Marine aquaria include "fish only" tanks, "fish only with live rock" (FOWLR) tanks, and "reef tanks". Fish only tanks often showcase large or aggressive marine fish species and generally rely on mechanical and chemical filtration. FOWLR and reef tanks use "live rock", a material composed of coral skeletons harboring beneficial nitrogen waste metabolizing bacteria, as a means of more natural biological filtration. A reef aquarium or reef tank is an aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the coral reef environment. A reef aquarium requires appropriately intense lighting, turbulent water movement, and more stable water chemistry than fish-only marine aquaria, and careful consideration is given to which reef animals are appropriate and compatible with each other.
Components
Reef aquariums consist of a number of components, in addition to the livestock, including:
Display tank : The primary tank in which the livestock are kept and shown.
Stand : A stand allows for placement of the display tank at eye level and provides space for storage of the accessory components.
Sump : An accessory tank in which mechanical equipment is kept. A remote sump allows for a clutter-free display tank.
Refugium : An accessory tank dedicated to the cultivation of beneficial macroalgae and microflora/fauna. The refugium and sump are often housed in a single tank with a system of dividers to separate the compartments.
Lighting : Several lighting options are available for the reef-keeper and are tailored to the types of coral kept.
Canopy : The canopy houses the light fixtures and provides access to the tank for feeding and maintenance.
Filtration and water movement : A variety of filtration and water movement strategies are employed in reef aquaria. Bulky equipment is often relegated to the sump.
Display Tank
Main article: AquariumSee also: Aquascaping
A "reef ready" or simply "drilled" tank is often used. This style of tank has holes drilled into the bottom pane allowing water to drain into the sump or refugium. These drains are usually housed in an internal overflow aparatus made of plastic or glass which encloses a drain standpipe and a water return line (See fig 1, a). The surface water pours over the overflow, down the standpipe (See fig 1, b), through PVC piping, into a sump. After transiting the sump, water is pushed by a return water pump through the second hole and into the aquarium (See fig 1, c). Alternatively, standard non-drilled aquariums employ an external "hang-on" overflow that feeds water via continuous siphon to the sump (See fig 1 d). The tanks are usually constructed from either glass or acrylic. Acrylic has the advantage of optical clarity, lightness, and ease of drilling. Drawbacks include a tendency to scratch easily, bowing, and often limited access from above due to top bracing. Glass aquariums are heavier but harder to scratch. Other materials such as epoxy coated plywood have been used by industrious DIY'ers.
Filtration
Main article: Filter (aquarium)The primary filtration for reef aquariums usually comes from the use of large amounts of live rock which come from various rubble zones around existing reefs or more recently aquacultured rock from Florida. Deep sand beds (DSB) are often employed to augment this biological filtration. Deep sand bed opponents may prefer a "bare bottom" or "suspended reef" which allows for easier removal of accumulated detritus. This biologic filtration is usually supplemented by protein skimmers. Protein skimmers use the foam fractionation process wherein air is introduced into a water stream creating microbubbles. Organic waste adheres to the surface of these microbubbles and is removed as it accumulates at the reactor surface. This method first came from Germany and is termed the Berlin Method. In addition, a refugium which preferably houses mainly two species of macroalgae, including Caulerpa Prolifera or chaetomorphae or both (due to the fact that these two strains are known to not "Spore" but grow roots to propagate). Macroalgae is used for two reasons, 1) To remove from the water excess nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate, and iron., and 2) To support beneficial microflora and fauna (zooplankton) as well as small invertebrates (copepods and amphipods) are provided a space free of predation to grow and, when returned to the display tank, serve as food for corals and fish. Conventional combined mechanical/biological filtration used in fish only systems is avoided because these filters trap detritus and produce nitrate which may stunt the growth or even kill many delicate corals. Chemical filtration in the form of activated carbon is used to avoid discoloration of the water, to remove dissolved matter (organic or otherwise) to help purify the water in the reef system.
Water movement
Water movement is important in the reef aquarium with different types of coral requiring different flow rates. At present, many hobbyists advocate a water turnover rate of 10x: 10 x aquarium capacity in gallons = required flow in gallons per hour. This is a general rule with many exceptions. For instance, Mushroom Coral requires little flow and is commonly found in crevices near the base of the reef. Species such as Acropora and Montipora thrive under much more turbulent conditions in the range of 30 to 40 times more flow, which imitates breaking waves in shallow water near the tip of the reef. The directions which water pumps are pointed within an aquarium will have a large effect on flow speeds.
"Since flow speed is the critical measure for determining the rate of gas exchange, turnover does little to convey how fast a coral will respire and photosynthesize."
Reef ready tanks obtain at least a portion of the required water motion from the pump that returns water from the sump. This flow usually is augmented by other strategies. A popular strategy is placement within the display tank of multiple powerheads. Powerheads are simply small submersible water pumps that produce a laminar or narrow, unidirectional water stream. The pumps may be alternately switched on and off using a wave timer and aimed at one another or at the aquarium glass to create turbulent flow in the tank. Drawbacks to the use of these powerheads include their capacity to clutter the display tank, propensity for excess heat production, and the laminar quality of water flow often produced. Another method is the closed loop in which water is pulled from the main tank into a pump which returns the water back into the aquarium via one or more returns to create water turbulence. Newer submersible propeller pumps are gaining popularity and are able to generate large volumes of turbulent water flow without the intensely directed laminar force of a power head. Propeller pumps are more energy-efficient than powerheads, but require a higher initial investment.
Another recent method is the gyre tank. A gyre tank encourages a maximum amount of water momentum through a divider in the center of the aquarium. The divider leaves an open, unobstructed space which provides a region with little friction against water movement. Building water momentum using a gyre is an efficient method to increase flow, thus benefiting coral respiration and photosynthesis.
Water flow is important to bring food to corals, since no coral fully relies on photosynthesis for food. Gas exchange occurs as water flows over a coral, bringing oxygen and removing gases and shedding material. Water flow assists in reducing the risk of thermal shock and damage by reducing the coral's surface temperature. The surface temperature of a coral living near the water's surface can be significantly higher than the surrounding water due to infrared radiation.
Lighting
Main article: Aquarium lightingWith the advent of newer and better technologies, increasing intensities and a growing spectrum, there are many options to consider.
Many, if not most aquarium corals contain within their tissue the symbiotic algae called zooxanthellae. It is these zooxanthellae that require light to perform photosynthesis and in turn produce simple sugars that the corals utilize for food. The challenge for the hobbyist is to provide enough light to allow photosynthesis to maintain a thriving population of zooxanthellae in a coral tissue. Though this may seem simple enough, in reality this can prove to be a very complex task.
Some corals such as the Mushroom Coral and Coral Polyps require very little light to thrive – conversely, LPS coral such as Brain coral, Bubble Coral, Elegance Coral, Cup Coral, Torch Coral, and Trumpet Coral reqiure moderate amounts of light, and Small Polyp Stony Corals (SPS) such as Acropora Coral, Montipora, Porites, Stylopora and pocillopora require high intensity lighting.
Of the various types, most popular aquarium lighting comes from metal halide, very high output or VHO, compact fluorescent and T5 high output lighting systems. Although they were once widely used, many reef tank aquarists have abandoned T12 and T8 fluorescent lamps due to their poor intensit
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