Goldfish And Marine Aquariums

I’ve been involved with aquariums for 40 years or more and no, I’m not going to try advising the secret of keeping goldfish in salt water! What I’m going to do is remember, if I may.

Over 40 years ago I had nothing to do with fish. What did I do with my time I wonder – well, I had two children, Michael and Peter. As is normal we ended up one day at a fair and yes, there was a goldfish stall, throw a hoop or something similar. My boys must have been good shots because we ended up with a couple of goldfish, the common variety, in a plastic bag. They had instantly joined the family and so a small plastic aquarium was obtained on the same day. Once home into the aquarium they went. Michael and Peter were overjoyed. It must have been at least a whole week before they lost interest!

So there they were, these two goldfish, in their small aquarium on a shelf. For a while nothing changed and then I added some gravel as it didn’t look natural. A while later I added a couple of plastic plants. Now things were so much better. The fish seemed to enjoy nosing about in the gravel. Guess who was in charge of cleaning and it wasn’t Michael or Peter!

Then I decided – and this I reckon is where I became doomed to my fate – the fish would be happier in a bigger aquarium, so they got one 24″ long. It came off the shelf and stood on a more solid work surface in the kitchen.

Then I decided it would be better to have tropical fish (the addiction was getting a grip). I kept standard tropicals for a while and still used plastic plants. The fish were fine.

Then I saw my first marines, this would be quite a while later, about 5 years after the first goldfish appeared. They were in a pet shop and I learned they were damsels. What colours, wow! I didn’t buy damsels once the decision had been made to keep marines; I obtained two common clowns (Amphiprion ocellaris). These were kept in a slightly larger aquarium, 30″, which sat in the same place as had the 24″.

Since that time I’ve travelled down the road in the same way that so many others have. That first small marine aquarium which was fish only became larger and as time passed contained a variety of fish. All were reasonably successful and I don’t recall any serious problems except one. This was with a juvenile emperor angel (Pomacanthus imperator) about 3″ or so in length. It was so lovely I was quite awestruck. It seemed very happy in a 4 ft aquarium which had a reef and several soft corals. Then one day I found it lying upright against the front glass. Close observation showed it was breathing quite heavily and I suspected white spot or velvet, two serious diseases with marines. As the fish wasn’t moving I was able to inspect it with a magnifying glass but couldn’t see anything. Seawater testing indicated all parameters as being fully acceptable. Strangely, no other fish displayed any symptoms. Eventually the fish died and it affected me considerably, feeling quite guilty of losing a fish that had been taken from the wild and had died in my care. I was not as experienced as I am now of course, and currently I would have investigated further.

On I went in the hobby and eventually graduated to a full blown reef aquarium. The first one was built into a wall like a picture, with a sump (a 30″ aquarium). The aquarium became larger (I filled in the hole in the wall) until, calamity, we moved house. This was 10 years ago.

An aquarium was inevitable though, the one I have now is smaller than that at the previous address because of the space available. Peter kindly purchased it for me, and I made the cabinet and hood and fitted all the bits and pieces.

It’s a soft coral reef which has been running for 7 years (I know this as I keep a notebook). I love soft corals, the pastel colours and the way some of them sway in the seawater currents. It’s lit by a bank of three marine white fluorescent tubes, and two blue (actinic) tubes. The tubes are timed for a ‘dawn’ and ‘dusk’ sequence, in the morning the blues come on first then the whites, and vice versa when they go off. Seawater movement is created by two powerheads, arranged to produce the necessary random chaotic flow type. The bio-filtration was by two Eheim Ecco canister filters containing sintered glass, this could seem a bit backward to some but it worked well. Any nitrate presence was dealt with by a home made hang-on sulphur based denitrator and routine seawater changes.

The reef is constructed of inert dead rock with the name ‘Grotto Rock’, I don’t know why as it wasn’t from any grotto. The rock is very porous which is good for bacteria populations. It was excellent for the purpose with its various shapes, and many caves and crevices were formed. The reef sits on a plastic grate about 1¼” or so above the base glass. Another powerhead pumps seawater under the reef (below the grate) through a multi-dispersal pipe, which has successfully kept the underside more or less clean and of course has kept the lower regions oxygenated and prevented temperature stratification. Once the reef had been constructed the net gallonage of the system was 43.

I also constructed a hang-on anti-phosphate filter filled with a well known media, and this has operated from the beginning.

