This was the first marine reference guide I purchased and, contains some very interesting reading material. When you first start dabbling in reef tanks you have all sorts of questions like what’s that mushroom looking thing or what’s that snail creature?
The great thing about this book is it helps you understand those weird and wonderful things we all discover in our marine aquariums like Foraminiferans (Forams) which often come attached to live rock or the sponges that many people tend to not to notice but, form a part of any reef ecosystem. The book also covers things like corallimorphs, clams, anemones, starfish, zooanthids, nudibranchs, different types of snails and obvious things like crabs plus, many of those interesting creatures you discover at night.
As you know this book was written from a US perspective but, does a great job at covering a broad spectrum of invertebrates which you would find (i am assuming) all over the world including the land down-under.
Now this book isn't going to give you all the information you need to know about how to maintain this wonderful inverts. However, it will give you the important tid bits that will help you along the way. For instance Julian indicates the following for all the inverts:
- “Scientific name
- Common name
- Hardiness in captivity
- Regions (where it is found in the wild)
- Desirable/undesirable features
- Similar organisms
- Feeding requirements
- Special considerations”
And, of course loads of great pictures.
The book contents/index goes as follows (a few sections have been omitted):
“Chapter One – Foraminiferans”
“Chapter Two – Sponges”
“Chapter Three – Cnidaria”
“Chapter Four – Flatworms”
“Chapter Five – Mollusks”
“Chapter Six – Worms”
“Chapter Seven – Arthropods”
“Chapter Eight – Echinoderms”
“Chapter Nine – Tunicates”
I would recommend purchasing this book and, the other Julian Sprung book “Corals - a quick reference guide” if you’re serious on going on the reef aquarium journey.
Reference: Oceanographic Series – Invertebrates: A Quick Reference Guide
Copyright 2001 Reference Guide
First Printed June 2001
Published by Ricordea Publishing, Miami, Florida, USA\
Author: Julian Sprung
Book Design by Daniel N. Ramirez
Monday, April 26, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Aquarium Worksheet - Parameters instructions etc.....
If your looking for help on how to get your aquarium up and running be that a saltwater fish only tank, reef tank or freshwater tank I have developed a worksheet which you can use to guide you throught the process. Basically it will cover all water parameters and calculations you need - outline below:
Example:
Reef Tank
Water parameters
Lighting
Feeding requirements
Measuring and maintaining trace elements and other water chemistry
When to do water changes
*** Aquariums look beautiful when you can.... to the best of your ability and funding ......replicate the lifestyle that suits your particular fish you wish to purchase. Many people go out an buy an aquarium and, have no idea of the set-up and maintenance requirements that these aquariums require. What I would like to offer (IN THE NEAR FUTURE) is a worksheet which you can use to keep your aquarium looking pristine. Soon from my fishebiz.com.au website you will be able to download a pdf. document (for a small fee) which will give you all the information you need to maintain your aquarium.
Why would you bother?
Well you might spend countless hours visiting aquarium stores having no real idea what your after - I have done that - by no idea I mean you may not have had the knowledge of what requirements your fish need.
You might get loads of free advice which often doesn't give you the whole picture.
More often than not the best solution for most problems encountered in an aquarium
(i.e. whitespot/algae) is prevention. Personally I have been dabbling in aquariums since I was a child and, have made all the mistakes that most people do. What I would like to do is offer you a step by step guide on how to maintain that beautiful looking reef aquarium or freshwater tank. I will shortly upload a pdf. document which details the water requirement you need to maintain to keep your tank looking great.
You could alternatively buy a detailed book and, read through all the information but, until you put this into practice no matter how much reading you do your still bound to make mistakes. My worksheets will basically cut out all the fat and leave you with the information you will require and, you can use this to keep your tank maintenance up to date.
Obviously it's up to you what type of aquarium you would like to set-up but, if you follow some basic rules your aquarium and your fish will look pristine.
Silentj
Example:
Reef Tank
Water parameters
Lighting
Feeding requirements
Measuring and maintaining trace elements and other water chemistry
When to do water changes
*** Aquariums look beautiful when you can.... to the best of your ability and funding ......replicate the lifestyle that suits your particular fish you wish to purchase. Many people go out an buy an aquarium and, have no idea of the set-up and maintenance requirements that these aquariums require. What I would like to offer (IN THE NEAR FUTURE) is a worksheet which you can use to keep your aquarium looking pristine. Soon from my fishebiz.com.au website you will be able to download a pdf. document (for a small fee) which will give you all the information you need to maintain your aquarium.
