mutts
12-04-2005, 03:48 PM
The Mechanics of a Saltwater Aquarium
Amanda Haynes
I. Introduction
A. Imagine this
B. Thesis
II. What You Need
A. Size Matters
B. Shopping List
III. Filtration
A. Biological
B. Mechanical
C. Chemical
D. Protein Skimmer
IV. Live Rock
A. What is it?
B. Filtration
C. Types
V. Cycling
A. Why?
B. How?
C. Cocktail shrimp method
VI. Chores
A. Yes, chores
B. Daily
C. Weekly
D. Biweekly
E. Monthly
F. Quarterly
G. Set in stone
VII. Conclusion
A. Restating thesis
Imagine this, you come home from a hard day at work to enjoy you favorite hobby. You watch as living coral sway though the water. The rocks burst with colors of red and purple of the coralline algae. A pair of Clown fish swim about their host anemone, their orange and white bodies wiggling though the tentacles. On the rock work below a Mandarin pounces on tiny "pods" eating them up. His body is green with brightly colored spots, his head reminiscent of a dragon. Then there is a flash of purple and yellow as a Royal Gramma swims right by you. A school of three Cardinal fish take his place. These fish resemble the leftovers of three fish smashed together. Near you a Yellow Tang hovers, greeting you for his treat. Everything is alive, even the sand is crawling. No you do not live on the coast of Fiji or have a breathing apparatus strapped to your back. You need not drive to a public aquarium, for this is in your living room. Your very own Saltwater Aquarium.
http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k1f8587ddfa.jpg
One hundred eighty gallon reef (Courtesy of Dave and Angel of CaptiveReefing)
There are so many aspects of rearing a saltwater aquarium that no one knows all the secrets. It is one of the many reasons people are attracted to the hobby, the fact that you will never be an expert. Nevertheless, there are a few basic principles everyone needs to know before they dive into this hobby. I will cover the mechanics of a saltwater aquarium. This will include ideas like how to start up, filtration, live rock, cycling, and a basic mechanical chore list. Best of all it is written by a beginner for other beginners.
There are two types of Saltwater Aquariums according to size, regular and Nano (twenty gallons or under). It is recommended for your first to go as large as you can afford in space and money. The larger amount of water allows you to get away with more mistakes than a smaller aquarium would. (CaptiveReefing, Doctors Foster&Smith)
http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k9c40506eda.jpg
Twelve gallon Nano (Courtesy of Tracy of CaptiveReefing)
The shopping list for a Saltwater Aquarium can be a little scary but remember you can always buy it little by little until you have it all. The first thing you should pick up is a book, if you have time buy two, better yet buy three, because knowledge is the most important factor in this hobby. The next thing you need to buy is the aquarium and the stand (if needed), a full-hood with light, a filter system, power head, heater, thermometer, substrate (gravel, crushed coral, sand, etc), tap water conditioner, hydrometer, and sea salt. (Wickham 47) Most beginners have good luck buying a freshwater starter kit (which contains tank, full-hood with light, filter, heater, thermometer, and tap water conditioner) then upgrading as needed or as money allows. Now you need to buy a gravel vacuum, pH, ammonia, nitrite test kits, and your protein skimmer. If you have a little extra money you many want to purchase a fish net and fish food for the future. (Wickham 47) All you have left to buy now is the live rock. Though there are a few other things you need to find. You will definitely need a few five gallon buckets with lids, these are for storing and handling saltwater, a plastic container like a garbage can that will hold anywhere from thirty to fifty gallons, for mixing and storing saltwater, and you will also need about six feet of clear vinyl hose to use as a siphon (your gravel vacuum will work great for this). (Tullock 14-15) You will also get your first experience with a Nano tank while setting up your show tank. This will be your quarantine tank (a place to put sick or injured fish or new arrivals). A small tank of five to twenty gallons will work but many have found a cheap ten gallon works best. (CaptiveReefing)
There are three types of filtration biological, mechanical, and chemical. Biological is the process of making nitrogen compounds less harmful. This is though a process called the Nitrogen Cycle and contains three steps:
[Step One:] Nitrogsomones bacteria utilize ammonia as their energy source and transforms ammonia into less toxic compound called nitrite. [Step Two:] Nitrite is then utilized by nitrobacteria, which transforms it to less toxic nitrate. [Step Three:] This process goes further though a denitrification phase in which nitrate can be chemically converted to few nitrogen or niterous oxide." (Blasiola 11).
