CategoriesWHAT I NEED TO KNOW AS REEFER by

How to solve problems in Marin Reef Aquarium

Cyanobacteria

Cyanos are mostly known as red slime on sand or rocks, however it is also available in a green color. First of all the route couse need to be detected to have long term success especially for balanced water chemistry on Phosphate, Nitrate, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Calcium and most important dosing of elements as Amino Acidic which can create an increase of Cyanos. Regular Water changes are very important approximately 10% per week for non experts to keep water parameter balanced, however some Marine Salts are also increasing the Cyanos grow which is not linked to a bad salt quality but mainly to the trace elements in the salt mixture. Also one of the most underestimated factor is to have pure water preferably RO water with an TDS of 0.00 which can be achieved with a resin filter media after the RO system. Why it is very important to have clean water? Even you have clean water in your tap water a little contamination over time can accumulate unwanted elements which can create a instability of the Reef Aquarium and difficult to identify.

The most problematic algae and diatoms are shown below on the pictures under microscope which are Dinoflagellates, Silica diatoms, Cyanobacteria

Silica is primarily available in sand and rocks, however also tap water and some salt mixture contain silica which is visible mostly on white sand which turs to an brown gold tone after the lights are switched on, as soon as lights are off for a few hours the sand becomes white again. This is the most easy algae to fight against. First eliminate the source of silica which can be your tap water or salt mixture and than bind the remaining silica with absorber media available here

Silica diatoms ( Brown Sand )

Dinoflagellates ( Brown sticky slime on sand and rocks )

Cyanobacteria ( Red or green slime on sand and rocks )

Disclaimer for BlueMarineLife

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at info@bluemarinelife.qa. Our Disclaimer was generated with the help of the Disclaimer Generator.

Disclaimers for BlueMarineLife

All the information on this website – www.bluemarinelife.qa – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. BlueMarineLife does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (BlueMarineLife), is strictly at your own risk. BlueMarineLife will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.

Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Update

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.

CategoriesMARINE REEF AQUARIUM HELP by

How to Cycle a Reef Aquarium Fishless

There are two methods to cycle your Marine or Reef Aquarium

First of all what does it mean to cycle an Aquarium?

Quik overview on topics that we will explain

Important Marine Aquarium Parameters

The first parameters you will test for are Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates as part of monitoring the initial nitrogen cycle.

Reef tank with a mix of fish and coral you want the specific gravity to be 1.023 – 1.025 or a salinity of 33ppt – 35ppt. If you want to keep a fish only tank, with no live coral you can lower the specific gravity to 1.020 – 1.025 or 30ppt – 35ppt.

How to setup and start an Marine Aquarium

Cycling is not simply a matter of allowing an aquarium to operate for some predetermined amount of time before adding fish or invertebrates. You can operate a new aquarium instantly with the available products in the market (expert only) or you will take your time to establish the biofilter in the Aquarium.

What method can be used for cycling the aquarium

One such method is adding ammonia (available in our shop) to the system. Another is feeding the tank—literally adding fish food on a daily basis and allowing it to decompose, thereby producing ammonia.

How long I need to wait for the first animals

We always suggest for beginner to wait 2-4 weeks to achieve the initial biofilm which is required for an healthy Aquarium start.

It is very important for whatever method is selected that Amonia, Nitrat is not measurable in water anymore using standard (Test Kits) or (Professional Digital Test Kits) to monitor parameters.

What I need before I start an Aquarium journey to be successful

One such method is adding ammonia (available in our shop) to the system. Another is feeding the tank—literally adding fish food on a daily basis and allowing it to decompose, thereby producing ammonia.

  1. Nitrogen Cycle – The Basics.

The Foundation of Cycling a Reef Tank Bacterial to best understand, let’s take a brief look at how this process is done in the wild. The Beginners Reef.com has a good detailed  explanation, here’s a rundown:

  • Atmospheric nitrogen is literally dissolved into seawater. This freshly dissolved element rests along the oceans surface. But in this state, it’s relatively useless for living organisms.
  • Bacteria within the ocean absorb nitrogen. This is when the magic happens. Bacteria converts nitrogen (N2) into ammonium (NH4+) in a process called nitrogen fixation. Without this conversion, no living creature could benefit from this fundamental element.
  • When this bacteria die and decompose, ammonium is released into the water, which is known as Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (DON) and Particulate Organic Nitrogen (PON).
  • Ammonium can also be converted into nitrites, and then ultimately nitrates. This is referred to as Nitrification.
  • Other organisms living in the water transform the DONs and PONs back into ammonium, which is known as Remineralization.
  • Lastly, to complete the nitrogen cycle, there are other forms of bacteria that convert the potentially harmful nitrite and nitrate back to its original form, nitrogen gas. This final stage is known as Denitrification.

