is a routine action that can be flexed with care, but should never be abandoned.
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Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Care, fish-tank-maintenance, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquariumShould You Clean The Sand In Your Aquarium
January 21, 2008
Keeping the aquarium clean is imperative to maintaining excellent water quality but should you clean the sand?
Well this depends upon what type of sand bed you have implemented into your aquarium.
If you have installed a deep sand bed to aid with aquarium filtration then no you should not manually clean it. With a deep sand bed the cleaning needs to be performed by what I call critters. These are things like small starfish, micro fauna etc. The burrow through the sand and keep it clean on your behalf - natures cleaners.
If you have a shallow sand bed, use sand for decorative purposes etc then yes you should clean it. Over time a sand bed which is not used for filtration will end up with uneaten food, fish waste, detritus etc contained or clogged within it.
I always recommend to install a clean up crew into an aquarium. Putting a clean up crew is basically purchasing hermit crabs, snails, shrimps etc to assist you with the cleaning of the aquarium. Some of these animals will assist in the cleaning of the sand and others will not.
Even if you have a clean up crew in the aquarium I would still recommend that you manually give the sand bed a bit of a clean.
Basically all you need to do is gently stir the sand when you are doing your water change. When you stir the sand all the detritus etc will lift up into the water column and you can siphon it out with the water. Dependant upon the size of the aquarium you might not be able to clean the entire bed so just start at one end and clean as much as you can. The next time you do a water change start where you left off.
Simple to do but definately worth it.
Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Care, fish-tank-maintenance, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium
Download A Reef Aquarium Seawater Test Chart, A Reminder Chart, And A General Notes Chart
December 17, 2007
These aquarium maintenance charts are available for download and will hopefully assist in the methodical testing of the seawater, the timeous changing of lighting and filter medias, and also offer a means of keeping track of aquarium livestock additions.
The Test Chart: this of course is very easily adaptable to a fish only system by using only the tests that are applicable.
By using a test chart and testing routinely, the aquarist can see that the seawater parameters are stable. On the other hand, any trend, such as falling calcium levels, changing pH etc can be spotted. Trends often show up, allowing the aquarist to accurately calculate, for example, the amount of an additive that is required at intervals.
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Is There Such A Thing As A Maintenance Free Aquarium?
November 7, 2007
A maintenance free aquarium - no work at all! Just view and enjoy the coral colours and the various reef fish. Many or perhaps all aquarists would tend to call that aquatic heaven - maybe.
Is it possible though? Is there a way that the aquarist can design a marine system where, once all is settled and mature, there is nothing else to do?
The first thing is to compare the aquarium to the wild reef. Yes, there are the same kind of inhabitants in the aquarium as on the wild reef, just fewer of them. Also, there are far fewer species of livestock on the captive reef. So, there’s the first point - the wild reef has far greater diversity of life. The different species have their own niche on the wild reef, each having a food source. There are some overlaps of course but generally it is all very well organised. Nature has everything under control. The first problem that the aquarist is likely to face is in making sure that all potential difficulties are dealt with, from dealing with different forms of nuisance algae to having enough food for fish if kept.
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Old Tank Syndrome - Update
August 21, 2007
A while ago my reef showed clear signs of a sizeable reduction in the tiny creatures that inhabited the deep sand bed (DSB) and also the reef rocks. I noticed this most at night. I wondered if this might be the so called ‘Old Tank Syndrome.’ See ‘Old Tank Syndrome‘
The maintenance regime on the [tag-tec]reef tank[/tag-tec] was maintained without change, including feeding of the DSB. I watched very carefully, particularly at night as this is when most activity occurs. As the population of the [tag-ice]deep sand bed[/tag-ice] had reduced so much I kept a very careful watch for signs of pollution (was anything eating the food?). There was no real change at all, although the occasional beast was seen. There wasn’t any visible evidence of pollution.
Three nights ago I went to the [tag-self]aquarium[/tag-self] not expecting to see much. I’d accepted that for some unknown reason the beasts had reduced considerably in number. To my surprise, there was a fair amount of activity. It wasn’t as I am used to, that is it didn’t look like a shopping precinct on a Saturday afternoon. However, it was clear that the minute life had increased.
This increase in life forms continues. I continue to watch at night mainly.
I cannot give any sensible reason for the reduction and the increase. Maybe predation reduced the numbers because of unsustainable predator increase. Then maybe the predators reduced. Then maybe the surviving life forms were able to re-build their population. I don’t know. It seems the occurrence was a natural one, some kind of cycle?
The main thing is, they are back with rising numbers. Once more it goes to show that on occasion time must be given for nature to do her thing.
Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Care, deep-sand-bed, fish-tank-care, fish-tank-maintenance
Denitrator, Where’s The Flow Gone? Update
August 20, 2007
I run a sulphur based [tag-tec]denitrator[/tag-tec] on my reef. It has been running continuously for years without problem, though it has needed some adjustment of flow from time to time. That is to be expected. However, a while ago the flow went wrong, it slowed down considerably. There isn’t a lot of flow anyway on a denitrator, so the flow became almost non existent. [Read more]
Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Care, fish-tank-care, fish-tank-maintenance, nitrateThis Means War Part 2
August 11, 2007
Running a marine aquarium means being on the lookout for trouble. That’s not to say that a marine aquarium is trouble, it simply means that, as with most things, trouble can arise despite the best efforts and diligence of the aquarist.
I’d already found an intruder in my aquarium. It was identified, considered and eventually action taken to control it. This invader was eventually overcome, controlled and nearly eliminated so that it was no longer a problem. Its name was bubble algae, or sailor’s eyeballs (Ventricaria ventricosa).
Peace reigned once again. The reef was splendid, routine maintenance was done, and much quiet observation and appreciation took place. [Read more]
Tags: Aquarium Maintenance, Care, fish-tank-care, fish-tank-maintenance
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