Why would you bother?
Well you might spend countless hours visiting aquarium stores having no real idea what your after - I have done that - by no idea I mean you may not have had the knowledge of what requirements your fish need.
You might get loads of free advice which often doesn't give you the whole picture.
More often than not the best solution for most problems encountered in an aquarium
(i.e. whitespot/algae) is prevention. Personally I have been dabbling in aquariums since I was a child and, have made all the mistakes that most people do. What I would like to do is offer you a step by step guide on how to maintain that beautiful looking reef aquarium or freshwater tank. I will shortly upload a pdf. document which details the water requirement you need to maintain to keep your tank looking great.
You could alternatively buy a detailed book and, read through all the information but, until you put this into practice no matter how much reading you do your still bound to make mistakes. My worksheets will basically cut out all the fat and leave you with the information you will require and, you can use this to keep your tank maintenance up to date.
Obviously it's up to you what type of aquarium you would like to set-up but, if you follow some basic rules your aquarium and your fish will look pristine.
Silentj
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Corals; A Quick Reference Guide - Julian Sprung
Julian Sprung is well know in the aquarium industry as being an expert when it comes to reef aquaria and, this is where i started my adventure into saltwater reef aquariums.
So for those of you that are starting up in reef aquariums or even thinking about getting a bit of background knowledge about corals I do recommend the following book.
Providing you have an idea of what the water requirements for any reef aquarium is this book is a great start for getting an understanding of reef aquaria.
The book is split into two main sections i.e. hard corals and soft corals and then broken down further.
It has an easy to understand layout i.e. Julian describes the lighting requirements, flow requirements, aggressiveness and hardiness of the coral in mention. A picture accompanies the description of the coral also, common names and morphological structure for identification is provided. You will find a information on most of your commonly found corals in Australia and particularly the ones you would purchase in your local fish store (LFS). I personally refer to the information all the time but, that said there is no substitute for personal experience. They retail in fish stores from the $100.00 mark so grab yourself a bargain if you’re serious about reef keeping and purchase through the Amazon link above.
So to sum up this book provides a good grounding knowledge into different types of corals and, what they're individual requirements are.... this book is basic enough for a beginner to understand and, great for the advanced aquarist.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Nitrate reductor update
In my previously I put a post a nitrate reductor -
I was having a bit of trouble getting the flow rate just right.... I T-pieced the flow from a 1500 lph pump I used to cycle the water through the chiller. Now the flow rate was just right when the internal canister re-circulation pump wasn't on however, once I connected the re-circulation it would stem the flow... I tried everything i.e. re-arranging the hosing checking for air in the reactor (maybe there was an air lock) to no avail. As always Occam's razor i.e. the simplest solution is always the way to solve the problem. I know you can buy a special computer (with redox readings) to adjust the flow rate which would have been an expensive solution but, I know that you can run this reactor without this extra add-on.
So I went out and bought a 250 lph pump and, next I just needed to adapt the hosing from the pump to fit the tiny 3mm tubing which fits the Nitrate reactor. So basically the 250 lph pump fit a 5mm airline hose to which I attached a airline splitter (the one you use to split the air flow for a air pump to a number of different air stones) - perfect solution ! Anyway now the flow rate is perfect and, the drip counter is reading a drop per second or 1 litre per hour.
The main problem was that there was NO information available on the internet or from other sources of information on how to set these things up so basically it was trial and error.... please sees photo's below:
I was having a bit of trouble getting the flow rate just right.... I T-pieced the flow from a 1500 lph pump I used to cycle the water through the chiller. Now the flow rate was just right when the internal canister re-circulation pump wasn't on however, once I connected the re-circulation it would stem the flow... I tried everything i.e. re-arranging the hosing checking for air in the reactor (maybe there was an air lock) to no avail. As always Occam's razor i.e. the simplest solution is always the way to solve the problem. I know you can buy a special computer (with redox readings) to adjust the flow rate which would have been an expensive solution but, I know that you can run this reactor without this extra add-on.
