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Aquarists Online

Aquarists Online
Must know information and resources for salt water aquarists.

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How To Acclimitise New Corals And Fish Correctly
2007-07-26 21:50:00
It always amazes me how many people I see or talk to who purchase a marine animal, take it home, open the bag and pour it into their aquarium. I can never understand why some people do not acclimitise their purchases properly, it could be laziness, lack of knowledge, impatience etc but one thing is for certain life is on the line here so it must be done correctly. The purpose of acclimatisation is simple - the water that the animal is packaged in may have a different temperature, pH and salinity than that of your aquarium. Aquatic life (especially corals and invertebrates) are very sensitive to minor changes in water parameters therefore acclimatisation is a definate requirement for success.
More About: Fish , Corals , Oral , Rect

You are invited to become a guest blogger?
2007-07-25 20:41:00
The salt water aquarium hobby is certainly a huge one. There are so many ways to do things and so many opinions and theories to be had. A lot of what you read on this blog is proven techniques which aquarists around the world have used and are using to maintain a vibrant healthy aquarium. There are numerous aspects however which are built upon our own theories.
More About: Blogger , Guest , Logger , Blogg

Alkalinity - What Is It and How Is It Controlled?
2007-07-23 23:12:00
This is not a complete scientific discussion or description of alkalinity. It is simply intended as a base, as there isn?t a requirement for an aquarist to be a scientist and understand all. A basic understanding allows the aquarist to ensure the seawater in his/her aquarium is at the parameter desired and why. Right, that said, alkalinity then. Alkalinity of seawater is the ability of the seawater to resist certain change. Alkalinity can also be called Carbonate Hardness. Seawater is on the alkaline side of neutral. To quickly describe this, pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. Above 7 is into the alkaline side, below 7 is into the acidic side. Aquarium seawater is, generally, maintained between 8.0 and 8.4. So, as can be seen aquarium seawater is on the alkaline side.
More About: Troll , Kali

Aquarium pH - What Is It? How Is It Controlled?
2007-07-22 22:27:00
In a marine aquarium the pH measurement is of great importance. Marine aquarists routinely test their seawater pH level, but what is pH? It is not intended to go into great scientific detail but to give a general explanation of the term. For those who want to delve into the scientific world, I?m afraid you?ll have to look elsewhere. I?ll also give a little information on its control. First of all, pH is a measurement of the acidity or alkalinity of our seawater. The measurements are set against a scale which runs from 0 to 14. The centre of the scale, 7, is neutral. 0 is acid and 14 is alkaline. Out of interest, Sulfuric acid measures 0, and Sodium hydroxide measures 14.
More About: Aquarium , Aqua , Troll

Phosphate And How To Manage It
2007-07-17 13:41:00
The salt water aquarist runs tests to ensure that the water quality in his/her aquarium is up to scratch. One of the tests should be phosphate, particularly in the case of a reef system. Phosphate (PO4) is measurable in the sea and is a requirement of living organisms. It is present in a very small amount, 0.03 ppm (parts per million).
More About: Manage

Nitrate And How To Reduce It
2007-07-15 22:50:00
All salt water aquarists will know about nitrate, or at least I hope so. Nitrate (NO3) is a product of the nitrogen cycle, and follows on from Ammonia/Ammonium (NH3/NH4) and Nitrite (NO2). The full nitrogen cycle will lead to nitrogen gas which is removed by gas exchange at air/water interfaces. Salt water livestock are generally affected by different levels of nitrate. I say generally because both fish and corals, also shrimps etc, have varying degrees of tolerance.
More About: Reduce , Redu , Rate

Methods To Clean The Glass
2007-07-14 12:04:00
We can have a seawater aquarium which is well designed, well stocked and fully mature. All the corals and/or fish are doing well. There isn?t any problem algae as water quality is very high. Yet there is one job that seemingly needs to be done in any aquarium, and that is clean the glass so it is clear of the algae that appears on it.
More About: Clean , Glass , Methods , Method , The G

A 'Dying' Soft Coral
2007-07-07 11:36:00
I have a soft coral (well, there we go, lucky person, actually many aquarists have got several). Seriously, I have a soft coral that?s a joy to behold. I?m not exactly sure what it is, I believe it could come under the general term 'colt' coral. More specifically, it may well be Alcyonium sp. I cannot be sure. It is a multi-branched very feathery (my wife says fluffy) coral. It is beautiful.
More About: Coral , Soft , Dying , Oral

Old Tank Syndrome?
2007-07-06 15:05:00
Aquarists who have been in the hobby for many years may recall a problem of the early days, "New Tank Syndrome " New Tank Syndrome was when a newly set up salt water system failed to properly support livestock, or failed to support it at all. This was nearly always down to new aquarists being impatient and stocking too early and/or too heavily. In those days the normal procedure was to use under gravel filters or external canister filters.