There is also a hang-on protein skimmer, a Red Sea ‘Prism’. This isn’t the world’s best skimmer but it does a sufficiently efficient job probably because of the low fish load. There could be some DOM (dissolved organic matter) that could have been removed, but perhaps it is helping to feed the corals. Let’s not get into that as it’s another subject.

Apart from various corals there are only two fish, a Flame Angel (Centropyge loriculus) and a Fijian Damsel (Chrysiptera cyanea). I believe that with reef systems it is better to under stock than fully stock (although there is nothing really wrong with the latter if done properly and growth is taken into account). This is because of seawater as it is easier to maintain at high quality with less fish. It’s a matter of personal opinion and taste. Routine seawater changes are still completed.

I have a very small DSB (deep sand bed) which is not large enough to have any particular impact on the aquarium; it was constructed purely out of interest. It is successful and, particularly at night, numerous tiny life forms can be seen. In the main aquarium quite a large number of snails are seen at night, and fortunately they are not the troublesome variety.

The canister filters are still running though the media has been removed. This happened a good while ago because I suspected the dead rock had changed to live. The rock, with all the growths on it, looks very similar to the live variety. I began to wonder about the rock as there wasn’t ever a trace of nitrate when the seawater was tested. Admittedly there was a denitrator but was it that efficient? Also of course routine seawater changes were being done.

To check I stopped the denitrator. Over three months of testing there wasn’t a trace of nitrate so the denitrator wasn’t changing anything. It remains switched off though it hasn’t been removed (I’m maybe too lazy!). Then I tested the seawater before a routine change, still no trace of nitrate. Then I left the seawater unchanged for three weeks, still no trace. So I began to remove the bio-media from the canisters, one was emptied entirely, and then the system was left for two weeks. There wasn’t a trace of ammonia, nitrite or nitrate at weekly testing. Then I removed ½ of the bio-media from the other canister, still no change. Now the final media was removed, though this made me nervous there wasn’t any change whatsoever. The rock had become ‘live’.

As the rock was porous the bacteria that deal with the toxins ammonia and nitrite established themselves on and in it, followed deeper inside by the bacteria that are able to deal with nitrate. The canisters had become redundant, though they still run to cause agitation at the seawater surface. The rock dwelling bacteria are clearly dealing with any toxins that are produced.

There’s a large amount that I’ve missed out about the journey from goldfish to a reef as there would be with other marine aquarists who have followed the same or a similar route.

The marine hobby has provided a little insight into the world of the wild reefs. I’ve had the good fortune to snorkel on many reefs in various areas and what a pleasure it was.

As time has progressed I’ve become more and more involved in the whys and wherefores of this and that. Now that experience has accumulated, looking back to the very early days with marines I have to smile and consider it was certainly worthwhile. Learning continues. I’ve found the marine hobby to be educational and it develops the discipline of patience. It’s also entertaining and fun.

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Just Relax!

The marine hobby is very relaxing most of the time. There could be times when it is stressful for the aquarist, for instance when a fish is in trouble or there is some other serious problem. This stress could also occur when nuisance algae invade and the battle to get rid of it seems to never end. It does eventually end of course, with the aquarist the victor.

As said though, most of the time it is relaxing, a great antidote for those with stressful lives, getting up in the morning, breakfast, travel to work, trains full and/or late, or roads packed and vehicles moving at a snail’s pace. It is even relaxing for those who are already relaxed because they’re retired, for example, and have the time to do the things they actually want to do.

Maintaining the system is a chore sometimes, but for the most part is an enjoyable part of the hobby and also relaxing.

There is nothing more relaxing though than sitting down and just watching the aquarium, seeing healthy, colourful fish and corals in the captive environment the aquarist created.

On this occasion there isn’t any talk of the importance of seawater quality or lighting or anything else. This time let’s just watch.

The attached is a video of a fish only aquarium, with good music. It’s worth a little time. The video music ends quite abruptly, it would have been better to have gently faded out, but at least it’ll wake anyone dozing off!

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The Best Of Both Worlds?

The reef aquarium is the most popular within the marine hobby and there are considerable numbers of aquarists who keep fish only systems. I don’t know what the actual ratio is.

Keeping either type is fascinating and has advantages, the reef system with its beautiful corals and fish, or the fish only with larger fish or numbers. The reef system attracts because of the mixture of livestock and the fish only because fish that are predatory and/or larger and/or reef unfriendly can be kept.

