Saltwater Aquarium Advice

Stocking your saltwater aquarium is one of the most exciting times for a marine hobbyist. Introducing new additions to your colourful marine aquarium to watch and wonder over is awesome fun. For everything to go to plan and your new pets to thrive means that you will need to take things very seriously here in regards to compatibility, stocking levels and choosing healthy specimens.

Incorrect stocking of marine aquariums is a very common mistake; this usually arises from people moving too fast, picking unhealthy specimens and not doing enough research on their desired pets leading to compatibility issues. This can lead to stress in your aquarium (mostly the new inhabitants) and even death. Stocking a marine aquarium is the biggest variable to success in the set up process, if you do it wrong it can make the whole exercise a disaster, but if you do this right and take your time marine aquarium ownership will be smooth sailing for you. Any thoughtless purchases at this point can bring compatibility issues later which can be very hard to solve.

The best place to start with stocking is to make a saltwater aquarium plan, really know what it is you want in terms of marine life. Start with one or two “must have” species that will be the focal point of your aquarium. This is especially a good idea for small to medium aquariums, with larger aquariums you would go for a type of fish you want such as Tangs, Butterflyfish or Angels. Once you decide on your favourite fish, find out their exact requirements and set up the aquarium and choose other marine life centred around your tank “stars”. This keeps stocking very simple and as long as no one fish will compete closely with your favourites for a specific food type that is not readily available you are onto a winning strategy.

Adding invertebrates to the mixture can make things slightly trickier; if you have a fish only with live rock (FOWLR) set up try to use hardier invertebrate species (such as those commonly associated with live rock) that can tolerate a bit more nitrate in the water. This will make your life easier trying to cater to Invertebrate water quality needs.

As I have mentioned before the key to answering the compatibility question is diligent research on your chosen species in regard to behaviour/temperament, diet, size, preferred water conditions (light and water circulation) and growth rates, but ultimately fish have very individual personalities like us people, so it can be common for individuals of the same species to behave slightly differently.  Another factor that affects compatibility is the size of your tank and how much rockwork there is, generally the bigger the tank is and the more likely that fish can get out of the line of each others site for a while the better they will get on. A good way to ensure new additions settle in well is to rearrange the aquarium (and the residents established territories) when someone new is added, also keeping a light on at night seems to take the focus off the newcomer and can greatly help with any bullying.

Keeping fish well fed will keep them happy too; a hungry fish is a grumpy fish. When adding new fish to an established aquarium a great strategy is to put about 500mL of display aquarium water into the quarantine tank and visa versa so the newbies and the established fish can become familiar with the scent of each other before they meet. Another good idea is to put the quarantine tank next to the display tank so the fish can see each other.

This brings me to stocking levels; as a general rule of thumb a fish only aquarium should aim for less than 8 inches (20cm) of total fish length (nose to base of tail, not counting tail fin rays) per 22 gallons (100L) of water. A FOWLR set up with a few invertebrates should have a bit less fish at 6 inches (15cm) per 22 gallons (100L). Finally a reef set up should have no more than 4 inches (10cm) per 22 gallons (100L) this is because of the very low tolerances of corals and other invertebrates for slow nitrate build up in the water. The above estimates allows for room for error, but I warn you if these limits are exceeded by much the bioload will put too much strain on your biological filtration system and all it will take is one lost, dead fish or a bunch of uneaten food over a few days to cause the system to completely crash. When in doubt under-stock; this allows room for error and also takes into consideration your growing marine life.

When stocking your aquarium start with the more hardy, less aggressive fish first. This will give your aquarium water valuable time to stabilise after cycling before more sensitive species are introduced and will also help keep more aggressive, territorial species under control if they are not the first additions. Take the addition of fish very slowly waiting a month or so before adding one or two more, this gives the biological filtration system time to adjust to increasing waste levels.

