🐟🐠🐡 Everything Marine 🐟🐠🐡 Saltwater Fish, Coral, etc. 🐟🐠🐡

[Dirty_habiT]

Hello fellow amateur marine biologists.  I'm starting this discussion today to teach you guys and girls how you, too, can have the beauty of ocean life in your home.  We will go over the equipment needed, some common terms, some warnings, and some best practices.  Let's get right into it.

 

Common terms:

• DT/Display Tank - This is your living masterpiece that you put on the wall where most people would put their big screen tv.  This is where you keep your best corals and your best fish.  This is where you build an amazing aquascape.
• QT/Quarantine Tank - Think of this like your fish hospital or the holding cell for fish/corals before they go to the big jail (the display tank).  The QT is one of the most often skipped items by new aquarium enthusiasts and I can tell you from personal experience that you WILL PAY for not having one later.  You probably should start out with both a QT and a DT if you're getting into the hobby but plenty of people get away with not having a QT.  I'll get into that more later.
• Aquascape - The structure you build out of live rock to make a ocean-bottom-like home for your corals and fish.
• Live Rock - Made up of coral skeleton (mainly calcium).  This is the rock material that people most often associate with the word "coral".  This is the "coral" that cuts up surfers that fall on it.  It can be extremely sharp.  It is the remains of a dead living animal much like people have skeletons that are left behind after their flesh is gone.  Live rock is used to build structure in the home aquarium so that you can populate it with new coral.  Live rock is also what makes the structure of the reef in the oceans.  All of it is dead coral making a nice base for new, alive coral to grow on and live.  It is very porous and also serves as a home for the bacteria that are necessary for marine life to survive.
• Bacteria/Biofilter - In the ocean there are bacteria that consume the waste matter in the ocean.  This is mainly ammonia from fish and other animal pee, but it can be other things to.  The point is, there is LIVING bacteria in the water column that consumes/converts waste.  This is one of the major differences from fresh water aquariums that do not have bacteria that do this.
• ATO - Automatic Top Off.  This is a level sensor and a pump.  Your water evaporates out of your aquarium but the salt does not.  This means that if you do not top the aquarium off with fresh water, as the water level goes down from evaporation the salinity in the tank goes up.... because salt doesn't evaporate.  An ATO pumps water automatically into the tank to make sure the tank always stays at the same level/salinity so that the aquarium owner does not have to monitor this and do it manually.
• Clean Up Crew - There are many animals that make up members of the cleanup crew.  Common ones are snails, urchins, star fish, and bristle worms.  These are your reef janitors.  In the ocean they eat junk that is left over from various things happening.  These things include a shark tearing a fish up and small bits of fish flesh floating to the bottom of the sand.  Usually a member of the marine janitorial community will be along soon to eat this piece of fish meat before it "rots" away and is consumed by the oceans bacteria.  They also eat algae and will clean your glass for you.
• Frag - A term used to describe a piece of a live coral.  When people grow coral, they usually cut pieces of it off and sell it or give it away to other aquarium owners to continue the propagation of the coral or to make money.  Think of it like getting a leaf cutting from your neighbor's apple tree so that you can clone it and grow your own apple tree.  When you buy coral from a shop or another person you are typically buying a frag of their coral and that just means it's a small piece that was cut from a larger "mother colony".
• Zooxanthellae - this is a very special type of algae that forms a symbiotic relationship with coral and gives most corals their wonderful colors.  It is a photosynthetic algae so it takes sunlight and produces sugars that are in turn used to keep itself and the coral alive.  When corals "bleach" the "meat" part of the coral expels the zooxanthellae algae into the water column/ocean and this typically marks the impending demise of the coral.  Once photosynthesis stops providing sugars for the "meat" part of the the coral it is left up to only being able to grab pieces of food from the water column with it's tentacles.  Once bleached they usually cannot survive much longer and will die.
• Bleaching - As mentioned above, this is the expulsion of the algae that provides sugars to the coral via photosynthesis.  If corals bleach in the wild it usually means they're going to die soon.  Many things can cause a coral to get rid of it's zoox algae including temperature changes, salinity changes, alkalinity changes, pollution, etc.  Basically ANYTHING that upsets the normal water that the coral is used to  can cause it to bleach and die.  They are incredibly sensitive to environmental changes.  Some are much more than others.
• SPS - Stony corals, these are most often the kind you see that look like antlers in the ocean.  The polyps or "meat" parts of the coral are typically very small in SPS corals.  SPS corals are considered "expert" level corals because they are incredibly picky about what they will live in. They die very easily if upset in any way.
• LPS - Soft corals.  These still have a calcium skeleton but the "meat" part of the coral is usually much larger.  These corals are typically much more hearty, and in my opinion cooler to look at because they have a huge variety of shapes/sizes.  They are easier to care for and way less picky in most cases than SPS about water quality.
• NPS - Non Photosynthetic corls.  These do not have Zoox algae and rely ONLY upon eating food with their tentacles/mouths.  These are specialist corals and should only be purchased/kept by someone that is a high level expert in the hobby or scientific field.  They typically have to be hand fed multiple times a day to survive.

