This is a look into my aquariums sump, the back of the tank and the reverse osmosis (RO) water system. Video Rating: 0 / 5
Lovely Colonial near beach 2 at Lake Monticello near Charlottesville, Virginia. Features open floor plan that is great for entertaining. Beautiful hardwood flrs, spacious kitchen with custom oak cabinets and lots of space with a convenient island. Large screened deck with patio below. Fenced back yard. Upstairs you will find an extra large master suite & master bath with double vanity, whirlpool tub and plenty of closet space. Anderson windows throughout & a whole house water filtration system. A great real estate find. Video Rating: 0 / 5
Most of my customers purchase aquariums that are way too small and end up upgrading in the near future anyway. The minimum size for a saltwater aquarium should be at least 55 gallons. Not only will you be able to keep most fish and corals in this tank, your parameters (salinity, ph, etc) will tend not to fluctuate as much in a larger tank.
Purchase your aquarium and a suitable stand. I recommend getting one at your local aquarium store that is designed for the aquarium. Don’t forget, a 55 gallon aquarium weighs over 550lbs without any rock or sand in it so don’t put it on an old table. Now that you have your tank and stand place it on a level surface in your home away from any windows where direct sunlight can influence the temperature. Ensure the tank is sitting level on the stand. This is especially crucial with larger tanks as you don’t want any pressure points that can split your tanks seams.
STEP TWO, ROCK, SAND AND LIGHTING
Purchase a quality reef sand such as Carib Sea Ocean Direct Live Sand and ensure there is at least 2-3 inches of substrate at the bottom of your tank. This will help remove nitrates in the near future. We will get into nitrates later on but for now just make sure you purchase enough sand. As far as lighting there are a variety of options out there. T5 High Outputs are a good option to keep your electric bill reasonable. You should do a little research to find out what you will suite your needs. You will need about 2-3 20 lb bags for every 50 Gallons to achieve this. Now for the rock, you can use what is called live rock or you can use dry reef rock that is readily available online. What many aquarists don’t know is you do not need to use live rock to start. You can purchase dry reef rock for about .75 – per lb versus paying about -15 per pound for live rock. They will both give you the same end result and dry rock gains about 10-30% more weight once it’s wet so it’s a better value. Purchase about one lb for every gallon of water you have so for a 55 Gallon aquarium purchase 50-55 lbs of rock. Position your rocks securely as desired and proceed to the next step, the water.
STEP THREE, WATER, POWERHEADS AND HEATERS
Now you need to purchase salt (I recommend Instant Ocean for its consistency), Powerheads (Koralia or Aquarium Systems Maxi Jets are a good choice). The flow you require is a simple formula; at least 10 x the size of you’re aquarium so for example a 55 Gallon Aquarium needs at least 550 GPH (gallons per hour) of flow. Now you need to purchase a heater, both Jager and Visi Therm are a decent choice. They recommend what size is required (in watts) on their packaging and websites. Purchase a large enough heater because temperature consistency is important for your livestock. Last but not least purchase a Refractometer for around 50 dollars online. Measuring salinity with a plastic hydrometer is just not accurate and will cause you grief.
Ok, now that you have purchased your powerheads, heater and salt it’s time to fill up the tank with water. One of the most commonly overlooked items is the water itself. Take it from my experience; use Reverse Osmosis Water with a TDS (total dissolved solids) close as possible to zero. To start you can purchase this at any water store in 5 gallon jugs or you can purchase a reverse osmosis system for under 0. If you are serious about keeping saltwater aquariums you need this to help reduce\eliminate various algae’s and bacteria’s that can bloom in your tank and kill all of your corals. This is the reason that most hobbyists throw in the towel. I could go into more detail about this but just Google red slime or hair algae and do a little reading. Install your powerheads and heater and start filling up your aquarium. Once it is full add your salt. It is usually about ¼ cup per gallon but check the manufactures recommendation. Get your salinity up to about 1.024 or 1.025.