The final aspect of stocking to get right is choosing healthy specimens, this can be very easy to do with careful visual inspections of the fish you intend to buy, checking every part of the fish for parasites, disease or other damage. Make sure the aquarium it is housed in is healthy and clean also. Pay attention to the fish’s behaviour to make sure it is acting normally. The golden rule here is to watch it eat (more than once if you can) make sure it has a good appetite, is alert and competitive with the other fish for food. The final thing you want to avoid is a brand new fish into the store; give it a week or so to see how it adjusts to captive life and copes with the stress of being removed from the reef environment. It is worth a mention again that where possible buy captive reared marine life, as they are much hardier and happier than their wild-caught relatives. Captive bred species also reduces pressure on species harvested from reef ecosystems, which should be very important to any marine life lover.

So the keys to successful marine life stocking are research, planning and lots of patience. Carefully planned out and executed saltwater aquarium stocking will provide years of happiness for marine life and marine aquarists alike.

For top saltwater aquarium advice and information as well as the hottest aquarium products in the world go to: www.SaltwaterAquariumAdvice.com

Saltwater Aquarium Advice

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Saltwater aquariums are almost always stocked with tropical marine life (you can also have cold water marine set ups, but these are relatively uncommon), which by definition is marine fish and invertebrates that come from tropical regions of the world where water temperatures are a constant, balmy 77-80°F (25-27°C).  This marine life can only tolerate small and gradual changes in water temperature.

This universal characteristic of our favourite marine pets makes temperature (heating and cooling) a vitally important aspect in any marine aquarium. The importance of heating is often under-estimated by new marine aquarists, which can lead to heating disasters, the easiest way to wipe out your entire tank results from heater malfunctions, such as a heater being “stuck on” or not heating at all. A heater being stuck on and causing all the inhabitants to perish is the source of many a sad email to me.

The best thing you can do to prevent heating disasters is to buy a quality heater. Cheap, poorly made heaters can and do often get stuck on or fail to heat; they can also be a fire risk in your home. You need to look at vital saltwater aquarium equipment heater as a life support system for your marine life; choosing the cheap and cheerful option can often cost so much more in the long run.

A good heater is fully submersible as opposed to hang on. This is because if the water level drops the hang on model can overheat and burn out. Another important feature of a quality heater is being made of shatterproof material and is also corrosion resistant. New titanium heaters are an excellent investment in my opinion, these heaters are accurate, conduct heat brilliantly and mostly have a built in temperature sensor which shuts off the unit if it comes into contact with the air which would otherwise cause the heater to overheat and break.

A temperature controller unit is advisable to use with heating and cooling units, this does all the leg work for you and keeps fluctuations to a minimum, which is very good news for marine life. I also advise a thermometer with an audible alarm as an extra measure.

Another good practise is to go for 2 smaller heaters as opposed to one big one; this will make it harder for one to overheat the tank before you realise and if one stops heating the tank temperature wont drop severely.

Remember to handle all heaters with care and set-up as per manufacturers instructions, turn units off when exposing to air or performing maintenance and keep them clean, especially so you can see the indicator light is on. Always plug them into a GFI.

If you live in a hot climate, prefer your home a little warmer or have an intense lighting set-up (such as VHO fluorescent lights for a reef aquarium) chances are you will need an aquarium chiller, which will keep your marine aquarium water below a particular temperature. This is especially important when you keep corals because the lighting requirements they have cause a lot of heat generation from the bulbs, often times this can cause a water temperature increase of around 7°F! These lighting set ups can often mean you wont need your heater turned on, however it is advisable to have one as a back up. Once again as the correct temperature is so important it is my advice to purchase a quality chilling unit.

When both a chiller and a heater are hooked up to a temperature controller this is ideal to keep the temperature in your saltwater aquarium constant no matter what else maybe happening and you marine life will love you for it.

For more vital saltwater aquarium information and to see what my best selling ebook can offer you go to www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com

All marine creatures have evolved in the sea, which is a very stable environment with massive water buffering capacity (which means stable temperature, pH, specific gravity, oxygen, nitrate and other chemicals) because of its large size. This is unlike freshwater fish whose environment can often be affected dramatically by events like landslides, snowmelt, drought and flooding causing massive changes in water conditions. This lack of chemical and physical change in seawater means marine fish and invertebrates do not possess the physiological ability to adapt to different water conditions that freshwater species possess.