A comment was made a good while ago in discussion about the different marine systems – I think it was at the local fish shop over coffee – that it would be terrific if both types could be kept. Well, of course they can however there is a larger demand on space. Two aquariums are required and maybe two sumps to go with them.

As the discussion developed the suggestion was made that perhaps the two types could be kept in one aquarium. ‘Err, how is that done then?’ was the general comment. The answer was to divide the aquarium down the middle front to back. It wouldn’t cost much, just some silicone sealant and a sheet of glass. It would be easier to do at the setting up stage, though with considerable upheaval it could be done later. It was agreed that a sump would be very desirable to increase the net gallonage of the total system, and the sump should be as large and as deep as possible.

The discussion was becoming quite excited as the idea was expanded.

The lighting and seawater circulation was sorted out, the lighting being suitable for a reef on the reef side and reduced lighting on the fish only side, understandably enough. The sump which was nearly as long and as wide as the display aquarium would contain a deep sand bed and all the heating equipment plus a protein skimmer. There would be two seawater return pumps in the sump for each side of the display aquarium.

The necessary size of the display aquarium caused some head scratching. ‘As big as possible’ was obvious, but what would be the minimum size? If too small the reef would not be very extensive, though it has to be remembered that there are some really good and interesting nano systems about. The size of the fish only side would dictate the type of fish that could be kept. Butterfly fish would be my choice and so about three feet. It was decided that six feet would be pretty good with four feet about the minimum.

Some paper was scrounged and the basic system laid out, it looked pretty impressive with the equipment shown plus overflows for seawater etc.

Two of us weren’t convinced. A bell was ringing in my head, ‘something wrong’. I stared at the paper and then it struck me. I said ‘I think we need three more items.’ This got attention, and feeling rather guilty I said the extra equipment would be another protein skimmer, another heater and another sheet of glass.’ The other aquarist who wasn’t convinced smiled and nodded. I went on that the extra sheet of glass would be to divide the sump so that in effect there were two, the extra heater and protein skimmer would go in the side of the sump that didn’t already have them. There was some realization of what I was getting at, but not overall.

I pointed out that the idea had effectively been made into two systems and the reason was that one thing had been overlooked, this was seawater quality. If the reef and fish only were combined within the sump then the seawater of each would mix. Fish only systems usually are more heavily stocked thus requiring more feeding, which in turn causes an increase in pollutants, the obvious ones being nitrate and phosphate. The seawater quality would reduce for the reef, though probably that in the fish only could be enhanced. Seawater quality is the number one requirement for both systems, with the reef requiring the highest quality.

The system with the extras would work, provided the aquarist had an aquarium big enough – meaning provided there was enough space available. It would certainly be pretty impressive and different. There wouldn’t be many aquarists though who would be willing to reduce the overall reef or fish only display. It was agreed that the way to ensure ongoing top-notch seawater in the original system with an undivided sump would be to increase the gallonage of the routine changes.

The shop owner offered another coffee and a laugh was had. The discussion was great. That’s a big part of the hobby, ideas, discussion and friendship.

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Propagation In The Aquarium

Reef aquariums are common in the hobby nowadays. With the increased knowledge of their environmental needs and the ability, with the assistance of technology, to maintain the reefs for long periods, the days of struggling with maintenance should be gone.

Some problems have arisen with the ability to maintain such excellent aquarium conditions and the import of coral rocks and specific live rock. One that springs to mind is aiptasia anemones, the weeds of the aquarium. In addition, with long term success coral growth could cause difficulties.

As corals grow they could possibly cause shadows over other occupants of the reef that also need light, or interfere with each other with ensuing damage. Though many aquarists dislike doing it, corals can quite easily be cut to form new ones, in much the same way that a gardener splits plants to obtain more. This is easier than many realize, though it is understandable that aquarists are nervous when they view the beautiful coral(s) in question. Cutting the corals is generally termed ‘fragging.’

For most aquarists there isn’t a need to have an additional aquarium specifically for growing on cut corals. Some keen aquarists have fairly large shallow aquariums set up complete with lighting etc for just this. The rest of us are able to do it in the display aquarium. The benefit of this is that the corals will continue to exist in the same seawater and under the same lighting, and there aren’t any additional costs involved.

All that is required for soft corals is a pair of sharp scissors and a spare removable rock – a rock that has plenty of holes and crevices that the cutting can be fastened to.