STEP FOUR, THE WAITING GAME
At this point your tank is cycling. You are waiting for little bacteria that you cannot see to magically appear out of nowhere and start consuming the ammonia. This can take anywhere from 3-6 weeks and your light is not required. A trick I have learned is to add a 5-10lb piece of Live Rock to speed up the cycle. This will introduce some bacteria and life to your tank. In a nutshell what happens is the bacteria eat the ammonia and produce nitrites (another type of ammonia), yet another bacteria turns the nitrites into nitrates which are pretty much left in your tank to accumulate. Skimming and water changes will keep nitrates under control. You can start skimming any time now. It’s not critical at this point but it’s a good time to fire up your skimmer. I have always used Coralife Super Skimmers. They are easy to setup and maintain and do a great job of removing organic waste. They also give you an option to setup in a sump (another article, another time) or hang on the back of your tank. They are not pretty but the rock work can hide most of it. All you have to do now is add top off water to make up for the water that has evaporated. Do not add saltwater to make up for the missing water or your salinity will rise. Salt does not evaporate into the air. That is why we top off with fresh water. When your ammonia test shows zero you will need to do a 20 percent water change and check it again in a day or so. If it tests zero you can start by adding a fish. Take it very slow at this point or your tank will re-cycle killing everything. Add about one fish or coral once a week and take it slow. We did not test for nitrites or nitrates because they really don’t matter at this point.
STEP 5, MAINTAINING YOUR TANK
So your tank is setup and you have a couple of fish and a coral or two. At this point you should be doing at least a 5 percent water change every week to keep the nitrates down and nuisance algae at bay. It will also replenish the calcium, magnesium and trace elements that your corals need to survive. Purchase a good magnet cleaner to scrub the front of your glass. If you do end up getting some algae run some GFO (granular ferric oxide) in a media bag in a filter to remove the phosphates from your water. This will keep it from spreading and in combination with manual removal you can keep it under control.
Written By Dan Annable, Saltwater and Freshwater Hobbyist (16 + years).
Owner of Shallow Seas Aquariums and the www.reefwater.net website in Guelph Ontario.
Aquarium Water Pumps – Essential to Aquatic Plant Success
Water circulation is essential in any aquarium, to ensure proper filtration, prevent the formation of anoxic or low-temperature regions, and deliver nutrients to stationary organisms. Power heads and aerators often provide sufficient circulation for a basic aquarium. In a planted aquarium, however, the water surface should be left undisturbed as much as possible to prevent loss of precious carbon dioxide and such devices should not be used.
Water pumps provide the necessary circulation both within the tank and through the filtration system, without unnecessary gas exchange. In a typical planted aquarium, water flows passively to the pump from a submerged intake where it is then propelled through the filter(s), and returned to the tank through an outlet below the water surface. The function of a water pump in a planted aquarium is exactly the same as that of the heart in the human body: pumping water rather than blood through a filter instead of the kidneys and liver. This analogy underscores the critical importance of the water pump in sustaining the health of a planted aquarium.
Not surprisingly, there are several types of aquarium water pumps to choose from, suitable for different types of tanks and budgets (see our selection at Julie’s Pet Market). While perhaps not a glamorous part of setting up a planted aquarium, the selection of a water pump is one of the most crucial tasks to ensure a successful experience. Several criteria should be considered.
1) Flow rate. Water pump flows are rated in gallons per hour (gph) under free-flow conditions. For example, a 100 gph pump will circulate all the water in a 50 gallon tank twice in an hour. The presence of a filter (and its condition) will reduce actual flow. It is important to pick a pump with sufficient flow to ensure proper filtration. Conversely, an excessive water flow will turn your tank into a chaotic whirlpool. Usually, the filter manufacturer will specify the minimum flow rate needed for the water pump. The selected pump should exceed the minimum flow rate, but be comparable to it
2) Durability. A water pump is one of the few devices with moving parts in an aquarium, and therefore subject to wear and tear. Some pumps (e.g. magnetic drive) are designed without internal seals that can become corroded. This is more important for saltwater tanks, but well worth considering for a planted aquarium.