For us as marine aquarists this means to ensure our marine pets survive and thrive we need to provide optimal water quality at all times. This is especially true for reef aquariums where corals have a much more specific set of requirements than marine fish do.

In my experience poor water quality is the number one reason things go wrong with marine life in peoples saltwater aquariums. It is the leading cause of death resulting from stress and shock of chemical and physical fluctuations in the water.

So the key here is good quality, stable saltwater which is actually easy to achieve.

The first main consideration in top quality water is a really good purified water source. As I have mentioned before water from the tap should never be used as it contains high levels of phosphate, nitrate and heavy metals among other chemicals you do not want in your aquarium. The best way to obtain purified water is to purchase a reverse osmosis water filter for tap water; this investment will soon pay itself back to you. Alternatively you can purchase prefiltered/distilled water or preprepared saltwater.

Next up would be a high quality salt mix if you are using filtered freshwater, this should closely replicate the chemical composition of natural seawater (NSW) and will add in all the vital minerals and trace elements your marine life need for health.

Now that we have the nuts and bolts of a good quality saltwater source figured out the next major parameter required for high quality saltwater aquarium water are a high level of oxygenation and strong water movement.

Oxygenation can come from a good protein skimmer, but also airstones and water pumps and powerheads; any thing that moves water around rapidly or puts bubbles into it. All marine life breath oxygen as do we people so this is important especially as saltwater absorbs 250 times less oxygen than freshwater so we want a high water turnover at the surface of the tank where oxygen can be absorbed.

Strong, multidirectional water movement as I have mentioned before is especially important for corals and other sessile invertebrates; to bring them their plankton food and nutrients, clean them of detritus and oxygenate them. You can never really have too much water movement in a marine aquarium; it stirs up detritus and prevents anoxic zones forming where organic debris could start decaying anaerobically releasing deadly toxins into the water. A series of powerheads pointed at each other will do the job; you can even put them on timers to emulate ebb and flow. You can also get advanced programmable propeller pumps to simulate different reef water movements and waves.

The ideal water temperature for a saltwater aquarium is 77-80°F (25-27°C) this will be achieved using 2 heaters depending on your aquarium size. If you live in a warm house/climate or have metal halide lights you may need to purchase a water chiller too especially if you have a reef aquarium. A chiller is particularly useful if your temperatures are fluctuating more than 4 degrees (F) at a time that will stress out your marine life.

To accurately keep the temperature in the range 77-80°F (25-27°C) you will need an accurate thermometer. Even better is a temperature controller unit hooked up to your heater that will keep temperature fluctuations to a minimum and lead to less stressed marine life.

Good quality marine aquarium water will have an ideal pH (alkalinity) of 8.3. To keep the pH at this level you will need to test it regularly using a pH test kit. In a fish only set up the pH can range from 7.6 to 8.4 without causing harm to the fish. In a reef tank the invertebrates are more sensitive requiring a pH range of 8.0 to 8.4.

In a saltwater aquarium set up the pH is normally likely to go down overall (become more acidic) mostly from organic acids produced by biological waste. Usually the waters buffering system can retard this pH drop to a degree but it does begin to wear out after a while and the buffering chemicals such as calcium, carbonate, and bicarbonate need replenishing. This is where the term “alkalinity” comes in; it is the waters buffering ability to stay alkaline in the presence of these acids.

The best way to stabilise pH is with regular partial water changes, which replenishes the aquariums buffering capacity, and also adds back vital trace elements that get used up by marine life.

If the pH is too low you can add a pH reduction product. If its too high you can add a pH increaser product or baking soda, you just have to be careful as the basic baking soda can burn marine life before it gets diluted.

Carbonate hardness (dKH) is the measure of alkalinity or buffering capacity of saltwater, which is essentially the pH stabiliser. Ideally you will have 9-12dKH this will provide good buffering against pH fluctuations. This can best tested for with carbonate hardness test kits.

