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A word of warning: starting a marine
tank cause a serious change in human behavioural patterns - looking dreamy
eyed at your tank for hours on end; phoning your loved ones (or anyone!)
in the middle of the night to tell them about a new polyp, worm, glowing
thingy about 1mm long, ... which you have just discovered; not buying
new clothes, furniture etc. because your tank REALLY needs that new light,
filter, ROCK, etc.... Oh well, maybe you won't get hooked so badly.
Firstly, get some advice.
* Most people’s main source of advice is
the Local Fish Store (LFS). Petshops, LFS's, call them what you like,
these shops all exist primarily to make money. If they do, they are successful,
and the owners can live in comfort (or even grow rich ??). If they don't
make money, they go bankrupt. They will always try to sell you the most
expensive (often quite useless), items, preferably something which you
will have to upgrade later (another sale for them...). And these are the
good ones - the bad shops will also sell you incompatible livestock, or
diseased fish, or even fish caught with poisons, knowing that they will
die after a few days. They can then blame it on you (bad water quality,
wrong filter..."you also need this UV steriliser to reduce disease..."
and because you are not sure yourself, you inevitably buy more equipment
(usually also useless). Get the picture..?? So BUYER BEWARE!
* People on Internet discussion groups do not have any
financial gain by what they recommend, and are usually impartial, but
there is another problem lurking - Pride. "I use skimmer xxx, or
pump zzz, this is the best, use it!" "Oh, I've kept 10 types
of Angels, and 4 types of Damsels in a 50 gallon tank for the past 5 years,
It’s EASY - you can do it too..." or even worse, "Oh,
I am very successful with keeping anemones. They are easy to keep, I've
had 5 in the last year..."
* Advice in books is usually outdated. Details
on the animals and plants tend to stay relevant, but "technical"
issues such as filters, skimming, lighting, etc. tend to change rapidly,
as new equipment and techniques are developed. So, before you decide on
anything technical, query what the books say!Whilst gathering your information,
you must THINK. Is it logical, does it agree with what other books say,
or with the views of "experts"? You must also get as many recommendations
as you can, and then try to decide what is right FOR YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION.
Even some of the most notable "experts" on the net, some even
with PhD's, can't agree on "what is right" all the time. They
do tend to agree on the basics, though, so if you get some "way off"
advice, you should be wary.
Deciding on the TYPE of set-up
Before purchasing ANY equipment, you should decide
on what type of environment (or set-up) you want. Some may argue that
a fish only tank is easier to keep, as fishes can withstand a greater
degree of pollution and water quality fluctuations. A "reef"
tank though slightly more difficult, is much more interesting, and gives
one a greater sense of achievement and satisfaction. Many people start
off with a FO (fish only), only to upgrade to a reef tank later. This
invariably results in some equipment having to be replaced, because they
did not buy "Reef quality" originally. I would like to suggest
that you buy your equipment with a reef tank in mind, even though you
may initially plan to keep only fish.
Is "fish only" easier to keep than "Reef"?
The general statement that "a Fish Only
system is easier to keep" (or that "inverts are a lot harder
to keep") is very misleading, and totally unfair to novice marine
aquarists. Let me explain:
Keeping "easy" inverts, such as some species of soft corals,
cleaner shrimps, Featherduster worms, etc. are actually easier than keeping
fish. They cause much less pollution, and therefore place less of a bio
load on the system, which maker filtration a lot less critical. They don't
get diseases such as "Ich", and many do not need much feeding
either. You do need a minimum amount of light in order to keep corals
and other photosynthetic animals. Fortunately the easier "low light"
softies, such as brown or green Star Polyps (Pachyclavularia and Briareum
spp.), Mushroom corals (Sarcophyton sp.) and Devils Hand or Finger Leather
corals can be kept under normal fluorescent lights - though you would
need quite a few tubes....
The "difficult" part of keeping a reef
tank is when you also want lots of fish in it. This just does not work
very well, and is not to be recommended to newbies. Rather start off with
a "marginal reef" tank, with lots of live rock, a deep live
sand bed substrate (both very important elements of your filtration, as
well as being interesting in their own right), some "easy" soft
corals, some tube worms, etc. and only a few reef compatible fish.
Do your research first, though. Learn as much
as you can about the different filtration methods, compatibility of livestock,
food and feeding, and everything else you can pick up... Then, carefully
plan your set-up, and GO SLOWLY. In this hobby there is a saying:
IN A REEF AQUARIUM, ONLY BAD THINGS HAPPEN QUICKLY.
If you stock your aquarium before it has cycled properly, you will probably
kill your animals. If you stock to rapidly, your tank will have another
ammonia/nitrite spike, again probably killing your animals. At best, you
will have problem algae, and sick fish. Remember that this is a long-term
hobby. It is not uncommon for a tank to only stabilise properly after
6 months. Your corals can outlive you, and even the most common fish can
live longer than 20 years, if you do your bit....
Essential Equipment
Equipment does not *have* to be very expensive,
but it *usually* ends up costing a great deal more than you originally
had in mind.
Tank size and Shape:
Although one could successfully keep very small
marine tanks, this is a specialised field, and is not the ideal for a
beginner.
* Deeper tanks look more natural. They do require
more intense lighting, though. They should also only have the same bio-load
as a regular depth tank of the same surface area.
* A larger tank will be more stable, and forgiving
if something goes wrong. A small fish dying in a mature 100-gallon tank
would probably not have any effect on the water quality. That same dead
fish would most likely cause an ammonia spike, algae bloom and possibly
further die off if it was left in a 20 gallon tank.
* Your fish will be less stressed in a larger
tank (if you don't over-stock), as there is more room to evade aggressors,
and to allow each fish to have it's own territory.
* It is also easier IMHO to use a surge device
(wave-maker) in a larger tank. A 20 litre surge discharged into a 200
litre tank will cause a "tidal wave" to overflow the top. In
a 500-litre tank the effect will be less than half, and in a 1000 litre
tank it would probably not even cause a ripple.
* A pre drilled tank with an "overflow"
weir is much better than a conventional tank with a siphon "overflow"
to the sump. It allows for a much larger water flow, and is much safer
to use, as there is no siphon that can "break" and cause the
tank to overflow and/or the sump to run dry.The disadvantages of a larger
tank are mostly financial:
* It would cost a lot more to fill the tank,
and to do partial water changes
* One would require substantially more live rock,
and sand, to achieve a decent looking, and properly filtered tank. As
live rock and sand are amongst the most expensive purshases, a larger
tank would increase the total cost most dramatically.
* One would obviously want more corals, etc.
This would be added to over time, so work on a constant, long-term drain
on the wallet.
* Practically, it's more difficult to reach all
the "spots" in a large tank when you're doing maintenance and
cleaning.
* The greater amount of living creatures, and
costly live rock, etc. increases the financial risk of losing a major
investment if there is a long-term power blackout, the tank cracks, an
outbreak of disease, or other disaster. This would cause you to consider
the purchase of "back up" equipment, such as a power generator
if you want to sleep well at nights.
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