Essentially, the core of the nitrogen cycle is bacteria. But not just any bacteria will do. As you can see, specific microbes convert and release nitrogen in a “dangerous” form, while others extract these compounds and reconvert them into a non-harmful element.

  1. Nitrogen Cycle – The Basics.

The Foundation of Cycling a Reef Tank Bacterial to best understand, let’s take a brief look at how this process is done in the wild. The Beginners Reef.com has a good detailed  explanation, here’s a rundown:

  • Atmospheric nitrogen is literally dissolved into seawater. This freshly dissolved element rests along the oceans surface. But in this state, it’s relatively useless for living organisms.
  • Bacteria within the ocean absorb nitrogen. This is when the magic happens. Bacteria converts nitrogen (N2) into ammonium (NH4+) in a process called nitrogen fixation. Without this conversion, no living creature could benefit from this fundamental element.
  • When this bacteria die and decompose, ammonium is released into the water, which is known as Dissolved Organic Nitrogen (DON) and Particulate Organic Nitrogen (PON).
  • Ammonium can also be converted into nitrites, and then ultimately nitrates. This is referred to as Nitrification.
  • Other organisms living in the water transform the DONs and PONs back into ammonium, which is known as Remineralization.
  • Lastly, to complete the nitrogen cycle, there are other forms of bacteria that convert the potentially harmful nitrite and nitrate back to its original form, nitrogen gas. This final stage is known as Denitrification.

Essentially, the core of the nitrogen cycle is bacteria. But not just any bacteria will do. As you can see, specific microbes convert and release nitrogen in a “dangerous” form, while others extract these compounds and reconvert them into a non-harmful element.

The nitrogen cycle in aquaculture systems and aquarium tanks. Ammonia is built up from fish excretion and uneaten food. Nitrosomonas , a bacterium, converts the ammonia into nitrite, which is converted into nitrate by nitrobacter , another bacterium. During both chemical conversions by the bacteria, H + is released causing a reduction in pH. A reduced pH will change ammonia into 

Disclaimer for BlueMarineLife

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at info@bluemarinelife.qa. Our Disclaimer was generated with the help of the Disclaimer Generator.

Disclaimers for BlueMarineLife

All the information on this website – www.bluemarinelife.qa – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. BlueMarineLife does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (BlueMarineLife), is strictly at your own risk. BlueMarineLife will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.

Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Update

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.

CategoriesWHAT I NEED TO KNOW AS REEFER by

What I need before I start an Marin Aquarium journey to be successful

Unfortunately, often the hobbyist is not aware what exactly is required to have an successful and healthy Aquarium.

We want that every Reefers is happy and support as best as we can with experience and failure that we have experienced in the last decade.

First of all we suggest to take time to plan when planning an Aquarium and understand the advantages and disadvantages of different setups.

What I need before I start an Aquarium journey to be successful

Unfortunately, often the hobbyist is not aware what exactly is required to have an successful and healthy Aquarium.

We want that every Reefers is happy and support as best as we can with experience and failure that we have experienced in the last decade.

First of all we suggest to take time to plan when planning an Aquarium and understand the advantages and disadvantages of different setups.

The most important steps in a Marine Aquarium are very simple but often not respected from beginning due to different reasons.

  1. Pure Water often also available under RO Water or RODI
    1. RO water is Reverse Osmosis Water which require an RO system which have a conductivity of 0.2 µS/cm – 6 µS/cm
    1. RODI water is Reverse Osmosis Water which require an RO system and a Diamondized Resin to remove silica So4 and other unwanted materials which

have a conductivity of almost 0 µS/cm which is a target value for Marine Tanks.