Calcium Reactors are high tech pieces of equipment that offer a fantastic solution to the problems of pH fluctuations, carbonate hardness and calcium dosing (especially important for reef aquariums) in one unit. Aquarium water, CO2 gas and calcium carbonate are combined in a reaction chamber to produce injections of calcium bicarbonate that provides the calcium vital for invertebrates’ growth, adequately buffer aquarium water and corrects pH. Calcium reactors are strongly recommended for reef aquariums.

Specific gravity is a weight ratio of one litre of a substance (saltwater in this case) compared to one litre of water and is temperature dependant. It is essentially a way to measure the salt content in your aquarium and to make sure it is as close as possible to seawater. This is an important parameter of good quality aquarium water.

Hydrometers are used to measure specific gravity that ideally will be 1.023. Conductivity however is a more accurate measure. The conductivity of your aquarium water should be 50.1 ms/cm @ 25°C this can be measured using conductivity probe.

Specific gravity will change with the event of evaporation, which leaves behind salt and increases specific gravity and salinity that will harm marine life; this is why we need to measure it regularly. If its too low add more salt mix, too high add more purified water.

Its important to note that marine life from the Red Sea which has a higher salt content than the rest of the worlds oceans need their specific gravity at 1.024-1.025 to be optimally healthy.

Ammonia/Ammonium, Nitrite and Nitrate are all Nitrogenous compounds form the breakdown of biological waste and organic matter. All should be scrubbed up by biological filtration and be kept to an absolute minimum. Test kits are readily available for each compound. Ammonia and Nitrite are particularly toxic to marine life and should only be present during biological cycling in a new aquarium, ideally you will have a zero reading for these.

Nitrate is the end product of nitrification and again we want as little of this as possible Fish only aquariums should have less than 50ppm (~20mg/litre). Reef and FOWLR (fish only with live rock) aquariums should have less than 20ppm (~3mg/litre).

All the major water quality and water chemistry components have now been covered for fish only aquariums if you have a FOWLR aquarium with a few corals and other invertebrates or a reef aquarium you must also consider the following parameters:

Phosphate levels must be kept to a minimum, even though phosphate is a major nutrient for corals. Ideal phosphate levels should be less than 0.05ppm (or 0.01 mg/litre). Phosphate can be introduced to the aquarium in many forms (unfiltered water, overfeeding, non-phosphate free salt mixes or medias) and excess leads to algae blooms that are particularly undesirable in reef aquariums where it grows on the corals and can suffocate them. So you should test new aquarium products for phosphate by putting them in water for an hour then testing that water. Phosphate test kits are cheap and easy to use. Phosphate removal media is a very good way to get rid of excess phosphate from your system. Regular water changes should help you keep on top of phosphate levels.

Calcium is a very important compound in reef aquariums as hard corals, molluscs, soft corals and crustaceans use a lot of this compound to build their skeletons. Calcium is used up from the water fast in an established aquarium; as much as 15mg/litre per day! Calcium levels are ideally 420mg/litre, which is the same as NSW. Test kits can be used to give a handle on this vital element calcium can be dosed into your aquarium using a calcium reactor and not simply by adding coral sand to your aquarium as many people incorrectly think. Depletion of calcium also reduces the buffering capacity of marine aquarium water too.

Other important elements for thriving invertebrates in reef aquariums are Iodine and Iron, which are both beneficial for fish too commercial additives and test kits are easily available. The ideal levels for each are 0.5 mg/litre for iodine and 0.05 mg/litre for Iron. Both are used up from the water by marine life so will need to be tested for regularly.

Stony reef building corals also need Strontium, ideally at 8 mg/litre for building up their skeletons. Strontium is quickly depleted from the water so will need to be added regularly.

We all know keeping your marine aquarium clean can sometimes be a chore, but it is a small price to pay for having a pristine display tank that wows everyone that walks in the room. But, there is an easier way; enlisting the help of a few particular species of invertebrates ,plants and fish to do the job for you! A lot of people contact me via www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com asking about marine tank janitors, heres’ what I tell them:

Marine tank janitors are a selection of beneficial marine organisms basically feed on algae, detritus and any uneaten food left in the aquarium, additionally marine plants mop up nitrates and phosphate (biological waste products of excretion). This assortment of helpful invertebrates, fish and plant life are literally the janitors or clean up crew of a marine aquarium. If you own a reef tank having these guys around is a no brainer as long as they get along with your corals and invertebrates, if you have a fish only set up just do a bit of research first and make sure none of your fish species will feast on your clean up crew (always research fish, coral and invertebrate species compatibility before adding in new tank inhabitants).

