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.

For excellent saltwater aquarium advice and salt water aquarium products check out www.SaltwaterAquariumAdvice.com or click “home” on the menu bar.
Saltwater Aquarium Advice

Promote Your Page Too

??

The process of lighting a saltwater aquarium serves two purposes; the first is to allow us to view the marine life and also to showcase and highlight the amazing colours that lie within. The second function is to mimic natural sunlight as closely as possible; to give our marine life some sort of day/night rhythm and provide food for the photosynthesising organisms such as corals, plants, coralline algae, phytoplankton and other invertebrates which use light as their energy source through photosynthesis. Ultimately this means they turn light and carbon dioxide into food (carbon), oxygen and water. The light requirement for this process is between 350- 750nm and is partly UVA.

To adequately light your marine aquarium the only 3 parameters you must consider are quality, quantity and duration of light.

Regular 12-16 hour lighting periods are optimal for good marine life health, a great idea is to use timers and have the actinic bulbs only on for 1-2 hours each end to simulate dawn and dusk.

The best lighting system will be a combination of actinic (blue) and daylight bulbs.

As a general rule of thumb the bulbs needed to sustain photosynthetic light should have a colour temperature of around 6500°K - 12000°K for general reef applications (colour temperature increases with depth so much deeper water species require higher colour temperatures, these are very specialist). You should also aim for 3 (soft corals) to 5 (hard corals) watts of light per gallon of saltwater as another general rule, this will help you decide how many bulbs at what wattage you will need.

Optimal lighting is a delicate arrangement that is dictated by the type of saltwater aquarium you plan to keep and what creatures you plan to keep in it. Photosynthesising marine life falls into 3 different catergories: low light species such as large polyped stony corals (LPS), moderate light species such as many soft corals and high light loving including many small polyped stony corals (SPS) and Tridacnid clams.

The trick here is to try and get compatible species that thrive under similar light conditions or get very creative at placing high light species higher up towards the lights and moderate light species lower in the aquarium this way you wont saturate some species with too much light (damaging) or cause some species to not receive enough lighting for good growth. Species that are not getting as much light as they should be can to some degree be compensated with supplementary feeding such as plankton.

The most simplistic lighting requirements can be used for fish only aquariums where all you want to do is be able to view your fish and give them a day/night cycle. Fluorescent lights of normal/standard output (NO) are all that is required here; full spectrum bulbs produce a more natural looking light and actinic blue lights bring out colourful pigments nicely.

Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR) aquariums typically include the photosynthesising coralline algae encrusting the live rock and a handful of select invertebrates, depending on how many and which type of corals and/or photosynthetic anemones you have you may want to go up to high output fluorescents (greater luminosity than normal output fluoros) such as a T5 set up. T5 lights have become extremely popular in the past few years. If combined with electronic ballast they run cooler, longer and more energy efficiently than other lighting set ups, they also penetrate the water better than many other types of thicker bulbs.

If you have little more than Live rock in your FOWLR simple actinic blue fluorescents will suffice to keep the photosynthetic creatures and algae happy and thus increase water quality too.

As you may have guessed by now a reef aquarium requires the most intensive lighting set up and to a reef lighting is as important for good health as filtration. Often times lighting will be one of the most expensive components in a reef aquarium.  I recommend HO fluorescents (such as T5’s) to VHO (very high output) fluorescents for deeper, larger aquariums or more sensitive species, with a combination of actinic blue and daylight bulbs. Many aquarists use metal halide lights but because of their expense, excessive heat output, high UV radiation (use shields here), high electricity usage and limited lighting penetration over fluorescents I don’t really see the real advantage of the additional costs involved.

Retrofit systems and other fluorescent lamp housings should have the light bulbs no more than 3 inches above the water surface. Reflectors should be used to direct light to the water, many bulbs no have reflectors built in, these are very efficient.

When choosing a lighting set up other than knowing what marine life you plan to keep you should always take into consideration the initial cost of the system, the operating costs (electricity), bulb replacement costs (and frequency of replacement), whether or not you would need a chiller for the aquarium and the ease and eventual need for any upgrading. Some systems maybe cheaper initially but may require more frequent bulb changes or chilling systems because of heat generated making them more expensive in the long run.