There is a lot of information about ‘fragging’ corals on the internet, so I’ll restrict this to a commonly kept leather coral, the toadstool, properly called Sarcophyton species. They are a good example as the success rates are high – there are plenty of other soft corals that are just as amenable to propagation.

The most straightforward way to double the coral (that is, one becomes two) is to cut the head off. (There are ways of creating multiple corals from one that will not be gone into here.) Sounds drastic! The cutting point should be selected so that at least two thirds of the stalk is left attached to the original point, leaving the rest to attach the remaining stalk with the head. The cut should be completed in one effort (though more shouldn’t destroy the coral) and be clean.

The freed head should be attached to the removable rock by the use of a wooden cocktail stick. This is pushed all the way through the lower stalk, again it sounds a bit drastic. The stick should be pushed home so that it holds tightly in a suitable hole or crevice in the rock. The rock is then carefully placed where it can be temporarily left undisturbed. That’s it! No jiggery-pokery at all.

After two weeks or so, sometimes more quickly, the aquarist will see new polyps starting to form on the stalk from which the head was removed. This will continue until the polyps are as they were when the head was present, and a new head will form over time. It really is Nature’s magic. The coral with the head will, over about the same period of time, put out its polyps once more and attach to the rock. Apart from the shorter stalk, which will grow, there will not be a noticeable difference.

Once the cut stalk is attached to the rock, the rock and coral can be bagged up and given away to an aquarist friend, or taken to the local dealer and exchanged for a credit note or some merchandise. Local dealers are usually willing to do this as it means trade and they are obtaining a saleable coral.

As said, it is not just Sarcophyton sp corals that can be propagated; there are many soft corals that will co-operate.

Hard corals (SPS) can be ‘fragged’ in a similar way. This time however, they are not cut but a branch is snapped off. The mother coral that is to be used must be healthy and vigorous; it is likely it will be as that’s why the aquarist wishes to reduce its size. Though the coral will need to be handled, handling should be as gentle as possible and minimized.

Instead of a pair of scissors the aquarist could use pliers to assist in breaking the branch off, though often the fingers are just as good. Select a good branch and snap it off near the base. Once snapped off, it could be placed in a hole or crevice in a removable rock as was the soft coral. There is a better way though which will allow the rock to be used over and over again. This is to use a short plastic tube cut from a longer length (reef safe plastic). The tube can be purchased with a useful diameter so that the cut coral sits in loosely but is held upright. Put the short length of plastic in a suitable hole or crevice in the rock, and place the coral in the tube. That’s it, job done.

After two weeks plus the coral should adhere by growth to the tube and growth should be evident at the tip. At a time suitable to the aquarist the tube with coral can be removed from the rock. It can then, as before, go to another aquarist or to a local dealer.

So with soft or hard corals, very little effort, plus zero additional expenditure, the aquarist can control any overgrowth of corals and at the same time increase the stock within the hobby. It doesn’t matter that it is only by one or two, the fact is it matters – and it’s easy.

Should there be a desire to read more here’s a link:

http://www.fragoutpost.com/frag-propagation

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A Word

No, no, I don’t want to whisper any secrets or anything like that. What I’m on about is a word, such as the individual ones in this sentence.

We all use words whether we are plumbers, salesmen, astronauts, taxi drivers, clerks, sailors, toilet attendants, or anything at all. Aquarists can go on the list of course. Without all the words (I wonder how many there are in the dictionary) it would be a bit hard ordering that burger – maybe someone would invent a colour system or something similar. It would have to be complicated. Question -red black red black red. Reply – black black black. Translation: do you know where the toilet is? Answer: haven’t a clue, sorry.

We need words to express ourselves, all of us. Some are action words, some are descriptive. Aquarists have much use for descriptive words, immediately one comes to mind and that is ‘beautiful,’ used with reference to colourful fish and stunning captive reefs.

Another use of words came to mind the other day. At the moment I am engaged in a garden project, mixing concrete and the like. I needed to dig areas out where the concrete needed to go and, as luck will usually have it, right in the way there was some old buried concrete. No problem, thought Mr. Do It Yourself, I’ll simply get my steel chisel and lump hammer. All went well using these caveman weapons, bits of concrete breaking away just as they should. Then I missed with my aim – instead of there being the metallic clang as several pounds of hurtling steel hit the end of a steel chisel there was a dull thud. The dull thud was my finger. I hopped around like a demented kangaroo for a while, my wife looking a little alarmed but not overly so – more than once she’s observed peculiar antics.

