Saltwater Aquarium Advice

Hey fellow Saltwater Aquarium fans,

Basically as im sure you have realised you almost need a dictionary and a marine biology text book to cope with all the terms and jargon in this hobby! I actually find this pretty cool as I love to confuse my wife and friends

Today im going to introduce to you a couple of unique aquarium filtration options you may or may not of heard of and explain what they are and what they do.

1. The Plenum: Sounds weird but can actually be amazingly helpful for an aquarium. A Plenum system is a type of Biological filter that uses a deep bed of live sand (micro and macro organism packed sand from the sea) suspended an inch or so off the aquarium bottom as the biological filter that contains both aerobic (removes ammonia and nitrite) and anaerobic (removes nitrates) areas in its depth which is traditionally about 5 inches.

The Plenum system (also known as a Deep Sand Bed or “DSB” filter) was developed by a very smart Dr Jaubert (and so is also known as the Jaubert system, argh so many names for this one thing!!!!) for keeping his reef aquarium healthy. The plenum itself is the oxygen free lower level of sand/gravel suspended by a plastic grid on supports above the aquarium base so that warm water (generated from the anaerobic conversion of nitrates into nitrogen gas) can drift up through the filter and removes any harmful hydrogen sulphide build up in the sand bed.

The surface of the plenum system will be packed with sand stirring filter feeders aerating and cleaning the top layers of Live Sand that contain the aerobic bacteria, sand sifting Gobies and Wrasses add to this effect.

When a Plenum filter is used in conjunction with a protein skimmer it is a very effective bio filter especially because of its nitrate reduction. It works best when the reef is suspended above the plenum using glue or epoxy resin for maximum water flow and so filtration. A possible downside is a buildup of harmful hydrogen sulphide if there isnt sufficient water movement upwards or sand sifting at the top.

2. The Refugium: A place to harbour refugees under your aquarium! No really it is; a ‘fuge is a tank  separate from the main aquarium with (usually) shared filtration and its own lighting either beside (hang on style) or beneath the display tank (like a sump) to put delicate, sensitive species so they can be free of predation at the hands (or fins) of fish, that would occur if they were in the display tank. In fact the refugium has many possible uses:

1. A quarantine tank for new arrivals.
2. A treatment tank for medications (treatment has to be safe for the main tank or have seperate filtration though).
3. A quiet place for the bullied or bullies (naughty corner!) to go.
4. A system to raise shrimp (algae, amphipods, copepods) to feed the display tank or just as additional pets.
5. A place to keep live sand, grow some plants to help with water quality.
6. A place to add gear without messing with the display tank.

As well as having all these possible uses the refugium increases the total water volume which is good for making the water stable, increasing buffering capacity and dilution of nasties in the water, obviously the bigger volume of your refugium the better.

3. Berlin system: If you are thinking this has got something to do with German saltwater tanks you are right! Some clever Germans in Berlin came up with a new take on filtration also known as the “natural system” that is based around the use of large amounts of live rock as your biological filter. The Berlin system remains the filtration system of choice for reef aquarium purists as it is very natural, after all Live Rock is the biological filter of the worlds coral reefs.

The Berlin system uses Live Rock as the aquarium’s biological filter as it is packed with beneficial bacteria that will convert ammonia into nitrite, then nitrite into nitrate and even has oxygen free zones (anaerobic) within it containing  bacteria which convert nitrate into harmless nitrogen gas. This is the Berlin systems natural nitrate reduction (NNR) system.

Along with the Live Rock (housed in the aquarium itself or in the sump) there is a big ol protein skimmer which aids filtration by removing much of the marine life’s waste and uneaten food at the source before its converted into ammonia making the bacteria’s job easier. There is also no substrate, to help the protein skimmer suck out all the detritus unhindered.  And thats about it, very simple, natural and highly effective. I have run a system like this before and it ran like a dream!

The advantages of a system like this is the fact that it looks appealing and is letting nature do its job, its also relatively simple, cheap to set up and looks really good (I absolutely love Live Rock!). The only real downside is the bioload a system like this can sustain; you can only put so much livestock in for the amount of Live rock you have because there is only limited surface area for the bacteria to grow to deal with this waste.

I hope this article helped to shed some light on some different biological filtration options available to the saltwater hobbyist.

Your marine aquarium maestro.

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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