All filters have a place for bacteria to colonize but ones with a larger surface area are more efficient. Also if you use disposable media you lose a good part of the helpful bacteria. The new filter must then be recolonized to work the best. (Wickham 52)
The next type of filtration is Mechanical Filtration. This form removes particulate matter from the water. This is "
Amanda Haynes
I. Introduction
A. Imagine this
B. Thesis
II. What You Need
A. Size Matters
B. Shopping List
III. Filtration
A. Biological
B. Mechanical
C. Chemical
D. Protein Skimmer
IV. Live Rock
A. What is it?
B. Filtration
C. Types
V. Cycling
A. Why?
B. How?
C. Cocktail shrimp method
VI. Chores
A. Yes, chores
B. Daily
C. Weekly
D. Biweekly
E. Monthly
F. Quarterly
G. Set in stone
VII. Conclusion
A. Restating thesis
Imagine this, you come home from a hard day at work to enjoy you favorite hobby. You watch as living coral sway though the water. The rocks burst with colors of red and purple of the coralline algae. A pair of Clown fish swim about their host anemone, their orange and white bodies wiggling though the tentacles. On the rock work below a Mandarin pounces on tiny "pods" eating them up. His body is green with brightly colored spots, his head reminiscent of a dragon. Then there is a flash of purple and yellow as a Royal Gramma swims right by you. A school of three Cardinal fish take his place. These fish resemble the leftovers of three fish smashed together. Near you a Yellow Tang hovers, greeting you for his treat. Everything is alive, even the sand is crawling. No you do not live on the coast of Fiji or have a breathing apparatus strapped to your back. You need not drive to a public aquarium, for this is in your living room. Your very own Saltwater Aquarium.
http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k1f8587ddfa.jpg
One hundred eighty gallon reef (Courtesy of Dave and Angel of CaptiveReefing)
There are so many aspects of rearing a saltwater aquarium that no one knows all the secrets. It is one of the many reasons people are attracted to the hobby, the fact that you will never be an expert. Nevertheless, there are a few basic principles everyone needs to know before they dive into this hobby. I will cover the mechanics of a saltwater aquarium. This will include ideas like how to start up, filtration, live rock, cycling, and a basic mechanical chore list. Best of all it is written by a beginner for other beginners.
There are two types of Saltwater Aquariums according to size, regular and Nano (twenty gallons or under). It is recommended for your first to go as large as you can afford in space and money. The larger amount of water allows you to get away with more mistakes than a smaller aquarium would. (CaptiveReefing, Doctors Foster&Smith)
http://www.captivereefing.com/richedit/upload/2k9c40506eda.jpg
Twelve gallon Nano (Courtesy of Tracy of CaptiveReefing)
The shopping list for a Saltwater Aquarium can be a little scary but remember you can always buy it little by little until you have it all. The first thing you should pick up is a book, if you have time buy two, better yet buy three, because knowledge is the most important factor in this hobby. The next thing you need to buy is the aquarium and the stand (if needed), a full-hood with light, a filter system, power head, heater, thermometer, substrate (gravel, crushed coral, sand, etc), tap water conditioner, hydrometer, and sea salt. (Wickham 47) Most beginners have good luck buying a freshwater starter kit (which contains tank, full-hood with light, filter, heater, thermometer, and tap water conditioner) then upgrading as needed or as money allows. Now you need to buy a gravel vacuum, pH, ammonia, nitrite test kits, and your protein skimmer. If you have a little extra money you many want to purchase a fish net and fish food for the future. (Wickham 47) All you have left to buy now is the live rock. Though there are a few other things you need to find. You will definitely need a few five gallon buckets with lids, these are for storing and handling saltwater, a plastic container like a garbage can that will hold anywhere from thirty to fifty gallons, for mixing and storing saltwater, and you will also need about six feet of clear vinyl hose to use as a siphon (your gravel vacuum will work great for this). (Tullock 14-15) You will also get your first experience with a Nano tank while setting up your show tank. This will be your quarantine tank (a place to put sick or injured fish or new arrivals). A small tank of five to twenty gallons will work but many have found a cheap ten gallon works best. (CaptiveReefing)
There are three types of filtration biological, mechanical, and chemical. Biological is the process of making nitrogen compounds less harmful. This is though a process called the Nitrogen Cycle and contains three steps:
[Step One:] Nitrogsomones bacteria utilize ammonia as their energy source and transforms ammonia into less toxic compound called nitrite. [Step Two:] Nitrite is then utilized by nitrobacteria, which transforms it to less toxic nitrate. [Step Three:] This process goes further though a denitrification phase in which nitrate can be chemically converted to few nitrogen or niterous oxide." (Blasiola 11).
All filters have a place for bacteria to colonize but ones with a larger surface area are more efficient. Also if you use disposable media you lose a good part of the helpful bacteria. The new filter must then be recolonized to work the best. (Wickham 52)
The next type of filtration is Mechanical Filtration. This form removes particulate matter from the water. This is "