3) Heat generation. The electric motor generates heat that is transmitted to the water. Too much heat may contribute to wear and tear and is undesirable when you need to keep water temperature below a certain level.
4) Power consumption. A pump operates continuously and along with lights it is one of the main contributors to the energy costs of a planted aquarium. Prefer pumps with lower energy demands to keep costs down.
5) Noise level. Unless the pump will operate fully immersed, noise from the water pump is not to be underestimated as a factor in the enjoyment of your planted aquarium. You can often find information on noise levels on the manufacturer’s web site.
In general, you should select the best quality pump you can afford. There are fewer sources of headaches in an aquarium worse than a poor pump: noise, overheating, and leakages occurring at the least convenient time can send you scrambling for a replacement. Having to replace a faulty pump – even with another poor one – after just a few months of operation makes this choice a false economy. The selection of water pumps offered at Julie’s Pet Market includes only quality products to avoid you such problems.
At Julie’s Pet Market we believe pets are a vital part of our family and we love them as much as you do! With over 10 years of experience in the pet supply world we are happy to help you with any needs. Whether you need an aquarium water pump or new dog bowls we are your source for all your needs.
Product showcase for Watergeneral RD-102 RO+DI water system for Aquarium, reef, also brief intro for RD-106, DI-210, TDS meter, and how the system works. video made by: AmericanReef Video Rating: 5 / 5
Why You Don’t Need Reverse Osmosis Water Units
Reverse osmosis water units are one choice for homes and public facilities, as well as some industries. But, some companies are choosing to replace their old reverse osmosis systems, with an ion exchange filter that can perform many of the same functions.
In the home reverse osmosis water units may not be the best choice for your family. Here you can read about some of the disadvantages. Company websites cover the advantages pretty extensively, so I won’t go into that. I just thought that some of you might want a different viewpoint.
So, you’ve made a decision to purify your tap water or maybe that of your whole house. That’s a great decision and will provide numerous benefits to your family’s health. I’m sure that you want the best for your family, so price might not be a factor.
But, for the more budget minded individual, I’ll note briefly that reverse osmosis systemes cost more than any other purification system on the market, at least twice as much and usually more for a truly effective product. You have to decide if it’s worth it.
It all depends on what contaminants are in your source. If you are serviced by a public treatment facility, most include reverse osmosis systemes as one step in their cleaning process.
Likewise, reverse osmosis water units only perform one step in the home. Facilities that use it, also use several sediment filters, an activated carbon filter to remove those chemicals not removed by the reverse osmosis systemes, a UV lamp to remove microbes that pass through the membrane and then chlorine is typically added to prevent algae growth and bacterial contamination in the pipes and complete the disinfection process.
People who live in rural areas, far away from the city’s pipelines, may choose reverse osmosis water units to clean river or ocean waters, but additional steps are also necessary. Some companies have added some of those steps, such as carbon filtration. Others, such as UV light disinfection, can be added for an additional fee.
The thing to remember is that if you are serviced by a public treatment facility, you do not need reverse osmosis water units. It would be redundant, because the facilities use that step. Most people with wells and springs do not need them, because the contaminants in their supplies cannot be removed by them. You need testing to be sure, but usually there are better options.
So, in the majority of homes around the world it is an unnecessary and impractical step. Unnecessary because it does not address problems such as chemical contamination and impractical because of wastewater created, additional cost and additional energy used.
Pesticides, herbicides, prescription and over the counter drugs, hormones, chlorine, chlorine by-products, cysts and the toxic metal lead are some of the reasons that you need a home purification system. But, there are 2400 other reasons. The use of synthetic chemicals in this society might be called excessive.
And, even though the levels of these contaminants may be very low, the long term health effects of consuming those small amounts on a daily basis are unknown. In addition, researchers believe that the combination of all the different chemical contaminants increases their toxicity exponentially.
Those health threats are not removed by reverse osmosis water units. But, other less expensive purifiers will.
Laurel Tevolitz is a dedicated researcher of critical issues that affect health and well-being. Visit her water purification blog now at http://www.safewaterpurifier.com
to discover which water purification system she recommends after extensive research.