Using Mangroves As A Filtration Method
2007-07-06 00:11:00
Using mangroves as a type of filtration in a salt water system was started by Julian Sprung several years ago. He planted a mangrove into one of his aquariums just to see what would happen and to his surprise it actually started to grow and flourish. An article was produced by Julian Sprung detailing the benefits of utilising mangroves in an aquarium and many aquarists started to utilise mangroves as an additional form of nutrient export. Mangrove s can be grown in various areas of the marine aquarium system. They can be grown in the sump, the refugium, the mud bed, a separate designated aquarium or even in the display aquarium if you so wish.
More About: Rove , Method , Grove

Cryptic Zones
2007-07-03 22:56:00
There is a scientific term used which is called ?the gradient concept?...
More About: Zone , Zones , Crypt

Mud Bed Filtration
2007-06-30 11:18:00
Mud bed filtration is similar to that of other sand based filtration systems, however the substrate is made of such a small grain size that it is like mud. A good filtration method to equate a mud bed to is the refugium. In the refugium method macro algae is grown in the fine sand. The mud bed filtration system is effectively the same, however instead of sand mud is used. It is not just normal mud though, it is a mud which is full of various elements and minerals. These elements and minerals are slowly released from the mud into the water column.

Let?s Keep A Notebook!
2007-06-29 13:56:00
Eh! What on earth is this all about? Well, it is relevant to the marine aquarist. Do you keep a fish only aquarium? Or is it a reef aquarium? Do you keep soft corals? Or do you keep hard corals? What lighting mix do you have? Or do you have one particular type? What has all that got to do with keeping a notebook?
More About: Notebook

How Long Will My Aquarium Lights Last?
2007-06-26 22:48:00
The aquarium is beautiful. That's good, because a lot of effort, both research and money, has gone into it. Sitting back and viewing the result is a great pleasure. The aquarist has realised that he/she has to do maintenance. If maintenance isn't done, there'll be changes in the aquarium - deterioration will set in. That would be a shame and there is no need for it. Just a few simple guide lines and all should be well. Testing the water for example. There is one other that sometimes is missed, and that is lighting.
More About: Aquarium , Long , Lights , Aqua

The Damsel Fish - Good Aquarium Inhabitant Or Not
2007-06-25 22:04:00
Quite often a damsel fish is one of the first fish which is introduced to the aquarium, however this might not be a good thing to do - the reason is that they are very territorial and quite aggressive. I can understand the reasons as to why people introduce these fish first as they are quite hardy fish and can tolerate the conditions of the aquarium when it is first set up - as long as the aquarist is responsible. The trouble though is that once they settle in they can become quite troublesome.
More About: Aquarium , Fish , Good , Aqua , The D

Should You Purchase Online?
2007-06-24 20:39:00
Once the aquarist has finished setting up his/her salt water aquarium as far as equipment and getting salt water in, the next big question is livestock. Most aquarists know what they want generally, be it a fish only or reef aquarium. Many of us have a local store that can be visited for livestock purchases. Before livestock is purchased, the store is assessed as to how good the aquarium conditions are, how knowledgeable the store man is, and of course the prices being asked.
More About: Online , Chase , Line , Purchase , Hase

"Manta Ray" Rendezvous
2007-06-20 21:21:00
Location, Christmas Island, Pacific. A lovely little coral island, shaped like a horseshoe, with a lovely blue main central lagoon. The sun going down behind the palm trees on the far side of the lagoon was something else. In addition to gawking at the coral reefs, and when I could tear myself away from them, myself and colleagues would go water skiing. When I arrived at the island I hadn't a clue about water skiing, but wanted to learn. This sometimes was a 'lot of salt water down the throat' and comical process. When learning, I was told very clearly to let go of the tow rope if I fell off. Pretty obvious really. My instinct seemed to be to hang on! The tow boat crew reckoned it was the best show yet, a largish wave and a face within it followed by a submerged skier. I soon learned.
More About: Manta , Rendezvous , Manta Ray