So I went out and bought a 250 lph pump and, next I just needed to adapt the hosing from the pump to fit the tiny 3mm tubing which fits the Nitrate reactor. So basically the 250 lph pump fit a 5mm airline hose to which I attached a airline splitter (the one you use to split the air flow for a air pump to a number of different air stones) - perfect solution ! Anyway now the flow rate is perfect and, the drip counter is reading a drop per second or 1 litre per hour.
The main problem was that there was NO information available on the internet or from other sources of information on how to set these things up so basically it was trial and error.... please sees photo's below:
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Aqua Medic Nitrate Reductor 400 - product review
So those of you thinking about making the ultimate reef aquarium would of without a doubt thought of the buying one of the many gadgets available to make your reef keeping that much simpler. A pretty common problem which is faced by all budding aquarists is how to tackle Nitrates in your aquarium. The most obvious answer being water changes and, NOT overstocking your aquarium - but, what if you want to go the next step ?? Nitrate Reductor anyone?
And, much the same as you I have let the impulsive part of my brain take over and decided to purchase a Nitrate Reductor. Now you probably know their are many different brands available as well as a whole host of home made contraptions but, in the interest of saving time and possible heartache i.e. from failed attempts and fiddling around I went and purchased a ready made - good quality - small nitrate reductor for my 300L reef tank.
Those of you who don't know what a nitrate reductor is will be happy to know that it is a unit designed to help reduce the harmful by-product nitrate. It is caused by a bacterial cycle which occurs in the aquarium and breaks down ammonium to nitrite to nitrate which either dissolves into a gas (leaving the tank) or builds up in your aquarium and becomes toxic to your fish and other aquatic animals. This cycle is natural/healthy and, is caused by different bacteria using different fuels for growth, i.e. phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium... not in that order .... Also, different groups of bacteria detoxify different toxins produced by the Nitrate cycle and, over time these colonies of bacteria develop and grow to large numbers allowing for better water conditions in your aquarium.
However the load of natural bacteria your aquarium filter contains isn't enough to cope with the amount of waste build up your fish or water changes produces..... therefore, nifty gadgets like a nitrate reductor come in handy.
The product I purchased was the Aqua Medic Nitrate Reductor 400 suited for freshwater and saltwater aquariums up to 400L. Now this is a german made product and most Australian fish people regard Aqua Medic products as Top Notch ... I mean have you seen some of those German Reef Tanks!
So going with the general concensus and, deciding to stick with what the experts recommend I bought myself an Aqua Medic unit.
Pretty simple looking unit and, quite easy to set-up but, as everything else you need to either adapt it to one of your current pumps i.e. in terms of water flow or use a seperate one.... I opted for the using the 2000L p/h pump I have going to my chiller.
The unit itself comes with two different coloured Bio-balls in the main filter unit white and black and, one of these (I think the white ones) actually dissolves slowly and feeds the anaerobic bacteria which detoxyify the nitrates from the water. There is space to add a Redox probe and two connectors i.e. one for inlet hose and one for the return plus a cap which can be unscrewed to feed the anaerobic bacteria during the start up process.
The fiddly bit is trying to get the flow rate just right since the inlet and oulet hoses are soooo small in diameter that if you turn the inlet hose too far and cut off the water flow it stuffs up the overall return flow and it takes while to rectify... a little frustrating... but once you get this sorted it needs no more work. The actual unit itself is quite sturdy in construction and the plastic material they use doesn't seem to fragile i.e. the clips on the side. It takes a bit of fiddling to redirect the flow from the main pump or whatever pump you decide to use into the reductor becuase obviously we all use different hose fittings in our aquariums therefore, need to adapt the t-piece provided to suit your set-up.
So the good things:
- sturdy and good quality make
- easy to understand connections
- simple operation
- looks asthetically pleasing (not that that is a must in most aquariums)
- overall good quality product
The not so good things
- Not a very good set-up guide i.e. no diagrams provided in the information booklet and, there isn't a huge amount of information on the internet but, the website does provide slightly more information than the pack insert...