So your clean up crew will generally be made up of  a combination of crabs, snails, shrimp, sea cucumbers, Starfish, marine plants and sand sifting Gobies and Blennies. A number of these species are more sutiable for newbies such as Cleaner shrimp, crabs, Gobies and starfish.

If you have a sandy substrate, sand sifting species such as the Gobies (for example; 2 spot Goby, Sleeper Goby, Watchman Goby) and sea cucumbers such as the black or Tiger tail will do an excellent job of plowing through the sand looking for detritus. This is very beneficial to keep your tank looking clean and the nitrate/nitrite levels down and  efficiently aerates the sand.

Species which will keep the rocks and glass free of algae and detritus are herbivorous Blennies and Tangs (including my personal favourite the blue regal Tang, as these species eat a vegetarian diet they are perfect for reef aquariums), hermit crabs such as dwarf and electric species and snails such as the hugely popular Astrea and Turbo snail. Snails and hermit crabs are quite small so will not rearrange the aquarium or require much care, however Tangs can grow quite large and need additional feeding so make sure you have enough space.

Hermit crabs such as the blue legged and red legged species are perfect for algae control because they are small so do not cause too much of a disturbance in the tank and can fit into tiny gaps for better algae predation. In terms of true crabs, the Emerald Green Crab is the best selection for a reef aquarium because they are so reef safe and so got at controlling algae.

It is my hope that you will now be armed with some background information to help you select a clean up crew for your own marine aquarium. These guys can really be a savvy marine aquarists’ best friends!

For more information on maintaining marine aquariums and keeping optimally happy, healthy marine life; check out my best selling publication “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates”

The important role of live rock and sand in a marine aquarium is something that most beginner aquarists really dont understand

So here it is for you guys in black and white!

Writing all the content for my ebook “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Fish and Invertebrates” on www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com has really opened my eyes to the true importance of live rock and sand. Basically for you to recreate a small slice of the ocean in your home, you need a myriad of micro-organisms that are a crucial to the ocean eco-system. This is the reason why early saltwater aquariums (like in the 60’s or something!) ended up having all the marine life dying; especially corals, which people began thinking could simply not survive in captivity.

And right there is where live rock and sand (basically sand with micro-organisms and invertebrates living in it, can be used with live rock as well) come in, you see live rock is taken from rubble zones of ocean reefs it is very porous and in these pores live micro-organisms and tiny invertebrates that break down the waste products created by the life-cycles in the ocean. So essentially to breakdown the waste products in your aquarium it only makes sense that you require the assistance of such organisms. So live rock and sand is fundamentally the biological filtration agent of the oceans (and your aquarium). Additional to biological filtration live rock also gives your marine life a place to hide and looks natural and appealing in an aquarium.

Before you go hurling chunks of live rock and handfuls of sand into your aquarium, this stuff needs to be cured before it comes into contact with your marine life (or else the decomposition can harm your marine life and throw out your water quality by adding ammonia and debris). Curing initiates the nitrogen cycle and takes about 5 weeks to do it properly, you want to initiate the nitrogen cycle so the micro-organisms break down the waste products of your marine life which if left unchecked will build up to toxic levels. During this process you will want to change the water about once a week, replacing 25% at a time. A good rule of thumb is to use 1.5 pounds of rock for every gallon of water. Remember to check with the seller of the live rock to see whether the curing has already been done, if you have to do it yourself it may seem like a

lot of effort but it is well worth it. Your marine aquarium will be a much more healthy and efficient eco-system which a lot less toxic nitrates in the water.

For more information on live rock and sand, check out “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Fish and Invertebrates” available from www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com

Today I thought I would write a post on one of the most common problems that saltwater hobbiests face; that annoying green stuff growing on surfaces that can eventually take over the tank if left unchecked. As we all know algae can be the bane of marine aquarists lives, making even the brightest most colourful saltwater aquarium look dirty and unclean.