 

I will add more to this list and bump the thread when I do so people can know to check back..... I will also date the changes so you can easily tell what has been changed.  That's all I will type for now..... but stay tuned because we'll get into the fun stuff soon.

 

[Dirty_habiT]

reserved for equipment

[Dirty_habiT]

reserved for warnings

[Dirty_habiT]

reserved for best practices

[where]

I’m all about this fish thread, I know a lot about freshwater and could contribute on that front Currently growing out 11 juvenile Burundi frontosa in a 55 gal trying to get a pair. Probably sell the sub dominate males. Going to be getting into saltwater this year. I have a 10 gallon spare that I could do a pistol shrimp cause I really want on of those, and it could become my qt. 

 

You ever watch Ohio Fish Rescue on the youtube?

[Schnitzel]

 I think when the kids get older we might move up to a bigger aquarium and possibly a small reef set up.

 

Currently just got the goldfish and lost my shubunkin last week to swim bladder issues I believe ( bit of googling and monitoring for a few days suggested this but in the end it was no use.

 

post some more ;pictures of your set up

[KILZ FILLZ]

I used to have some cichlids and plecos with ghost shrimp. Became too much to keep up with though. 

[KILZ FILLZ]

Fishing allowed in here?

[Dirty_habiT]

I don't care.... I like fishing but I don't want to kill fish, clean them, or eat them.  I just do catch/release.  I'm fine with buying ethically sourced fish from the stores.  I fish more as a thing to do to b.s. with friends.

[Ray40]

I love this thread already @Dirty_habiT I want to grow up to be a marine biologist some day.  I used to have a small fresh water tank that I filled up with rocks I found from New Mexico and a couple of glow fish and snails, but that was years ago.  I mostly enjoy aquatic habitats by scuba diving ( which I am lucky enough to be able to do at such a young age).  I love this thread, keep up the great work @Dirty_habiT.  I would love to see aquarium pictures too.

[KILZ FILLZ]

[Dirty_habiT]

@KILZ FILLZ- if you're into fresh water (ie. not "marine") there is a really awesome YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Kk8tvhHkWMMfKBb0q0X9g.

 

The channel "Foo the Flowerhorn" has quite a few subscribers, appears to be filmed (rather well) by one person, and is very intriguing at times.

 

I need to update this thread.

 

There are a lot of really cool "aquascaping" contests too... especially for freshwater.

 

 

[KILZ FILLZ]

I gave up dude. @Dirty_habiTI killed too many fish and sold all my gear. Used to have a 40 gal. At its best, had a couple cichlids, a bunch of ghost shrimp and a giant ass pleco (8in or so) with some nice drift wood and plants in there. Charcoal filter and all that. This was easily like two decades ago. I got sick of killing the fish and moved on to other hobbies lol. 
 

followed the YouTube channel though
r/aquariums and r/shittyaquariums are worth a follow if you reddit

 

 

[KILZ FILLZ]

Aquascaping is something I could see myself getting into tho. That’s pretty sick. I bet you can turn a sweet profit if you find the market 🤔 

[Dirty_habiT]

I know a few people locally here in Austin that make a living off of just servicing the reef tanks in doctors offices and peoples' homes around here.  I'm not talking about little aquariums either.

