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Marine
Aquarium Do's and Don'ts for Beginners
by Doug Kamp
Of Australia, from his website aquariumsonline.com.au
Aquarticles
Over the years I have come across a number
of helpful do's and don'ts for marine aquarium keeping that would have
saved me a lot of time, money and disappointments. If only I had them
all together in a list from the start!
Well here they are - I have decided to jot
a few of them down in the hope that they will save at least one new
marine aquarist some time, money or disappointment.
This is only a very basic guide and is not
meant to be conclusive or detailed - just a memory jolter in bullet
point form that you can refer to every now and then to refresh your
memory. I encourage you to research in more detail any
and all of these points using your favourite marine aquarium book or
even the internet!
The Do's
· Do buy a good book on marine aquarium keeping. This should
be your first purchase and most valuable accessory!
· Do look at your tank every day to check your fish and
invertebrates health. Are they acting differently than normal, do they
have any damage or signs of illness etc.
· Do react quickly when you think something is wrong. Test
your water quality and conditions. Look for indicators of problem or
disease. Read your aquarium books, search the internet and talk to your
friendly marine aquarium retailer for advice.
· Do create a maintenance schedule that helps you remember
to regularly check your water quality, top up with freshwater, replace
saltwater, replace consumables etc.
· Do feed small amounts of food regularly.
· Do feed a varied diet that accommodates all your
inhabitants needs.
· Do ensure you have adequate filtration (biological and/or
mechanical).
· Do ensure you have sufficient circulation in your tank.
Most people recommend at least 10x your tanks volume be circulated
every hour. This includes powerheads, filters (both internal and
external), protein skimmers, circulation pumps etc.
· Do use a timer if possible on your tanks lights as the
inhabitants like regularity with respect to their daytime and
night-time.
· Do adopt a photoperiod that considers the output and
intensity of your lights and either mimics the inhabitants natural
environment or that of your local environment.
· Do wash your hands before putting them in the tank or
working with any equipment that will come into contact with your tanks
water. Soaps, creams, medicines etc can all harm your inhabitants.
· Do use good quality activated carbon in your tanks - this
removes unwanted toxins and keeps the water crystal clear.
· Do regularly replace your activated carbon (approx. every
8 weeks).
· Do keep your tank as close as possible to Natural Sea
Water conditions (NSW). These are, for the most, a pH of 8.3, Specific
Gravity (SG) of 1.025, temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. There are
many other levels that need to be considered (eg Calcium, Carbonate
Hardness, Iron, Silicon, Phosphate, Copper etc) but these are the main
ones.
· Do acclimatise your new fish and inverts appropriately -
your marine aquarium retailer should notify you of their requirements
as they can vary from 10 minutes just for temperature adjustment for
hardy fish to hours for sensitive inverts.
· Do use, where possible, natural sea water in your tank -
there is nothing like the real stuff!
· Do make sure you know where the real sea water is coming
from - you don't want it to have been collected in your local marina or
just offshore as it will not be suitable as it will contain all sorts
of man made pollutants.
· Do use RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis/Deionised) water when real
sea water is not available. Use it to top up or when mixing new salt -
especially in tanks that contain corals and other sensitive
invertebrates.
· Do use a protein skimmer if possible. It complements your
mechanical and biological filtration and in some cases is a mandatory
requirement for keeping certain inverts.
· Do ensure you understand the nitrogen cycle. This is the
fundamental basis for how wastes in the aquarium get converted from
toxic chemicals (ammonia and nitrites) to less toxic chemicals
(nitrates) by bacteria that live in your water.
· Do select your new fish and inverts very carefully. Ensure
they are not damaged, diseased or otherwise looking unwell. If
possible, quarantine them in a separate tank before adding them to your
main tank. An alternative is to use an Ultraviolet (UV) steriliser for
about four weeks after adding the new inhabitants to kill off any newly
introduced diseases.
The Don'ts
· Don't overfeed. This is most probably one of the most
common mistakes for a beginner. Fish always appear hungry and it is
very tempting to feed them often but this can cause all sorts or
problems - the most common being poor water quality. If nor corrected
this can lead to sickness and death of your fish and inverts in a short
time. If you are going to very often then ensure you only feed small
amounts and that it all gets eaten immediately. Also test your water
quality often (e.g. test ammonia, nitrite and nitrates at least a
couple of times a week).
· Don't overstock you tank. This is also one of the most
common mistakes for beginners. Tanks can only successfully support a
certain amount of life in them and this is based upon a number of
factors. Some of these are volume, surface area, aeration, circulation,
filtration (mechanical and biological), maturity, quantity and
frequency of water changes, flow, number of fish and inverts etc etc.
It is better to start slow and small and build your way up. Talk to
your local marine aquarium retailer for advice on stocking levels.
· Don't rush the maturation of your new aquarium. This is
another one of the most common mistakes for beginners. Sea water is a
complex living thing. It contains thousands of elements, compounds,
minerals and organisms that are all reacting together. When setting up
a new aquarium it takes time to mature enough to sustain higher order
living animals such as fish and inverts. Generally it can take up to
eight weeks for the nitrogen cycle to complete and the sea water
stabilise enough to allow for the addition of fish. A good idea is to
stick to one or two hardy fish initially and then slowly add more fish
over a period of time, all the time keeping a very close eye on water
conditions. I would be testing daily for pH, salinity (SG), ammonia,
nitrites and nitrates during this phase. After six months or so if
everything is going all right I would then consider basic, hardy
invertebrates such as soft corals, algae's, shrimps, anemones, star
fish, urchins etc. After these have been living successfully for a
while (after about one to two years) I would then consider the more
sensitive inverts such as stony corals, clams etc.
· Don't mix inhabitants (fish or inverts) without some
research of your own and/or advice from your local marine aquarium
store - they don't all get on together - even if they look weird or
wonderful and you just have to have it!
· Don't change any critical aquarium conditions too
drastically - stability is your friend. The main ones include salinity
(Specific Gravity or SG), pH and temperature. · Don't use
water from your tap without treating it and testing it. Some local
water supplies have unwanted chemicals such as copper (Cu), Iron (Fe),
Ammonia (NH4), Nitrites (NO2), Nitrates (NO3) and heavy metals in them.
They all have chlorine and chloramines in them and need to be removed
before being added to the aquarium (or even mixing salt in - remove the
chlorine first).
· Don't use fly sprays, air fresheners, incense etc in the
same room as your fish tanks as they may well poison your inhabitants
· Don't use the cheap types of hydrometers to measure your
Specific Gravity (salinity) as they are inherently inaccurate! These
include your common floating type (they quite often also contain a
thermometer in them as well) and the floating needle types that stick
to your glass and a little plastic needle floats in the water
indicating your SG! These types are also affected by temperature and
may be giving an incorrect reading is not used correctly. I find the
most accurate is a refractometer and they are not too expensive
(approx. $100)
· Don't use only one powerful heater in your aquarium. It
may save you a little money but if it breaks (turns off, or even worse
gets stuck on) you could lose everything. Preferably use two smaller
heaters so that if one breaks you have a back up and if one gets stuck
on it won't cook your fish.
http://www.aquarticles.com
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