So, by now you have added Live rock to your aquarium and are letting that cycle the water from ammonium spike to nitrite spike to nitrate (which is then reduced by anaerobic bacterial denitrification or absorbtion by marine plants or partial water changes) , you can also cycle your tank in other ways such as using Live sand, but Live rock is by far the best way in my experience. Some people even use hardy fish to add the vital ammonium to kick start the reaction but this is very mean. The entire cycling process should take around 30 days, but can take up to 6 weeks.

When the tank is cycling you do not want to remove any water or mess with it all all, just let the bacteria do their thing and be patient. DO NOT attempt to put in any marine life at this time, if they dont die outright they will get very stressed out. If there is a lot of organic matter gathering at the bottom of the tank you can carefully remove this with a siphon.

A good use of your time at this point is to set up a quaratene tank as a secondary medication/new addition acclimation tank if you intend to use one. This is a very good idea and is a vital way at stopping the spread of disease in your display tank and gently acclimating your new pets in a stress free environment, if can be small and doesnt have to have much in it at all other than a few PVC pipes and a bit of live rock for the fish to hide out in.

You will now need to test your water parameters to see what stage of the cycle your aquarium is in. If it is nearing the final phase nitrite levels should have dropped to zero and increasing nitrate levels may co-inside with an increase in algal growth. Now simply conduct partial water changes or initiate anaerobic bacterial denitrification using specific filters to get rid of excess nitrate, if you have a good quality stock of live rock it should naturally provide the bacterial growing environment for this to happen. It is a good idea to do a partial water change (20%) right after the ammonium and nitrite levels drop to zero to help get the nitrate levels down.

You will also want to do a bit of a clean up, siphoning organic matter from the substrate and getting rid of excessive algae that has popped up. Any final aquascaping changes can now be done before you add marine life. If you have any mechanical filtering devices as they would have go clogged up during the cycling you should clean out or replace and media or sponges from them. Now you should restart all you equipment and give the tank a few days for the water to settle, then make any adjustments to temperature or water quality (salinity may need a tweak). Also keep an eye on the nitrate levels at this time and conduct a partial water change and siphon more debris out if neccessary. You will need to bring nitrate down to acceptible levels for your intended set up (ideally less than 20ppm for reef and fish only).

Now for the fun part add one or two species from your plan into the aquarium. You need to move very slow giving the bacteria time to adjust to the increased bio-load. One of the biggest mistakes made at this point is putting to much in too fast. Over the next week or so test water levels and when you get a zero reading for ammonia and nitrite you can add more pets one or two at a time, but remember the slower the better!

And finally your new saltwater aquarium is complete!

Time for part 2 of how to set up your saltwater aquarium the right way. So, by now you have decided exactly how you want you aquarium to look, whats going inside it and what equipment you will be needing (the more detail, the better). You have put together the stand, tank and all the equipment. What you need to do now is put a layer of the substrate you intend to use on the bottom of the tank, fill the tank with freshwater (not from the tap! Either buy distilled water, pre prepared saltwater or treat your own tap water) and put it through a “wet run” to ensure every piece of equipment is working as it should be and you have no leaks (not a good look when you have fish inside!). You should run it for around 1 day; making sure the water is getting warmer from your heater, pumps are going, bubbles are coming out, adding salt if you need to to hit your specific gravity (1.02-1.024 for a fish only set up).

The next part is the creative stage; aquascaping your aquarium! To do this turn off all running equipment and remove and save say about half the water (to give you room for adding stuff without overflowing the tank). Now simply place and arrange all your items how you have planned them previously. Now to combine aquascaping and initiating the cycling of your aquarium with live rock. Live rock is porous rock taken from the rubble zones of ocean reefs it contains many tiny invertebrates and microorganisms essential to biological cycling (converts animal waste ammonium into much less toxic nitrate which is either absorbed by plants or removed by partial water changes). Live rock is awesome because it looks so natural in your aquarium, keeps the water healthy, provides places for marine life to hide and helps the fish feel at home. You can arrange it into cool shapes and even dill holes in it and stick bits together to make a cool playground for your marine life.