 

You've brought up a point that I **believe I may have some insight on .  I think "cool" fresh water stuff is actually more difficult than salt water because it requires you to do water changes with high quality water very often (depending upon bio load).  Reef tanks have a "bio filter" made up of nitrifying and de-nitrifying bacteria.  I will explain all this stuff soon since I have so much time to do it.

[Q666]

planted tank addict here.

currently just set up my 9th aquarium last night.

check out my IG @fishmar_fishroom if you feel like it.

[glorydays]

2 hours ago, Q666 said:

planted tank addict here.

currently just set up my 9th aquarium last night.

check out my IG @fishmar_fishroom if you feel like it.

That's baller

 

Can you go through each tank? Kind of explain what's going on?

[Q666]

Sure from left to right:

 

120 gallon planted community aquarium- lots of plants, shrimp, small fish like neon tetras and corydoras hasbrosus

 

Top mid 20 gallon apistogramma cactuoides breeder tank. They have bred 3 times but still no success with the fry living

Bottom mid is a 14 gallon, right now there is just a betta in there but eventually i'm gonna make a separate rack for bettas

 

large middle is a 75 gallon peacock cichlid tank, they have bred twice now so i have some juveniles and some fry. There only one female in there so i kinda feel bad for her...

 

Upper rack has two gallons and a 5 gallon

The 10 on the left is breeding pair of kribensis cichlid but so far they have only had one baby.

5 gallon in the middle is where the baby lives lol

10 on the right (not pictured) is where Paulie lives, he is an altolamprologus calvus (gold) which is a tanganyikan cichlid.

 

The bottom right is a 35 long, it contains a breeding colony of neolamprologus leleupi, which is also a tanganyikan species.

 

 

[where]

On 4/23/2020 at 12:56 PM, Q666 said:

Sure from left to right:

 

120 gallon planted community aquarium- lots of plants, shrimp, small fish like neon tetras and corydoras hasbrosus

 

Top mid 20 gallon apistogramma cactuoides breeder tank. They have bred 3 times but still no success with the fry living

Bottom mid is a 14 gallon, right now there is just a betta in there but eventually i'm gonna make a separate rack for bettas

 

large middle is a 75 gallon peacock cichlid tank, they have bred twice now so i have some juveniles and some fry. There only one female in there so i kinda feel bad for her...

 

Upper rack has two gallons and a 5 gallon

The 10 on the left is breeding pair of kribensis cichlid but so far they have only had one baby.

5 gallon in the middle is where the baby lives lol

10 on the right (not pictured) is where Paulie lives, he is an altolamprologus calvus (gold) which is a tanganyikan cichlid.

 

The bottom right is a 35 long, it contains a breeding colony of neolamprologus leleupi, which is also a tanganyikan species.

 

 

I like your style. 10 gallons is too small for Paulie tho and no tanganyika cichlids even shell dwellers should be kept solitary. 

 

Im hoping to set up a marine biotope soon. 

[Inappropriate_Responder]

Started my jorney on the plant tank life.

 

Only natural evolves into aquatic plants I love gardening. I'm also starting a passion for bonsaing plants. Might make a thread. 

 

Always was a fish tank guy in my youth. Oscar's , African cichlids ,always my thing. Recently got into planted tanks. I've gotten the joy of a owning tank. 

 

Buddy hooked it up and I'm re- hook ever since  

 

Nothing fancy 10gal. But just enough to repeat my curiosity. Thanks for the thread habit. Will so progress and any new acquisitions

 

Caught shrimp having sex. I think. 

Proud dad 

[Dirty_habiT]

Very nice.  I owe you guys an apology for being a lazy asshole and not finishing what I wrote.  I'm going to change the title and edit the initial posts a bit so that this thread isn't marine specific.  I always thought planted tanks were pretty neat.

 

I love watching

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3Kk8tvhHkWMMfKBb0q0X9g/videos

 

"foo the flowerhorn" channel.