- fiddly set-up but, I believe this a more a inherent flaw in a nitrate reductors than any particular model or brand
And, much the same as you I have let the impulsive part of my brain take over and decided to purchase a Nitrate Reductor. Now you probably know their are many different brands available as well as a whole host of home made contraptions but, in the interest of saving time and possible heartache i.e. from failed attempts and fiddling around I went and purchased a ready made - good quality - small nitrate reductor for my 300L reef tank.
Those of you who don't know what a nitrate reductor is will be happy to know that it is a unit designed to help reduce the harmful by-product nitrate. It is caused by a bacterial cycle which occurs in the aquarium and breaks down ammonium to nitrite to nitrate which either dissolves into a gas (leaving the tank) or builds up in your aquarium and becomes toxic to your fish and other aquatic animals. This cycle is natural/healthy and, is caused by different bacteria using different fuels for growth, i.e. phosphate, nitrate, nitrite and ammonium... not in that order .... Also, different groups of bacteria detoxify different toxins produced by the Nitrate cycle and, over time these colonies of bacteria develop and grow to large numbers allowing for better water conditions in your aquarium.
However the load of natural bacteria your aquarium filter contains isn't enough to cope with the amount of waste build up your fish or water changes produces..... therefore, nifty gadgets like a nitrate reductor come in handy.
The product I purchased was the Aqua Medic Nitrate Reductor 400 suited for freshwater and saltwater aquariums up to 400L. Now this is a german made product and most Australian fish people regard Aqua Medic products as Top Notch ... I mean have you seen some of those German Reef Tanks!
So going with the general concensus and, deciding to stick with what the experts recommend I bought myself an Aqua Medic unit.
Pretty simple looking unit and, quite easy to set-up but, as everything else you need to either adapt it to one of your current pumps i.e. in terms of water flow or use a seperate one.... I opted for the using the 2000L p/h pump I have going to my chiller.
The unit itself comes with two different coloured Bio-balls in the main filter unit white and black and, one of these (I think the white ones) actually dissolves slowly and feeds the anaerobic bacteria which detoxyify the nitrates from the water. There is space to add a Redox probe and two connectors i.e. one for inlet hose and one for the return plus a cap which can be unscrewed to feed the anaerobic bacteria during the start up process.
The fiddly bit is trying to get the flow rate just right since the inlet and oulet hoses are soooo small in diameter that if you turn the inlet hose too far and cut off the water flow it stuffs up the overall return flow and it takes while to rectify... a little frustrating... but once you get this sorted it needs no more work. The actual unit itself is quite sturdy in construction and the plastic material they use doesn't seem to fragile i.e. the clips on the side. It takes a bit of fiddling to redirect the flow from the main pump or whatever pump you decide to use into the reductor becuase obviously we all use different hose fittings in our aquariums therefore, need to adapt the t-piece provided to suit your set-up.
So the good things:
- sturdy and good quality make
- easy to understand connections
- simple operation
- looks asthetically pleasing (not that that is a must in most aquariums)
- overall good quality product
The not so good things
- Not a very good set-up guide i.e. no diagrams provided in the information booklet and, there isn't a huge amount of information on the internet but, the website does provide slightly more information than the pack insert...
- fiddly set-up but, I believe this a more a inherent flaw in a nitrate reductors than any particular model or brand
Sunday, April 4, 2010
SCWD - Switching current water director A.K.A wavemaker or squid
I have recently upgraded the saltwater tank by installing a SCWD. Previously the internal artificial current was only due to return pump of 2000 lph with a single outlet and, a extra 2000 lph internal pump which can be seen in previous tank photo's. I have added the Wavemaker onto the return pump hosing (2000lph which isn't very strong so in future will upgrade the return pump to something a bit stronger probably 3000 - 4000 lph).
I have to say I am pretty happy with the device - I believe (could be wrong) the mechanism in the Wavemaker spins and blocks the outlet pipes not in any particular order... I have a feeling that as the water pressure increases/decreases - caused by the length of the tubing or the fluctuating of the pump - the device in the wavemaker spins (can be heard if you listen carefully) in different directions and, allows water through one outlet at a time or both at once.... I can say the particular one I have purchased is extremely quite and, as a result I do not have to have the extra internal pump running (Tank looks less cluttered too!)... has been working very well and i do recommend its use to any serious reef tanker. I have posted some pictures below of the set-up... please note according to the instructions this is slightly different set-up - probably best to follow manufactures instructions when setting up this unit.
Installation is pretty simple - I used a combination of 15mm and 19mm tubing. 15mm tubing was a bit tight however, this what was in the return pump and, this was attached to the bottom end of the Wavemaker. Then on the two splits I attached 19/22mm hosing with a plastic clamp purchased at my hardware store. The rest is pretty simple you just need to buy some 90 degree angle -pieces which fit your size hosing i.e. 19mm and, keep cutting your hosing until you get the return going back into the tank.... I have attached a simple diagram as it's a bit hard to describe :
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Sydney's phosphate problem !
Not sure if anyone experience's the same problem but, if you get a bit of algae growing in your tank there is a good chance there is phosphate in your tap water in minute quantities.
I mean if you are in the habit of regularly changing your water yet you notice that you still tend to get a bit of algae then it might be worth testing your tap water for Phosphate.
Here is the scenario:
I have been setting up a planted tank for a 8 months now; spec's are:
150 Litres roughly
96 watts of Plant specific lighting - running 8 hours daily.
a canister filter running - bio balls, matrix, filter wool, purigen...
10 neon's, 5 rasboras, 2 angels, 2 octoclinclus (probably a bit overstocked .... I know)
Nitrate - almost 0ppm
Fully cycled
a whole host of plants + Japanese hair grass and long hair grass (going for that Japanese planted tank look but, a long way off )
Using Sea chem Excel to dose CO2
------------
Problem was this slimy blue green algae or flagellate looking goop - consistency was very slimy when you rubbed it between your fingers and, it had an affinity for the plants leaves and rocks.
This was terribly frustrating as I tried everything to get rid of it i.e. feeding less regularly, decreasing lighting, water changes, scraping the algae ....so pretty much everything short of taking everything out cleaning it with chlorine which someone suggested ... also dosed the crap out of the tank with Excel. Still to no avail.....
----------
Kept trying to figure out how this algae would have any nutrients to survive .... i mean I wasn't feeding the fish regularly, I did frequent water changes and no luck...
I decided I will get the full test kit out and re-check everything and, surely enough the phosphates were quite high! arrrggghh so I had to determine the source of the nuisance and, so I tested the tap water which I use to top up the tank and BINGO my tap water registers a reading of 0.5ppm phosphate ! so I guess this residual phosphate in the tap water has built up in the system leading to a excessively high reading of Phosphate (and the compounding fish waste of course) :<>
I mean if you are in the habit of regularly changing your water yet you notice that you still tend to get a bit of algae then it might be worth testing your tap water for Phosphate.
Here is the scenario:
I have been setting up a planted tank for a 8 months now; spec's are:
150 Litres roughly
96 watts of Plant specific lighting - running 8 hours daily.
a canister filter running - bio balls, matrix, filter wool, purigen...
10 neon's, 5 rasboras, 2 angels, 2 octoclinclus (probably a bit overstocked .... I know)
Nitrate - almost 0ppm
Fully cycled
a whole host of plants + Japanese hair grass and long hair grass (going for that Japanese planted tank look but, a long way off )
Using Sea chem Excel to dose CO2
------------
Problem was this slimy blue green algae or flagellate looking goop - consistency was very slimy when you rubbed it between your fingers and, it had an affinity for the plants leaves and rocks.
This was terribly frustrating as I tried everything to get rid of it i.e. feeding less regularly, decreasing lighting, water changes, scraping the algae ....so pretty much everything short of taking everything out cleaning it with chlorine which someone suggested ... also dosed the crap out of the tank with Excel. Still to no avail.....
----------
Kept trying to figure out how this algae would have any nutrients to survive .... i mean I wasn't feeding the fish regularly, I did frequent water changes and no luck...
I decided I will get the full test kit out and re-check everything and, surely enough the phosphates were quite high! arrrggghh so I had to determine the source of the nuisance and, so I tested the tap water which I use to top up the tank and BINGO my tap water registers a reading of 0.5ppm phosphate ! so I guess this residual phosphate in the tap water has built up in the system leading to a excessively high reading of Phosphate (and the compounding fish waste of course) :<>
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