It was a bit like that cartoon ‘Tom and Jerry.’ Jerry usually manages to wallop Tom, who often goes red in the face and exits skywards. I don’t have that amazing ability – I just went red in the face and held a throbbing finger under the cold tap.

Now that was a situation where a descriptive word would have been more than useful – I can think of some very appropriate ones starting with particular letters of the alphabet! Unfortunately, appropriate as they may be, they are not acceptable to the fairer sex generally speaking. Worse, they are most definitely not acceptable to the ears of children, who must continue to live in the land where blue birds sing and parents and grandparents never utter any inappropriate word that their inquisitive little minds could latch on to – “What does ……. mean?”

Aquarists have their moments. My aquarium is under open stairs and fairly regularly there is a dull thud as my head comes into contact with the hard edge of the stairs underside. This is very amusing to my wife; the usual suggestion is to wear a hard hat. Never mind that I might be in some pain or be in the process of developing a headache (which would be worse than anyone else’s of course).

What about carrying a bucket of seawater, only for the handle to slip and the pristine carpet becomes a habitat suitable for crabs, or coming down the stairs and attempting to create an indoor water feature? Then of course there’s when the aquarist’s hand is in the aquarium – a good bite from the egg guarding clownfish just to remind the aquarist who is in charge. Or a scrape on the sometimes decidedly sharp edge of a coral rock. Or stretching just a little more down into the seawater only for a soggy sensation to give a reminder to roll the sleeve up. There are lots of circumstances.

So back to words – I’ve got one that suits a timely situation well. It’s the B word. I’ve used it many times. It usually is preceded by ‘Oh!’ and is spoken at high volume. It works well, strange how a word can relieve a situation all on its own to an extent. It must be the instantaneous release of emotion, a cry that never fails to obtain attention when anything else usually gets a response of “In a minute, maybe.” Yes, it’s a clarion call to anyone within earshot to pay heed. They do too, and how satisfying it is.

So when I whack myself with gay abandon, or pour seawater where I shouldn’t have poured it, I have my acceptable release. My B word demanding attention. Not for over use or the impact will diminish.

The great emotional call “……Oh, buns!”

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Have A Soft Flow For Better Polyp Extension

Seawater movement in the aquarium is a known requirement. This movement is needed by all marine aquarium creatures to a greater or lesser extent.

The aquarist who keeps a fish only system may believe that seawater movement is not so important and that belief is correct. However, fish need reasonable movement to prevent an area of ‘dead’ seawater developing around their body. It is also much more natural to have healthy movement as this is after all what occurs in their natural habitat, the wild reef. Fish also have a strong demand for oxygen and seawater movement maximizes good gas exchange.

Corals have a greater demand for seawater movement generally. This demand does vary between types, for example soft corals, again generally speaking, need less flow than hard corals, particularly the SPS (small polyp stony) types. As a general guideline to seawater movement, in the aquarium a soft coral display requires around 10 times the net gallonage to be moved per hour, and hard corals around 20 times or more. This movement is within the display aquarium, and does not apply to seawater moving through a sump.

The normal way of generating this movement is to employ power heads. More than one is usual, so that the outputs clash and chaotic and random movement is achieved. The output of the normal power head exits from a nozzle of, say, ½” (circa 12mm) in diameter. As this nozzle is narrow and the output is high, the seawater forms a powerful and narrow stream. This can be damaging to corals should it have a direct impact and care is needed in the coral’s placement. Even then corals in a good environment grow and may enter the high speed stream zone.

There is a relatively new type of power head now available which serves the same purpose as the type mentioned already. There is a very significant difference however, and this is that the nozzle is much wider, measuring around say 2½” to 3″ (circa 63mm to 75mm). Seawater leaving exits in a much gentler manner, which is not in a narrow stream but in a broader front. As the seawater stream is not so damaging the amount of seawater that is moved can be significantly increased over the older types of device, so the total amount of seawater that needs to be moved per hour is more easily achieved. The movement is more natural as well, as the stream forms, as said, a wider front. In the same way that the older power heads can be used in opposition, so can the wide output types. In fact, if two or more are used in opposition on timers then a wave system is not that difficult to generate.

The result of all this is generally happier corals. Provided the currents are not so strong that soft corals are being overcome by the surge and even hard corals are hard put to expand properly, the aquarist should see the corals are expanding and extending their polyps noticeably more.