There are many different types of algae and many reasons why it is invading your tank. Algae is a plant and therefore thrives especially in tanks where there is not a lot of competition for nutrients (such as high phosphates and nitrates) such as a fish only set-up.

Algae removal is a very hot topic with marine aquarists, I am asked all the time on www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com the best way to battle this nuisance organism. So ive decided to put together some hints and tips to help you to rid your marine aquarium of algae forever!

1. Light levels:One good way to combat algae is to reduce the amount of light (the photoperiod) in your aquarium (unless you keep corals or other organisms that need light for healthy growth), for example if your aquarium can do without light for an hour or two you would be surprised by how much this can reduce algal growth.

2. Reduce Phosphate levels: High levels of Phosphates are often the main cause of an algal invasion, commonly their levels will be undetectable when tested for because the algae uses the phosphates straight away at such a fast rate. To combat high phosphate levels conduct partial water changes more regularly, you can also purchase a phosphate removal chemical such as Phosban. An important note here is to put phosphate remover into top up/water change water before it gets to the algae in the rest of the aquarium. Keeping a handle on water chemistry levels (regular testing people!) will help prevent algae outbreaks.

3. Purchase other marine plants: As I mentioned earlier, algae often colonises aquariums because of the high levels of nutrients and low levels of competition. Therefore another good strategy is to get some marine plants in to help mop up excess nutrients and make it harder for the algae to establish, they also look awesome in marine aquariums too!

4. Use RO or distilled water: If you are having algae problems another thing I would suggest is to use only reverse osmosis or distilled waters as these have been treated in such a way that removes phosphates, nitrates and other algal growth promoting ions from the water. In my experience this would be the first place to start if you are having algae problems.

5. Reduce feeding levels: Just by feeding carefully and making sure everything in the tank is eating properly you will be able to cut back on feedings, because uneaten food decays and becomes nutrients for algal growth.

6. Conduct more regular water changes:just by doing simple water changes regularly the levels of nutrients for algae in the water column will be greatly reduced, always remember to try and flush any detritus that has settled onto rocks etc out with a powerhead or turkey baster and suck it out of the tank, this strategy also greatly protects corals and other sessile invertebrates from disease caused by decaying matter on coral tissue. A really good quality skimmer will also greatly help to remove organic matter from your tank.

7. Helper invertebrates: Another great strategy is to purchase some invertebrates that feed off algae for your aquarium. Turbo snails, Emerald crabs, blue legged Hermit crabs and Sea Hares are all good choices. And its really fun to watch them smash all that horrible algae! I would suggest purchasing a number of some of the above, so you have an effective little algae battling team!

8. Algae eating fish:A fish or two of an algae eating species can also greatly reduce the incidence of algae in your aquarium. Tangs are the most popular algae eating fish, but here are some others: Angelfish, Batfish, Blennies, Butterflyfish, Clownfish, Damselfish….. the list goes on. The important thing to remember here is to select species that are compatible with the rest of your tank, also be wary of some algae eating species that may also snack on corals.

9. Manual algae removal: Dont be afraid to get your (clean) hands wet and rip out as much algae as you can, this can be quite effective especially with Hair algae. Ensure that you remove all strands or it will just grow back quickly.

10. Research your problem algae:As a scientist you may have noticed that I play the “research” card pretty often! This is because conducting your own research is invaluble to increase your knowledge and make you more successful as a marine aquarist. There are always people that have experienced what you are going through, so find out what they did. In this particular instance you should (through research) identify what your problem algae is and what effective ways there are to deal with it.

I hope this post is helpful to you in terms of battling problem algae in your marine aquarium.

Maintaining top water quality is crucial for your marine aquarium and especially the health and wellbeing of its inhabitants! In the first place you need to ensure you have a good quality water source.  This means not straight from the tap, because of the chemicals present in tap water. Purified, filtered or distilled water can save a lot of problems later on and is really worth the investment. You can add you own salt to this, or purchase pre-prepared saltwater which is obviously the easier but more expensive option. I personally recommend you purchase quality distilled or reverse osmosis water, or some form of pre-purified sea water if you can afford it. Failing that, another option is to use a water purification filter, but you need to make sure it is a quality product. Using good quality water is a wise investment that will definitely help prevent water problems.

