Coral Reef Aquarium Hobby Information

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Nothing can compare to the beauty of a live coral reef aquarium, with beautiful ocean creatures and intriguing critters moving around the rocks in the display. Having a coral reef aquarium, is basically having a tiny chunk of the ocean in your home. To get into reef aquariums as a hobby, what items are absolutely necessary for success?

LIVE ROCK

Live rock is the main form of biological filtration in a coral reef aquarium. Coral rock houses photosynthetic invertebrates, bacteria, and algae, which routinely removes the toxic waste that comes from corals, fish, and other creatures housed within your aquarium. Oftentimes, live rock will have tag along creatures that are also beneficial to your coral reef aquarium. Creatures such as worms, and shrimp, that ingest large toxic waste, thus breaking it down to dissolved ammonium, so that the bacteria, and algae can convert it to non-toxic waste.
PROTEIN SKIMMERS
These amazingly simple devices remove protein scum from your coral reef aquarium. It does this by creating minute bubbles in the water, using fine air. These tiny bubbles capture phosphate, amino acids, detritus, fats, and other nasty scum, and force them to rise to the top of the skimmer as a brown sludge, eliminating them from your coral reef aquarium. It's an amazing contraption, but the ocean has been doing the same thing for a lot longer. Crashing waves along the beach create an infinite amount of tiny bubbles which, in the same manner, separates the scum from the saltwater. We see it as foam along the beach.
GOOD LIGHTING
This aspect of a coral reef aquarium, cannot be understated. The ocean provides coral reefs with perfect lighting. In an aquarium, the lighting is obviously not as good. Natural light is good, but in order for corals and other creatures to thrive, they need the full spectrum of light. This can be provided by halogen lights, for example. Lighting in the coral reef aquarium also needs to be adjusted to mimic the days and nights that the corals would be exposed to in the ocean. Also, one needs to monitor the intensity of the lighting. Too much, or too little, can be detrimental. Proper maintenance of bulbs is needed to make sure intensity remains constant as well.
WATER MOVEMENT
Ocean currents and waves keep corals clean. Inside the coral reef aquarium, this can be simulated with oscillating pumps, surge machines, or other pumps that will keep the water constantly moving. It is important not to have any dead spots in your tank, when it comes to water movement.
WATER CHEMISTRY
The parameters of your water chemistry within the coral reef aquarium must be kept under close scrutiny. Ammonia, nitrate, nitrites, pH, alkalinity, and calcium, for example, must be monitored regularly and kept near perfect levels for your tank to thrive. Deviations, even small ones, can cause an aquarium to crash very quickly.
TEMPERATURE
The temperature of the ocean in certain areas determine where a coral reef will thrive. Below 70 degrees Fahrenheit and you will not see any reef building corals. If the water is above 86 degrees, then corals slowly die. So then, the temperature of your coral reef aquarium needs to be kept within these parameters, with very little fluctuation.
This obviously, has been a very generic course in having and maintaining a coral reef aquarium. There are many other elements that can come into play, to have a beautiful piece of the ocean in our home or place of work. The coral reefs of the ocean have, in some areas, begun to disappear, and so having an aquarium in your home is not only entertaining but it is also helping to preserve these amazing creations. As a hobby, coral reef aquariums can be fun and satisfying. Continue to learn and apply that learning, and you will have years of enjoyment with your coral reef aquarium.