Before you add you live rock to the tank it is my recommendation to inspect it for undesirable hitchhikers (bristle worms, mantis shrimps etc) and clean it in saltwater. Then you can cure it (preferably in a separate tank) for a few days, where most of the decaying organic matter goes through the decomposition process which would other wise overload your system and making your new aquarium water disgusting! When you add the live rock to your water there will be a brief period of die-off of the encrusting organisms, which will cause ammonia to be released into the system, in a while populations of bacteria inhabiting the rock will multiply feeding on the ammonia and converting it into nitrite. Next, a new population of different bacteria will multiply converting the nitrite into the less harmful nitrate. This is biological cycling in a nutshell and is natures way of recycling biological waste which otherwise would build up to toxic levels and kill all marine life.

Phew, that was intense but a very necessary part of preparing your aquarium for your precious marine life.

So stay tuned for the next installment and for more detailed info about biological cycling and setting up a saltwater aquarium check out my best selling ebook “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates”.

Its back to basics for this blog post guys, and il tell you why. How many of you have made mistakes while setting up their first marine aquarium? If you are being honest I would say about 60% of you have.

When people are new to the hobby the most scary thing is making mistakes and having it come back to bite you, it can be enough to put you off the hobby for life. And thats whats happened to a couple of people who have contacted me through www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com recently.

So here is how to do things the right way, first time. This is pretty relevant for anyone regardless of experience, because at one time or another you are all going to have to set up a tank again.

The first step is to decide EXACTLY what you want: Fish only, FOWLR (fish only with live rock), Reef, Jellyfish whatever. Fish only is a good first timers option because you can later convert it to reef or add stuff. A reef aquarium (mostly corals, invertebrates and one or 2 fish can be pretty easy to set up but requires complex lighting for your corals and some organisation. So planning and research are the keys here, do as much detail as possible will help down the track.

Second step is to get some good quality guide books, and of course im going to recommend my top selling ebook “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates” which concentrates on the marine life (the most vital part of the equation!) and how to make it thrive.

Next up make a checklist of everything you need and go buy it! You dont have to have everything at once, it can be a slow but steady evolution, a masterpiece in the making if you will.

Now to get to the nitty gritty of setting up now that you are all researched, planned and purchased. The first steps of the actual set up are deciding upon: Location of the aquarium (out of sunlight and well ventilated!), decide on aquarium size (always buy the biggest one you can afford) and whether you want a stand, what substrate will you use ?, Temperature, lighting and filtration systems you want to use, what look you want (aquascaping and decor). Once you have done this its time to rock and roll.

First you need to get you aquarium ready; put the stand down, ensuring its level. Now clean the hell out of the aquarium with fresh clean water then apply a vinyl background or alternatively paint it. Next; if you are using a sump put it in now, it is the easiest time to do it. Now is the time to put the aquarium on its stand and ensure it is all level. Next up get all your equipment and install it to where it should be in the set up.

After all this its time to give the system a trial run and check all the components are working.

For the next steps in setting your marine aquarium up the right way…… Stay tuned for the next installment!

The Nitrogen cycle is one of the most crucial biological pathways that takes place in your saltwater aquarium. Back in the 70’s when this hobby first started to emerge, the nitrogen cycle was not very well understood, which resulted in fish, corals and invertebrates having a very short life in captivity. Once people came to terms with understanding the microbiological processes happening in their marine eco-system marine aquarium keeping became much more mainstream as marine life survival rates became much higher.

The nitrogen cycle is initiated by biological waste products of your marine life (i.e. excretion) and decaying organic matter.

1. The nitrogen waste is excreted in the form of ammonia (a toxic chemical that is used to bleach toilets!), which lowers the pH making the water more acidic if enough of it is around. Ammonia is toxic to marine life, in oceans which are huge the buffering capacity of the water is so great ammonia cannot get a chance to build up, but in an aquarium this is much more of a problem.