[where]

3 hours ago, Inappropriate_Responder said:

Started my jorney on the plant tank life.

 

Only natural evolves into aquatic plants I love gardening. I'm also starting a passion for bonsaing plants. Might make a thread. 

 

Always was a fish tank guy in my youth. Oscar's , African cichlids ,always my thing. Recently got into planted tanks. I've gotten the joy of a owning tank. 

 

Buddy hooked it up and I'm re- hook ever since  

 

Nothing fancy 10gal. But just enough to repeat my curiosity. Thanks for the thread habit. Will so progress and any new acquisitions

 

Caught shrimp having sex. I think. 

Proud dad 

Cherry shrimp?

[Q666]

On 5/11/2020 at 7:27 PM, where said:

I like your style. 10 gallons is too small for Paulie tho and no tanganyika cichlids even shell dwellers should be kept solitary. 

 

Im hoping to set up a marine biotope soon. 

Yep, I am aware. Calvus grow very slowly, so he was placed there temporarily until i upgraded him.

That tank is now holding some of the leleupi fry while i sell them off. Anybody in detroit want some cichlid fry hit me up

I have recently relocated him to a 50 gallon cave tank that i created piece by piece out of lava rocks.

Spent half of quarantine sticking rocks together..!!

 

Above - yep thats a cherry or something similar. Love those little shrimps. My 120 gallon started with about a dozen and now they are in the hundreds.

Talk about inbreds.... lol... its crazy how interesting those guys are to watch.

[glorydays]

2 hours ago, Q666 said:

Yep, I am aware. Calvus grow very slowly, so he was placed there temporarily until i upgraded him.

That tank is now holding some of the leleupi fry while i sell them off. Anybody in detroit want some cichlid fry hit me up

I have recently relocated him to a 50 gallon cave tank that i created piece by piece out of lava rocks.

Spent half of quarantine sticking rocks together..!!

 

Above - yep thats a cherry or something similar. Love those little shrimps. My 120 gallon started with about a dozen and now they are in the hundreds.

Talk about inbreds.... lol... its crazy how interesting those guys are to watch.

What advice would you give to beginners? I think i want to start a plant tank. No animals yet. I want to try my hand at tank gardening.

[Q666]

4 hours ago, glorydays said:

What advice would you give to beginners? I think i want to start a plant tank. No animals yet. I want to try my hand at tank gardening.

first thing is first, it is very important to understand the nitrogen cycle that takes place in aquarium.

this is essential before any success can be had in the hobby, you need to at least have a vague grasp on this.

 

The short version is that you cannot put any fish into your tank for 3-4 weeks after you fill it. The cycle must take place.

For the long version, google it. Here is the first link that came up - https://www.thesprucepets.com/nitrogen-cycle-understanding-1380724

 

Whats great about plants is they help with this, sort of, and you dont have to wait for the cycle.

 

For a beginner planted tank i would recommend the following:

 

10 gallon aquarium

aquaclear 30 HOB filter ("hang on back") or similar filter... aquaclears are really great and a lot of people love them.

50 watt aquarium heater. I usually use Eheim brand, but for beginner you can really just grab any one off the shelf at petsmart.

(I do recommend to get an adjustable one though. The preset ones are not as reliable in my experience.)

Finnex Stingray LED light.

 

I love the finnex stingray. There are plenty of other comparable lights you can use, but this one is affordable and great for beginner.

 

And finally, you need substrate. Again there are a lot of brands and choices.

Eco-Complete, Fluval Stratum, ADA Aquasoil, Landen, Tropica

You want one that is intended for a planted tank. Most people choose a black one because it makes the colors pop better.

 

Also, this is just me, but i always plastidip spray the backs of my tanks so the background is black.

 

This is basically all you need to start what is considered a "low tech" planted tank setup.

 

For your plants, you want to be looking for "easy" plants with low light requirements.

I recommend Anubias, Java Fern, Rotala, Valisneria, Wisteria.

 

Anubias and Java Fern feed from the rhizome so do not fully bury the plant.

 

These are all low maintenance plants. I do very little to them and they thrive in my tanks. i run all my tanks low tech.