  • Good Lightning preferable LED for low consumption and better adjustment with full color spectrum
    • Preferable light setup in the first 40 days max 10% intensity and no light in the first 2 weeks after setup.
  • Salt requirements
    • Use for startup a Pro salt as parameter will go down during cycle and will adjust to almost perfect levels.
    • Use for water changes without a permanent dosing system Pro Salts to adjust the missing elements.
    • Use for permanent dosing system Normal Salts as all Trace elements are already dosed and this will avoid spike in elements and unstable Aquarium.
  • Last but not least
    • Never do fast or quick changes to the system if not mandatory required
    • Make sure that water parameters are as constant as possible without targeting a specific value as long as it match to the average Seawater parameters.
  • Preferred Water Parameter
    • Calcium 390 – 500 ppt preferred 420ppt
    • Magnesium 1250 – 1450 ppt preferred 1400ppt
    • Alkalinity 7.0 – 9.0ppt preferred 8.0ppt
    • Salinity 33 – 35 ppt preferred for corals 35ppt
    • Salinity for fish only 28ppt – 35ppt preferred the lower range as it is easier for keeping fish.
  • Which Aquarium I should buy
    • The choice of Aquarium setup depends on final expectation and animals that you want to keep, however we segregate them into three types Nano Aquarium which we will explain in the next section, All in one Aquarium without sump and finally the full setup with Aquarium and sump which has the highest flexibility for future upgrades.
    • The Nano Aquarium the optimum Nano Aquarium should have around 50L to achieve a stable ecosystem, however please consider as smaller the Aquarium is as less it can compensate user errors.
    • The All in one Aquarium without sump ( sump is a second aquarium located below the aquarium for filtration and equipment purposes to have less equipment in the main Aquarium.
    • The All in one including Sump Aquarium is an Aquarium which has a main tank and a secondary tank below the aquarium which is used for filtration purpose and will allow more flexibility for upgrades maintenance and modification.
  • Do I need rocks
    • Rocks are in Marine Aquarium a very important element to create a natural reef for fish and corals, however the most important part is the biological filtration within the rocks which keeps water parameter as Nitrate low due to
      Anerobic bacteria (Anerobic Bacteria consume Nitrate No3 under low oxygen levels ) grow within the rocks. Rocks can be found by clicking here
  • Do I need a Chiller?
    • No not primarily if the room temperature is controlled between 23 and 26 degrees Celsius
  • Do I need a Heater?
    • Yes, I would recommend having always a heater installed with an emergency temperature of 23 degree Celsius to avoid a low temperature during winter or a low temperature due to low room temperature. Heaters can be found by clicking here
  1. Do I need to add Bacteria to cycle the Aquarium?
    1. Yes, we recommend for every beginner to add Bacteria to have a controlled cycle process. Bacteria can be found here and here
  2. How I activate the cycle process?
    1. We recommend to use Fishless additive here ( Ammonia liquid )which is an ammonia source, however also natural method can be used as a frozen shrimp which will create Ammonia in a natural way after a few days.

Disclaimer for BlueMarineLife

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at info@bluemarinelife.qa. Our Disclaimer was generated with the help of the Disclaimer Generator.

Disclaimers for BlueMarineLife

All the information on this website – www.bluemarinelife.qa – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. BlueMarineLife does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (BlueMarineLife), is strictly at your own risk. BlueMarineLife will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.

Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Update

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.

CategoriesMARINE REEF AQUARIUM HELP by

Important Parameter Marine Aquarium

Temperature should be between 23 and 25 degree, the most important is to keep the temperature stable. Slightly increase or decrease on a long periode of time does not affect the biologic system to much.

PH should be between 8.0 and 8.3 and stability is important, however some of you have a lower PH below 8.0 and the reason can be low flow in the aquarium or increased Co2 in the air, therefore air exchange or a Co2 filter on the intake of the skimmer can stabilize this parameter.

Alkalinity should be 8.0 and 12.0, Alkalinity is consumed by the Aquarium and coral grow as well as the development of bacteria and can be adjusted by using a two or three parts system from Triton or Fritz

Ammonia NH4 should be almost zero on a working Aquarium, however during initial phase cycle period the Ammonia is always measurable but will disappear as soon as the nitrogen process is established.

Phosphate Po4 should be 0.05 and 0.2 depend on the animal and corals in the Aquarium. SPS dominated Aquarium are trying to keep the lower end and LPS dominated Aquarium are more healthy on the upper end of the above value.

Disclaimer for BlueMarineLife

If you require any more information or have any questions about our site’s disclaimer, please feel free to contact us by email at info@bluemarinelife.qa. Our Disclaimer was generated with the help of the Disclaimer Generator.

Disclaimers for BlueMarineLife

All the information on this website – www.bluemarinelife.qa – is published in good faith and for general information purpose only. BlueMarineLife does not make any warranties about the completeness, reliability and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website (BlueMarineLife), is strictly at your own risk. BlueMarineLife will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.

From our website, you can visit other websites by following hyperlinks to such external sites. While we strive to provide only quality links to useful and ethical websites, we have no control over the content and nature of these sites. These links to other websites do not imply a recommendation for all the content found on these sites. Site owners and content may change without notice and may occur before we have the opportunity to remove a link which may have gone ‘bad’.

Please be also aware that when you leave our website, other sites may have different privacy policies and terms which are beyond our control. Please be sure to check the Privacy Policies of these sites as well as their “Terms of Service” before engaging in any business or uploading any information.

By using our website, you hereby consent to our disclaimer and agree to its terms.

Update

Should we update, amend or make any changes to this document, those changes will be prominently posted here.