2. Bacteria then converts the ammonia into nitrite which is less toxic than ammonia.

3. Other beneficial bacteria then convert the nitrite (NO2) into nitrate (NO3). Nitrate is again less toxic than nitrite and readily absorbed by plants which use it for growth, this build up of nitrates is a common cause for excessive algal growth. Then to complete the cycle the plants decay or are eaten by fish and the whole cycle begins again.

Now you can see how the nitrogen cycle plays a crucial role in the marine aquarium and is the cause of one of the major disasters that can befall a new aquarium; when it is not cycled correctly and the marine life dies because of the water toxicity. This is a very common cause of upset emails to me at www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com

So how do we correctly cycle a marine aquarium? To start with you should be familiar with all the cycling terms: break in cycle, start up cycle, nitrification, biological cycle; its all talking about the same biological process; converting toxic waste into more harmless plant food by beneficial bacteria.

The most important time to do this is when you are first setting up your aquarium, it usually takes around 2 weeks or longer depending on how fast the bacteria colonise your aquarium at each stage of the cycle during this process you will need to test your water using a test kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and log your readings. Whatever chemical has the highest concentration will tell you at what phase the aquarium is in. I do not recommend you put any fish in until the cycling is complete, as they will get stressed and can die. The best way to initiate the cycle is with live rock (be sure to check out my live rock post), which will contain the beneficial bacteria and decaying organic matter to provide the ammonium source and kick off the cycle. In the first few days ammonium levels will rise rapidly as the bacteria multiply and begin to convert it, this is the most stressful phase for marine life.  Once the bacterial colony has established the ammonium level will peak and begin to decline to zero as the bacteria convert it to nitrite. Now nitrite levels will rise which again is stressful to fish, the second stage bacterial colonies will multiply and begin to start converting nitrite to nitrate, nitrite can take a good week or so to reach its peak, then it will start to drop and nitrate becomes detectable. Now the 1st and 2nd stage bacteria have reached the correct density to keep up with the ammonia released into the water, now the tank is fully cycled and you can begin to slowly stock up your marine aquarium (once tests confirm zero ammonia and nitrite levels). And finally to avoid excess nitrates are why we conduct a twice monthly 20% water change as part of a regular maintenance routine.

For more crucial saltwater aquarium tips and tricks check out my ebook “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates”

Hi guys, todays post is a pretty important topic, how you can avoid making a few of the most common mistakes with your marine aquarium.

This mistake-making epidemic we see in the hobby today basically stems from people falling in love with the idea of having an awesome marine aquarium and rushing in head-first without doing their due dilligence first. This is the main reason I decided to write “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates” to educate people because the pain that comes from watching your beloved marine pets dying is immense and most times it really is preventable.

So lets get started;

1. Buying marine life without knowing enough about the specimen:

This is probably one of the most preventable mistakes you can make. So many people contact me upset about their newest pet dying then you find out its because they had no idea how to care for and feed it, and sometimes they dont even know what it is. Dont be pulled in by the pretty colours or the nice shapes of marine life at the pet shop, any purchase you make should be fully researched FIRST! And dont just rely on the person at the pet shop, do your own research and ensure you know what the exact requirements are for keeping your new pet in optimal health. You also need to ensure (as ive said time and time again!) it will be compatible with your marine aquarium set up and the current marine pets you have.

2. Not taking enough time:

In todays society everything is moving so fast, the opposite is true with your saltwater aquarium. You need patience people, if you move too fast things go wrong and this can be both expensive and heart-breaking. You really need to take the time to study up on marine aquarium keeping first, before you begin and take things slowly and carefully. Every step must be carefully planned out and executed. Too many people have contacted me with their problems which are a direct result of doing things too fast.

3. Marine life compatibility:

A very common cause of trouble; you really need to research the behaviour of your new pet and check it will be suitable with what you already have. For example predatory fish and timid little herbivorous school fish often do not mix! The ocean eco-system is ruled by a complex series of marine life interactions, therefore you cant predict what will happen, you MUST do your research before you buy.