A lot of people ask me through www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com if they can use seawater, straight from the ocean. The simple answer is yes you can, but I wouldn’t myself as this water may contain parasites and pollutants that may harm your marine life.

The second key to good water quality is regular partial water changes. Water changes are useful to reduce the overall cycling time, instantly dilute and remove contaminants that might harm your marine life, remedy ammonia spikes, and help to clear cloudy water.

Changing the water is very important, because toxic biological waste builds up in your tank all the time which changes your water quality.  If there are enough nitrates and phosphates in your tank your marine life can actually die. The only really effective way to prevent this waste build up and replace vital trace elements is to physically change the water. The most common technique is to replace 20-30% of the aquarium water every month.

I recommend you replace around 15% every fortnight; just because if you replace 30% at once pH shock can harm your marine life.   Marine fish are really sensitive to changes in salinity and temperature, so changing smaller amounts twice a month  will help reduce the shock instead of 1 major water change.

When you change the water a good idea is to use a powerhead to rinse  all the debris from rocks, corals and substrate, then vacuum this out from the bottom of the tank using a gravel cleaner. This needs to be done as you siphon the water out into a bucket and discard it. The idea here is to stir up the detritus and suck it all out!

Again, you really need to make sure that the water you add to your tank to replace your discarded water is good quality and has the same temperature, pH and salinity as what’s already in your tank.  And also make sure you prepare it in clean containers.

For more info on this topic and many others check out my best selling ebook: “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates”

Todays post is prompted by some very upset emails I have recently received into my www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com inbox. How do we get rid of Ich (a.k.a. white spot disease, velvet, marine ich, coral fish disease etc)?

For starters the best way to prevent this in the first place is to quarantine your fish when you bring them home from the marine fish store, also when you see the tell tale symptoms of a fish in your display tank (see my quarantine tank post), quarantining will stop disease from spreading to other fish and/or getting into your display tank to begin with. This is the single best way to proactively prevent Ich breakouts. Another difficulty with Ich is that many commercially available treatments simply do not work effectively.

If its already too late and you have put your new fish straight into the display aquarium or you have a breakout, the first step after spotting the symptoms (white spots on skin, scratching, hyperactivity, fast breathing, reduced appetite etc) is to figure out which one of the 3 disease causing organisms is responsible for the infection. It is important to note that the 3 parasitic organisms responsible for Ich inflict various symptoms, one of which is white spots on the fish which is the main symptom these 3 external parasites have in common and is the reason why white spot disease can be easily mis-diagnosed.

If your afflicted fish is a clown fish (but not limited to Clown fish, Damsel fish often get it), the parasite could well be Brooklynella hostilis which appears as concentrated patches of white spots on the fishes body coupled with a large amount of slime exuding from the fish (the tell tale sign of a Brooklynella infection). This disease can be treated by copper (limited success) or a 37% Formalin solution as a dip (its important to note that you should NEVER put a copper treatment into a tank containing live corals or invertebrates as it is toxic to them and can kill them, the best strategy is to transfer the diseased fish to a quarantine tank and medicate there, or if you have to medicate in a display tank get a copper test kit to ensure there is none left in the water before adding invertebrates).

The next potential culprit could be Amyloodinium ocellatum (causes the disease called marine ich, coral fish disease or velvet), this dinoflaggelate reproduces so rapidly that if it is not identified and treated fast it could potentially kill all your fish. Oodinium primarily attacks the gills before the rest of the body and looks like the fish is covered in a velvet film (as the white spots are tiny).

