Marine And Reef

[razer121]

i just wondered what the difference was...i saw some guy make a reef tank out of a small 25 litre aqua 40 with one of them "nemo" fish in it, was real cool and id like to try it! so what is the dif???

 

[TigerIssey]

Marine is basically any saltwater tank.

Reef is a tank with coral, fish and invertebrates. Then you have fish only with decorative rock and FOWLR which is fish only with live rock.

Live rock is a form of filtration but is also used as a base to attach corals to in a reef tank.

 

[kj23502]

I thought reef was corals, as long as it has corals it's a reef.

whether it has fish or CUC or not.

 

[TigerIssey]

KJ you could be right. I take reef as being a slice of ocean giving you an ecosystem. You usually have CUC if you have a reef tank even if you don't have fish and technically corals are invertebrates.

Definition taken from Wiki, not always correct but sounds it to me.

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.[1]

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, usually when someone in the hobby says "reef" they're referring to a tank with corals in it, be they hard or soft.

 

[seffieuk]

Agreed, usually when someone in the hobby says "reef" they're referring to a tank with corals in it, be they hard or soft.

But technically a reef can be any solid structure that is sustaining life - be it a shipwreak or live rock. But as Ski says in the salty/reefer world a reef in a tank is live rock with corals and inverts etc.

Seffie x

 

[razer121]

so...would i be right in thinking you dont need a "sump" for a reef tank? and seems as live rock acts as a filter would a filter even be needed?? what about a heater...im sure they would need one right? im real intrested in having my second tank being a reef......

 

[TigerIssey]

You don't "need" a sump, they are beneficial to have though. You would need a heater yes.

Live rock does act as your filter, you would not need a conventional filter no. Somewhere with flow to place carbon and phosphate remover is useful though.

 

[AK77]

so...would i be right in thinking you dont need a "sump" for a reef tank? and seems as live rock acts as a filter would a filter even be needed?? what about a heater...im sure they would need one right? im real intrested in having my second tank being a reef......

You don't need a sump BUT, the benefits of having one are many! Firstly a sump will increase the overall water volume of your tank(s). This means that water parameters are much more stable. The larger the volume of water, the slower the water chemistry will change. It also provides a home for protein skimmers and reactors. You can also have a DSB (deep sand bed) in there which provides a breeding ground for anaerobic bacteria. You can also house a refugium in a sump and grow macro algae which help to remove nitrates and phosphates from the water. Many people swear by them. I am one of them and will be installing a sump underneath my new nano tank soon.

Live rock is just a really porous rock that provides a home for the bacteria that feed on ammonia and nitrites, much like filter sponge does in a freshwater setup. Obviously the rock offers no mechanical filtration, only chemical.

A filter isn't needed, no. All you will need is powerheads to circulate water around the live rock to provide oxygen to the bacteria. You can run an external filter if you wish. Some people just use them to put activated carbon and phosban in, essentially just use them as fluidized reactors.

You will need a heater. My tank is running at 26c currently.

*edit* lol Tina, you always manage to post while I'm typing a reply

 

[razer121]

hm, well the tank im intent on housing this "reef" setup in about a 80 litre tank, maybe bigger, but i wont have room for a sump....im pretty new to the whole fish scene but very into it already! if i do go with a reef setup, how hard would it be for me to maintain it? would it be a weekly thing? what about the type of water i need to use....is there somewhere i can read up more which is like a reef for begginers guide lol

 

[TigerIssey]

Look in the Marine resource centre, pinned at the top of this section. There are guides in there.

You will need to top off with RO daily to maintain the SG at stable levels.

 

[AK77]

hm, well the tank im intent on housing this "reef" setup in about a 80 litre tank, maybe bigger, but i wont have room for a sump....im pretty new to the whole fish scene but very into it already! if i do go with a reef setup, how hard would it be for me to maintain it? would it be a weekly thing? what about the type of water i need to use....is there somewhere i can read up more which is like a reef for begginers guide lol

It wouldn't be that much harder. However, I would suggest for the first few months, keeping a bi-weekly monitor on your water parameters until you get the conditions stable. Ammonia and nitrite should read 0 and ideally you want nitrates under 20ppm.

Don't be tempted to add your final stocking of livestock at once as it may result in an ammonia spike which will kill them. Its much better to take your time and do it over the course of a few weeks, checking the above mentioned parameters a couple of days after adding a new inhabitant(uss salifert test kits).

Also, don't be tempted to overstock your tank. The more inhabitants, the heavier the bio-load, the higher the risk of crashing your tank.

Since you are wanting a reef tank, nitrates will be an important factor. In a fish only or fish only with live rock, nitrates aren't that big of a problem (unless you have inverts). In a reef setup, nitrates will harm the coral and so will need to be kept under control. You can get around this by growing macro algae in the tank. Chaetomorpha and some of the culpera algaes are good, as they will leech nitrates and phosphates from the water.

Depending on the type of corals you want to keep, you may also need to dose with calcium.

Its definitely a lot more practical having a sump and aesthetically better too, as you don't have to house the heaters and skimmers in the main tank then.

As Tina says, have a good read up of the guides as they will help a lot.

Cheers,

AK

 

[seffieuk]

Some of the nano section is a little dated now - i would suggest you read the many journels

Seffie x



PS Ski, maybe time to think about updating some of the resources we have?

 

[TigerIssey]

Are you hinting Seffie??

 

[seffieuk]

Are you hinting Seffie??

Maybe think it's a job for Super Tina

Seffie x