Man made aquarium filtration
2007-06-19 11:05:00
Made made aquarium filtration is a term I use when describing filtration devices which are not naturally occurring. This is equipment which is used to grow or culture the bacteria required to provide an efficient aquarium filter. Good examples of man made filtration are but not limited to : 1 External Canister Filters 2 Internal Filters 3 Fluidised Filters. The majority of man made filters effectively follow the same principal and the majority of them utilise both mechanical filtration and biological filtration.
More About: Aquarium , Made , Aqua

The Best Reef Aquariums In The World
2007-06-18 13:38:00
When I sit and view my reef aquarium sometimes my mind wanders and memories come flooding in. Christmas Island (Pacific), Eilaat (Red Sea), Bahamas, St Lucia, Barbados, Florida, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, the Maldives. I've been lucky and visited the above. The coral reefs are beautiful. I'm not a qualified scuba diver, but have had a look at parts of the reefs in the areas with a mask and snorkel. So it's a bit like looking in but not being with. But the view!
More About: World , Reef , The World , Aqua

The Nitrogen Cycle
2007-06-17 23:50:00
We've all seen salt water aquariums in books and on the internet as well as in our homes. They come in all sorts of sizes and shapes, some being enormous, then all the way down in size to a nano aquarium. Whatever size they are and whether they are fish only or reef, they rely on nature's life support system, the nitrogen cycle. Any aquarist needs to basically understand the nitrogen cycle. There is no requirement to become a scientist, just know what is going on. Then the dangers of stressing the aquarium will be better realized (as an example overfeeding, perhaps the main problem with fledgling aquarists?).
More About: Cycle , Nitro , Nitrogen

Aquarium Cover Glasses
2007-06-16 11:32:00
Cover glasses of course are those sheets of glass that rest on the strengthening straps at the top of the aquarium. Sometimes they are fitted in plastic holders so they will slide, sometimes they just lay straight on the straps. The overall practice nowadays is not to use cover glasses, but leave the water surface completely open. This is generally good practice. Firstly, it allows maximum light to penetrate the seawater, which is of particular importance on a hard coral reef aquarium. Second, it allows a large area of open seawater surface for gas exchange to take place. Third, it is one less item to clean!
More About: Aquarium , Cover , Aqua , Glasses

The aquarium filter - how does it work then
2007-06-15 11:15:00
Since yesterdays post we have had a few people contact us saying that it is all well and good talking about aquarium filtration and different methods etc when there are a lot of visitors to this site who are thinking about starting a salt water aquarium and do not fully understand how an aquarium filter actually works. So here we go, this is the first of a couple of posts to touch upon the basics of aquarium filtration (what it is, how it works, methods etc)
More About: Aquarium , Work , Filter , Aqua , The A

Marine aquarium filtration - why must you
2007-06-14 14:21:00
During my hours lunch break at work I decided to pop to my local fish shop to have a look around and have a cup of coffee with the owner and have a break from the pressures of work - it's amazing how looking at salt water aquariums can take all the stress and pressure away. Anyway whilst I was there chatting to the owner I overheard a couple of people talking - one of them was obviously thinking about starting a reef tank and they were chatting about marine aquarium filtration.
More About: Aquarium , Marine , Must , Aqua , Mari

Setting up a nano reef tank
2007-06-13 21:18:00
Poking around on You Tube (what a great site that is) I found a video which I believe will be useful for people thinking about starting a nano reef aquarium (sometimes also know as a mini reef tank or a micro reef aquarium). This is a video which has been created by Practical FIshkeeping which is an aquarium magazine from the UK and actually is quite good.
More About: Tank , Reef , Nano

Water flow in the seawater aquarium
2007-06-13 14:38:00
Whether the aquarist owns a salt water fish only or reef aquarium, water movement is of very great importance. Seawater quality is measured by test kits, such as Ph, alkalinity, nitrate etc. It could be argued that another part of seawater quality is its movement. Sluggish movement, or movement of the incorrect type, can have very detrimental consequences.
More About: Aquarium , Water , Aqua , Flow

How to 'plumb' in your aquarium
2007-06-12 21:24:00
If you have an aquarium where it is all self contained ie. all the equipment is installed in the main display aquarium then you wont have to worry about any plumbing ? with the exception of course of external protein skimmers, canister filters, denitrators etc. If, however you have decided or are in the process of deciding whether to have an external sump, refugium etc then you are going to need to get the water down and back up again ? this is where plumbing comes in.
More About: Aquarium , Aqua , Plum

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