I used to do high tech but pressurized CO2 and fertilization and algae management is all a big pain in the ass.

 

Rambling explanation, let me know if any questions.

 

[Q666]

Here's some pics, my glass is dirty and i have been letting it get overgrown. But this is all low-tech easy plants, i barely do shit for maintenance.

Oh also i forgot Cryptocoryne thats a great easy plant as well.

[glorydays]

17 hours ago, Q666 said:

first thing is first, it is very important to understand the nitrogen cycle that takes place in aquarium.

this is essential before any success can be had in the hobby, you need to at least have a vague grasp on this.

 

The short version is that you cannot put any fish into your tank for 3-4 weeks after you fill it. The cycle must take place.

For the long version, google it. Here is the first link that came up - https://www.thesprucepets.com/nitrogen-cycle-understanding-1380724

 

Whats great about plants is they help with this, sort of, and you dont have to wait for the cycle.

 

For a beginner planted tank i would recommend the following:

 

10 gallon aquarium

aquaclear 30 HOB filter ("hang on back") or similar filter... aquaclears are really great and a lot of people love them.

50 watt aquarium heater. I usually use Eheim brand, but for beginner you can really just grab any one off the shelf at petsmart.

(I do recommend to get an adjustable one though. The preset ones are not as reliable in my experience.)

Finnex Stingray LED light.

 

I love the finnex stingray. There are plenty of other comparable lights you can use, but this one is affordable and great for beginner.

 

And finally, you need substrate. Again there are a lot of brands and choices.

Eco-Complete, Fluval Stratum, ADA Aquasoil, Landen, Tropica

You want one that is intended for a planted tank. Most people choose a black one because it makes the colors pop better.

 

Also, this is just me, but i always plastidip spray the backs of my tanks so the background is black.

 

This is basically all you need to start what is considered a "low tech" planted tank setup.

 

For your plants, you want to be looking for "easy" plants with low light requirements.

I recommend Anubias, Java Fern, Rotala, Valisneria, Wisteria.

 

Anubias and Java Fern feed from the rhizome so do not fully bury the plant.

 

These are all low maintenance plants. I do very little to them and they thrive in my tanks. i run all my tanks low tech.

I used to do high tech but pressurized CO2 and fertilization and algae management is all a big pain in the ass.

 

Rambling explanation, let me know if any questions.

 

This is great....I'm gonna start shopping for tanks. I love my garden, but I want one inside the house that I can watch.

[ndv]

3D-printed terracotta tiles could save coral reefs

Marie Donlon | August 06, 2020

To replenish depleting coral reefs, architects and marine scientists from the University of Hong Kong (HKU) are 3D printing artificial reef tiles composed of terracotta clay.

According to the researchers, when placed underwater, the terracotta clay tiles encourage coral attachment with its 3D printed foundation.

The artificial tiles are created via a robotic 3D clay printing technique using generic terracotta, which is then fired at 2,057° F once the tiles are designed. Terracotta is considered among the most environmentally friendly materials for this purpose, according to researchers.

Source: University of Hong Kong

Presented with climate challenges, the world's coral reefs face extinction, with some reports suggesting they could be entirely extinct by 2100. This challenges include sedimentation, bioerosion, which is a gradual deterioration of coral, and coral bleaching, wherein corals expel algae (zooxanthellae) living within their tissues, thereby causing the coral to turn completely white.

As such, researchers from around the world are attempting to solve the problem with assorted solutions, including cloud seeding and coral genetics, in addition to several other 3D printing efforts.

The new technique is being trialed at the Hoi Ha Wan Marine Park in Hong Kong, where the artificial reef tiles have already been installed.

"The Marine Park is a local biodiversity hotspot accounting for more than three-quarters of reef-building corals in Hong Kong and more than 120 fish species. However, in recent years, gradual deterioration of the coral habitat, a process known as bioerosion, coupled with coral bleaching and mass mortality events in 2015-2016, are putting the future of the coral community at risk," according to an HKU press release.

[Dirty_habiT]

These guys support rebuilding/maintaining our reefs.  I don't have any of their masks but I have ordered from them before.

 

https://coralwearclothing.com/