Posts Tagged ‘reef aquarium’

How You Can Avoid A Common Fatal Mistake…

Monday, July 26th, 2010

New Tank Syndrome: This is quite simply the most frequently seen mistake in the saltwater aquarium keeping universe; in the form of dead or dying fish that (mostly) beginners to the hobby make. The root cause behind New Tank Syndrome (NTS) is a lack of patience: wanting to see those pretty fish swimming around well before the aquarium water has chemically “cycled” to a point where the beneficial bacterial populations can cope with converting this  fish induced ammonium waste to the less harmful nitrite (courtesy of Nitrosomonas bacteria) which is then converted to the much less harmful nitrate (courtesy of Nitrobacter bacteria).

This NTS will manifest itself as very stressed ammonium/nitrite toxified fish gasping at the surface, red colouring around the gills, diseases appearing due to stress or fish may even die with no symptoms. At this time many newbies give up in distress and leave this amazing hobby, if only they had read this article first…

This nitrogen cycling or “break in” process takes time (for more detailed information see my article “The Nitrogen Cycle And Saltwater Aquariums” in the resources section of www.SaltwaterAquariumAdvice.com), typically  with NTS too many fish tend to get put into the aquarium way before the bacteria are present in sufficient numbers to cope with their waste products, this mistake can occur from any time after the initiation of the nitrogen cycle with an ammonium source (use a commercial product and follow the instructions) to the cycling process being almost, but not quite complete. Cycling can take anyway from 3 to 100 days depending on what sort of filter (seeded or unseeded) you are using and whether or not you have live rock/sand. The key to not making this expensive mistake is regular ammonium,nitrite and nitrate testing using good test kits to see which phase the cycling is in before you add your first fish (I say first because using living fish to initiate the cycling process is cruel). You will want to see zeros levels of ammonium and nitrite (which you should have noticed have spiked and then come down over time) coupled with increasing levels of nitrate; which can be gotten rid of with regular partial water changes before the first fish goes in.

When it comes to adding fish once again patience, add one or two small hardy fish first, then wait a few weeks while the bacteria adjust to the increased fish waste bioload before adding more.

If you are reading this too late in a panic because all your fish are dying, it may not be irreversible. You can potentially save your fish by conducting a series of water changes (same temp, specific gravity pH) etc or moving your fish to a quarantine tank. You can also use products like Amquell to reduce ammonium levels and try adding some activated carbon to the system. Your fish if you can save them will be very stressed with weakened immune systems, adding some methylene blue to the water can help avoid infection.

New Tank Syndrome does not just happen to gung ho newbies you know. If you damage the bacterial population in your not-so-new aquarium by physically removing or chemically treating (many medications and antibiotics will kill beneficial bacteria) you will have exactly the same problem. This also goes for severe shock caused by massive temperature fluctuations and the use of chlorinated water.

So the moral of this story is to not be one of the uneducated masses that pour into and out of this hobby; be mindful of your bacterial helpers, test regularly during the cycling process and most importantly move SLOWLY!

Happy marine aquarium keeping,

Marine Aquarium Maestro
Saltwater Aquarium Advice

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Posted in Marine Aquarium Health, Marine Aquarium Troubleshooting, Nitrogen Cycle, saltwater aquarium set up | 1 Comment »

Reef Aquariums Simplified

Saturday, August 29th, 2009

As an avid marine aquarist, I have watched over the years as reef aquariums grow massively in popularity.  These days nano reefs and pico reefs are very popular as people are drawn toward smaller size (and perceived lower cost) of these tiny reef set ups. Typically nano reefs are less than 30 gallons (140L) in volume and pico reefs are super tiny at 5 gallons or less.

A reef aquarium is defined as a marine aquarium with the focus on corals and invertebrates rather than fish.  The key component of a reef aquarium is live rock used to “landscape” the tank and also as a primary mean of biological filtration.  As reef aquariums focus on the corals and other marine invertebrates the aim here is to truly make them look as if a slab of the native reef has been removed from the ocean and is now growing in your own home! Its also really fun to set up biotope reefs, for example I have done a Pacific island reef set up and seen another Caribbean one done.

One thing about reef aquariums versus fish-only or fish and live rock (FOWLR) is that water quality and vigorous water movement become much more of a must have here because of the corals requirements to thrive. Additionally, marine creature selection becomes a lot more important in reef set ups because of compatibility issues with fish, corals and other marine invertebrates making the situation a lot more difficult to balance. If you dont know what you are doing you can easily make expensive mistakes here, check out my best selling ebook “Ultimate Secrets to Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates” for easy steps to selecting marine species correctly the first time and everything else you could possibly want to knowing about owning a thriving reef aquarium.

Lighting is a major component of a good reef aquarium set up, this is so important because of the corals ability to photosynthesize to produce their food, Therefore the conditions of the tropical sun in real reef habitats will need to be effectively mimicked.  The most common lighting choices for reefers are: metal halide, T5, compact fluorescent or VHO (very high output) bulbs. Most reefers aim for 5-8 watts of light ouput per gallon of water. The key to a thriving reef environment is to choose your lighting to complement the requirements of the corals you want, then place the corals in the aquarium in their preferred proximity to the lights in the water column and in the appropriate water turbulence region. This may sound easier said than done but a little research and careful planning on you part will make the difference between a spectacular reef and a failure.

Never underestimate the water movement conditions your corals require. Water movement is vital to corals because it brings them their food (when the lights are off the coral polyps begin snatching plankton from the water, no coral relies solely on photosynthesis and some are entirely carnivorous), enables corals to respirate (brings O2 and takes away CO2), keeps them cool (important under hot lights), assists them in shedding protective tissue and finally rinses detritus and debris from the coral that would otherwise rot and potentially cause infection. Water movement can be easily regulated with the clever use of powerheads.

So, even though reef tanks sound complex believe me when I say they are extremely rewarding. A little careful research, planning and preparation on your part can result in a stunning reef that will be your pride and joy for years to come.

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Posted in Coral keeping, Marine Aquarium Lighting, Reef Aquariums, saltwater aquarium set up, selecting marine life | 1 Comment »