The only time when the wide outlet power heads could need their output reducing is at feeding time to enable the fish to feed at leisure. Control units for the power heads, if used, normally have this ‘pause’ facility built in. Some aquarists also reduce the output of the power heads at night.

Anything that makes the aquarium environment a more natural one isn’t a bad thing, and the use of wide outlet power heads is a step in this direction.

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One Thing You Are Definitely Going To Need Is An Aquarium!

Perhaps the easiest decision to make, the one after actually deciding to keep marines, is the purchase of an aquarium. Well, it’s the very first need, the one to keep all the seawater together in one place!

So how to go about it – seems simple enough. Just go to the shop and get an aquarium that fits the space that has been designated for it.

Before the aquarist begins considering an aquarium purchase, it is necessary to have done some research into different marine systems (for example, fish only and reef tank) and come to a decision on which one is desired. Then a major consideration can take place, and that is running cost. It would be dreadful if the system had been set up over a period and the aquarist suddenly found him/herself faced with a frightening electricity bill.

When the system has been theoretically decided then the aquarist can list down some equipment requirements such as heaters and lighting. This is not wasting time as this knowledge will be required in due course anyway. There isn’t really a need to list all electrical equipment unless the aquarist wishes a near accurate calculation, just take into account the heating and lighting needs of the size of aquarium desired. Heating – and lighting on a reef aquarium if metal halide – are the big users of electricity. This is in a temperate area of course, in warmer areas a chiller could take the place of heaters and this is also quite hungry for electricity.

The calculation is simple – take the combined heater and lighting wattage (W) and divide it by 1000 (1000 is the normally used kilowatt which most electricity bills are based on). The result, probably a fraction, is the amount of electricity used in an hour. This is with the lights and heaters on all the time and of course they won’t be. So divide the answer by two. This will assume the heaters to be on half the time and also the lights. This again is not accurate, but for the purposes of this exercise is adequate as it is probably over estimated. However, remember there will be other equipment using electricity as well, though not as heavy in usage. For a day, multiply the answer by 24. For a week, multiply the last answer by 7 and so on. The cost is the number of kilowatts used including any fraction multiplied by the cost per kilowatt charged by the electricity supplier.

With this knowledge the aquarist will be either satisfied that the size of aquarium is economically acceptable or realize that it is too expensive. If the first, that’s great. If the second, all is not lost.

Downsize the aquarium is the obvious move, and this will reduce the heating and lighting requirements. If metal halides are to be used, then reducing the depth of the aquarium will mean that less powerful bulbs should be adequate, or that fluorescents could be used.

If metal halide lighting is a must because of what is to be kept (for example SPS corals) then running cost can be reduced by using a modern LED lighting system. These are now available as full arrays or as LED strip lights which look similar to fluorescents in physical size. These LED’s use much less electricity and the bulbs last far longer than fluorescents or metal halides. There are other advantages. Unfortunately, they are more expensive to purchase so though the ongoing running cost is considerably reduced the initial set-up cost is increased. Another lighting option is to use fluorescent T5 tubes and these are far less expensive than LED’s to purchase and cost less to run than metal halide bulbs. Again care must be taken as the depth of the aquarium matters, light will not penetrate as far as with metal halides.

It is really worth while checking the general running cost of a marine system before anything else, particularly in these days of increasing energy costs. Quite a few newcomers and more experienced aquarists have been unpleasantly surprised when the first electricity bill for the new or upgraded system arrives. Checking first avoids any nasty surprise.

Once the general running cost is checked and found to be acceptable then the aquarium size is known. Now an aquarium can be chosen.

Will it be acrylic or glass? I prefer glass as it doesn’t scratch so easily. Will it have a sump? Will it be in a cabinet? There is another question as well and that is what shape will it be?

Nowadays aquariums can be obtained in all sorts of sizes and shapes. There are the standard rectangular ones, square and round ones and those that fit into a corner as they are triangular. So if the space for the aquarium is ‘different’ there will be something suitable. Some aquarists even have ‘L’ shaped units to go around a corner though these are usually custom built on site. When choosing a shape, remember to consider the lights that are required – will they fit? Also will the intended lights have enough penetrating power for the depth of the aquarium, unless the livestock don’t require it?

Starting out with the design of a new system is exciting. Obtaining the aquarium is a first step and an easy one. Checking the guideline running cost is well worth while to avoid later unwelcome surprises or even shock. Cutting back on a newly set-up system is not going to enhance the aquarist’s enjoyment one bit.

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