4. Marine aquarium overload:

This is when you put too much marine life or live rock/sand into your aquarium at once (remember common mistake number 1?) the system cannot handle it and the delicate balance is thrown out and new tank syndrome often results. This problem can be much worse when the new tank is not fully cycled. The solution? Slow down, move slowly and gradually add more stock so the system can cope much more efficiently.

5. Lack of tank maintenance:

To ensure your aquarium remains a pristine environment for your marine life you MUST conduct maintenance at regular intervals. if you do this you should seldom have water quality, high nitrate, excessive algae or contamination issues. You need to be strict with yourself on this, it is a key area for preventing problems with your marine aquarium. A little work now will save a lot of problems in the future.

6. Using poor quality water:

A lot of people use tap water or other unpurified water to make up saltwater for the aquarium, this can often be a pretty bad idea as it can lead to water quality issues which can sometimes be pretty dramatic (like all you fish dying!). I recommend you purchase quality distilled or RO water, or some form of pre-purified sea water. Failing that another option is to use a water purification filter, however make sure it is a quality product. Using good quality water is a wise investment that will greatly help prevent water problems.

7. Unwittingly purchasing sick marine creatures:

The key to not making this mistake is to observe the fish for a while (see my other blog post about selecting marine life for more info), studying their behaviour and the fish themselves carefully. You should learn what common tell tales signs of disease and illness to look for. Another major indicator of sickness is when the fish get fed, if its not eating normally then do not buy it! Discovering whether a fish is healthy or not is very easy to do and will save you a lot of trouble.

8. Diagnosing disease incorrectly:

You need to learn to recognise the signs of common diseases and parasite infections accurately, then you will not go through the tedium of treating one disease while your marine life gets sicker from another. For example saltwater ich is commonly mistaken for white spot (and vica versa) these have similar symptoms but are caused by different disease organisms that require very different treatments.

9. Poor water circulation and filtration:

These two factors are a must for any healthy saltwater aquarium. If there is not enough biological filtration the water can easily build up to toxic levels that can kill marine life. A lack of adequate water circulation leads to a build up of algae, low dissolved oxygen and sessile marine life such as corals not getting enough food. The good news it that you cannot really have too much filtration or water circulation (within reason), however there are a wide range of choices in purchasing these two essential systems, especially filtration; where not getting the right filter set up for your waste levels can lead to problems. Circulation can be easily improved by adding additional powerheads or a surge device.

Another huge mistake that I see time and time again through www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com is when it comes to people setting up their marine aquariums is a lack of fore-thought and planning before they jump headfirst into setting the aquarium up. Once the aquariumis set up and running it becomes that much harder to change things around when you dont like them or you want to do something else.

Bottom line people: You need to come up with a detailed written plan about what you want to achieve for your aquarium, before you start dumping fish and water in there!

So, first of all you need to decide what exactly you want in your aquarium tank (the theme); for example fish only or a mini reef with 3 types of fish. Write it down, do some research to see how easy/hard this is going to be and what you need to achieve the look you want. I cant stress how important research is at this stage, try and find out as much info as you can from many different sources about the set up you want, and any potentual problems you may come across. Also remember to find out what the species you want to keep require in order to thrive, and what other other species they are not compatible with.

Next up after doing all the research make your self a shopping list of things you will need (in order of importance), make sure that this fits the budget you have, if not put it off untill you save some more cash!

Another good idea is to draw the look you want for your aquarium on paper, then when you come to setting it up you wont make any mistakes you may regret. Once again do some surfing on the net untill you find a setup that you like the look of.

Once you have your plan set in stone and you have purchased all the equipment you need. Start the construction of you dream saltwater aquarium. Do everything slowly and carefully, any shortcuts you take here may come back to bite you later on! Remember not to under-estimate the importance of the basic elements of any good marine aquarium; filtration, lighting, heating and pumping water around the tank. Never take shortcuts with these essential elements or you will pay the price later with your marine life.

After its all set up following your plan, double check the plan to see if you have everything the way you planned (or the way your selected marine life will require), if its all good then its time for the water. Then once the system is equilibriated the marine life can be added into their new well thought out habitat!