Amyloodinium ocellatum is most effectiviely treated with copper, the fish should be removed into a quarantine tank after 2 minute freshwater dips, then you should medicate (read the product instructions thoroughly), fish that have reached secondary infection (excessive mucus production) should be treated with a course of antibiotics if it is not already too late for them. Oodinium caused Ich can be effectively treated with products containing copper sulphate (will harm corals) which can simply be put into the water as per the instructions. For example Cupramine® copper treatment (maintain a concentration of .30 ppm for at least three weeks). Basically, you should continue treatment for a week or so after the symptoms have disappeared and try to keep the fish as stress free as possible. Marine aquarium material with pores such as live rock and filters actually absorbs copper, so your treatment should take place in a relatively bare quarantine tank.

The final organism responsible for Ich, that im going to talk about is Cryptocaryon irritans, this organism is a ciliated protozoan and is the slowest advancing in terms of disease progression so is relatively easy to catch and treat early. Unlike Brooklynella hostilis and Amyloodinium ocellatum which begin around the gills Cryptocaryon infections begin on the body and fins, before moving in towards the gills. Like Oodinium this external parasite is often present in the marine environment in low numbers and will not cause an infection until such things as poor water quality and temperature changes will stress the fish out enough to compromise their immune systems thus becoming susceptible to these parasites.  The best way to treat for a Cyrpto infection is by using a copper treatment, some parasite may bury themselves deep into the fishes skin, these can be treated by freshwater and formalin dips. Once again a prolonged treatment period in a stress free QT is my recommendation.

Once you have treated your fish and the symptoms have disappeared for over a week, you are not yet out of the woods. Your display tank will have to be left fish free for 4 weeks or so, this is so the parasites can carry out their lifecycles free of their fish hosts (which they require for reproduction) and die off for good. Hyposalinity and a higher temperature (fish only tanks) can also reduce this time. But the most important thing you can do to reduce and prevent Ich outbreaks is reduce stress and quarantine new marine life.

For more info on recognising early warning signs of disease before its too late check out my ebook “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates”

The protein skimmer is a very important piece of equipment for your marine aquarium, next to biological filtration protein skimming is probably the most crucial process to ensure a happy, healthy saltwater aquarium.

So what does a protein skimmer do? Basically, at any one time your aquarium water is full of dissolved organic matter (DOM) mostly in the form of protein, this comes from uneaten food and waste products from marine life. Unchecked this DOM puts stress on the biological system and will eventually cause a massive reduction in water quality potentially putting your marine life in danger.

So protein skimming is very important for maintaining high water quality, protein skimmers increase the levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, improve water clarity (especially beneficial for coral growth), tend to keep the pH more stable and reduce the chances of algal blooms by removing potential food sources. Most importantly they reduce the need for water changes and keep marine life happier because of the high water quality they provide.  But this said they can be expensive and arent an absolute necessity if you conduct very regular partial water changes. But as far as im concerned they are very beneficial for any marine aquarium and provide huge benefits for water quality, after you have seen how much gunk is removed from your water by these things its not hard to get a measure on the benefit they provide your tank.

Protein skimmers work by taking in water and passing it through a stream of bubbles, the DOM in the water is attracted to the air/water interface and stick to the bubbles, the bubbles then carry it into a cup which is regularly emptied.

My advice would be to not skimp on a protein skimmer and buy a good quality product that is capable of handling around twice the volume of water you have in your aquarium. A lot of new aquarists try to save money and buy inferior products only to find that they are not doing the job correctly and have to be replaced costing more than if you had just brought a good one, in my experience this is the most common error made when purchasing equipment for your marine aquarium - consider yourself warned! Most well stocked systems will generate about a cup of DOM a day, do you really want this skimmate potentially screwing up your water quality Just to save a bit of money that you will only have to pay later? The piece of mind and awesome, stable water quality these things provide make them good investments especially for beginners, your marine life will thank you for it.

There are many different types of protein skimmers, and as I have said before they can be quite expensive. If you have an aquarium with a sump, you should go for a stand alone device, if you have no sump the hang on type will be most beneficial. All protein skimmers work the same way in that they draw in water through a “venturi” type device, pass it through a stream of tiny bubbles and are electric, But as I have said previously in all my posts ensure you do your research and buy a good quality product that suit your aquarium.

For more information on protein skimming and marine biology tips to ensure a healthy, thriving marine aquarium environment check out my publication “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates”