Captive Aquatics: An Aquarium and Ecology Blog

Nano Reef Aquariums, as easy as 1, 2, 3! [Part 2]

This is part two of four of Captive Aquatic Blog's Nano Reef series.  If you haven't already, read part one here. 

Now that your initial setup is complete, your tank as water, live rock, and sand, and is finished cycling, the fun begins! 

New to saltwater aquariums? Well, so am I.

Editor's note:  this post introduces Greg Howard, our new contributing author, who will be speaking from the heart as a beginner saltwater aquarist in his weekly column "The Saltwater Newbie" appearing on Sundays.

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I am a fish tank amateur. The first time I looked at a fish tank, what I was really thinking was: “Ok, what’s the big deal?” I couldn’t understand my friend’s obsession with what I considered an isolated three foot sheet of glass and something that moved around in it. Big deal.

 

I didn’t understand the kind of time that was devoted to it, and I couldn’t wrap my mind around why they cared so much.

 

I think the problem with my exposure to the aquarium world was with public aquariums. When I was young and craving interaction, these things would just swim around and "be boring". No matter how much I tapped on the damn glass, they wouldn’t respond!

FIve Ways to Reduce Aquarium Algae Growth

No one likes nuisance algae growth in their aquarium, so here are 5 tips for keeping it out!

1.  Perform weekly water changes of at least 25%
2.  Use a Reverse Osmosis (RO) or Dionized (DI) water to remove nitrates and phosphates from tapwater
3.  Use a quality chemical filter media to absorb organics and phosphates from your aquarium's water column (Seachem's Purigen, Two Little Fishies' PhosBan, activated carbon)
4.  Clean your aquarium's mechanical filters at least three times a week
5.  Don't overstock
6.  (Bonus tip!)  Use a UV sterilizer to kill free-floating algae and keep your aquarium crystal clear (especially useful for ponds).

Controlling nuisance algae growth is all about controlling and/or removing the dissolved nutrients from the aquarium's water column (nitrates and phosphates for the most part).  Nuisance algae requires these nutrients to grow, and without them, your algae will disappear!  Chemical additives to kill the algae are never recommended, as these are harmful to the aquarium inhabitants as well as algae!

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Nano Reef Aquariums, as easy as 1, 2, 3! [Part 1]

 

Welcome to our four part series on Nano Reef Aquariums!  This series will be premiering weekly throughout the month.  Subscribe so that you don't miss out!

Part one: Essential Planning

Interested in a reef aquarium, but don’t want the large expense?  Consider starting a nano reef!  A nano aquarium is any aquarium with a water volume of 30 gallons or less.  Nano aquariums are becoming increasingly common because of their small size, lower price, availability of pre-fabricated units, and unique look.  However, there are greater challenges to successfully maintaining a nano aquarium than there are in a larger aquarium with a more forgiving water volume.  After my share of nano reef trials, I’ve written a three step guide which will help you avoid some of these “small tank” woes.

Should Anemones Be Illegal to Import for our Hobby?

P. yucatanicus engaged in a commensal relationship with C. gigantae on the Drowned Cayes, Belize.  Mike Maddox

How do you think the public would react if they were told that cats and dogs, rather than being bred, were taken from the wild (and often injured in the process) before being placed in an oft-inappropriate home?  How about if the public were told that 90% of the cats and dogs they bought would die in the first year?  Do you suppose it would still be legal to own them? 

While this scenario is just an example, anemones in the home aquarium have a dismal survival rate ("more than 90% die within a year " - WetWebMedia)! 

 

The Garden Reef: A Detrimental Trend?

Coral in shallow water, Belize barrier reef.  Notice the lack of species variety; all coral present is scleractinian in origin and requires intense lighting.  An aquarium simulating these conditions would be a poor environment for 'LPS' or 'soft' corals.  Mike Maddox

A current trend in the hobby as of late seems to be the 'conglomerate' or 'garden' reef aquarium, with many coral speces being crammed (for lack of a better word) into a reef aquarium with little to no consideration for the individual coral species' requirements.  This tendency towards an "all-in-one" approach detracts from the health of the animals within, beacuse the aquarium conditions cannot possibly replicate the ideal habitat for such a variety of animals.

Tip: Surviving Brooklynellosis

(The author's Picasso breed A. percula in quarantine)

I recently ordered a pair of ORA's 'picasso' breed of percula clownfish (from a vendor who shall remain nameless) that arrived heavily infested with brooklynellosis.  After a week in the quaraintine tank and lots of medication, my clownfish managed to pulled through.  However, this led me to thinking "how often does the average hobbyist see this disease?  Will they be able to identify and treat it quickly enough to prevent mortality?  I should write a post about this!"  Because brooklynellosis can kill very fast, quick diagnosis and treatment is essential.   

What is brooklynellosis, you ask? 

Opinion: artificial price inflation

S. haddoni  ©  Mike Maddox

I'd like to write a short piece about "fad corals", and the price inflation it causes in the reefkeeping hobby.

In recent years, (mostly due to the popularity explosion of reefkeeping, and subsequently the large numbers of online coral vendors) various coral species have become the "in" coral and the prices of these corals have skyrocketed.  Law of supply and demand you say?  Higher prices benefit the reef, conservation efforts, and the poverty-stricken collectors, you say?  Nay.  Prices are driven up artificially by a combination of the consumer's "must have" attitude towards that species and vendors purposefully restricting the amount of corals they sell in a given amount of time. 

If you've been reefkeeping for five years or so, I'm sure you remember the "acan craze" (and if you don't, read on).