Dear Bob,

We have read your book on protein skimming and activated carbon and we have a few questions. We have a 46 gallon marine aquarium with 55 lbs. of live rock. There is no substrate and we have been using a Eheim canister filter with only pads for mechanical filtration. We have never used any type of media in the filter. The tank has been running for about 6 months now and contains 1 Picasso Trigger, 1 juvenile Clown Trigger and 1 Black Damsel. There are no invertebrates. The fish are fed mysis shrimp and krill four times a day. As of late we have been having a difficult time with our nitrate level. We can't get it below 20ppm and it is usually closer to 50ppm. We would like to know if we should be using media in the filter and/or a protein skimmer. We have avoided the use of media as we would prefer our rock to be a natural biological filter, however maybe the rock is not adequate. If a protein skimmer is the answer, please enlighten us as to which type would be best. (There are so many on the market and we are so confused; we have been considering the Red Sea Prizm) Any information you can provide for us would be most appreciated. Thanks so much.

Colby & Jordan

London, Ont.

Hi Colby and Jordan,

I had a similar tank about ten years ago. It was a 75 gallon and contain a large lionfish, moray eel, and triggerfish. Its nitrate was always near 100 ppm, yet none of the fishes appeared interested in anything but three meals a day. In other words, high levels of nitrate are not a problem in some fish-only tanks. Where you are concerned, I would not be even slightly concerned. However, if nitrate climbs a lot higher, Aquarium Products makes a plastic chip-like media called ‘Nitrex.’ When half a box of it is placed in another product called the ‘Nitrex Box’ is oxidizes nitrate back to elemental nitrogen gas. One box of media will handle a 60 gallon aquarium. I used three boxes as an experiment in my 75 and was able to reduce nitrate to about 40ppm. Its still sold and can be found in mail order catalogs. About twenty dollars for a package of Nitrex and the box. As for installing a skimmer, it would possibly help lower nitrate and help further oxygenate the bulk water. You could not go wrong by adding it.

Enjoy,

Bob

Hello Mr. Goemans,

I want to begin by thanking you for passing on all of your expertise and knowledge to the aquarium community. I own both Live Sand Secrets and Marine Algae Control Secrets and religiously read your columns. I have a reef aquarium that was established about three years ago and it has had it's ups and downs during that time. For a while, it had a hair algae problem, but due in large part to your information, I have eliminated the worst of the symptoms. The next logical step for my aquariums health is most certainly a plenum system. I am a student and I don't have much money, but I now have all the supplies to construct an auxiliary plenum. My question is this, can I add an auxiliary plenum onto an existing system without major side effects? Live gravel is out of my price range so I will need to buy dry aragonite gravel. I am worried about the effect this dry gravel will have on the aquarium as it cycles.

I will continue to keep my current bio-ball trickle filter in use until the plenum has cycled thoroughly, but will it be enough to keep the aquarium in proper balance? I hope you have time to answer this e-mail, I am sure that you are busy. In your LSS book, under "Auxiliary Systems," I get the feeling that I need to start a new system in order to have an auxiliary system. Unfortunately, I don't have a place to put my beloved fish, corals and live rock while I start a new system and cannot part with them permanently either. I greatly appreciate any advice you can give.

Sincerely,

Tobin Bottman

Hi Tobin,

All four of my booklets are extremely popular and maybe you’d find the other two also quite helpful; they are Protein Skimming and Activated Carbon Secrets; and, Water Quality Guidelines for Marine Aquariums. This last booklet, is published by my own company. This 64 page booklet covers a wide range of topics that will help maintain quality seawater in marine aquariums. It begins with a discussion on the freshwater used for preparing seawater salt mixes and/or evaporation make-up. Processing equipment is explained, as is the use of distilled and well water. Synthetic salt mixes and natural seawater usage is also discussed, as is salinity, specific gravity, conductivity, osmotic balance and applicable testing. Elements and compounds of importance are explained, e.g., Ammonium/ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, phosphorus/phosphate, oxygen, carbon dioxide, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, strontium, silica, iron, fluoride, bromide, iodine (including iodide, iodate and Lugols), boron, molybdenum, copper, and trace elements. The booklet closes with one of the most comprehensive tables of seawater elements ever published. An easy to read booklet that takes the mystery out of maintaining quality seawater in your aquarium.

Also, the CD-Rom book Sam Gamble and I wrote called ‘The New Wave’ is also ready for shipping. As for ‘The New Wave’ CD-ROM book, all on a ‘business card’ sized interactive CD-ROM disc, its the worlds most leading edge book on filtration and how the microbial processes in all types of sandbeds, whether in the aquarium or the wild function. It goes into detail on what’s the most efficient form of sandbed filtration and why, and it debunks all those who dislike plenum systems and/or think deep sandbeds are the way to go. It also raises some never before thought of improvements that could benefit aquarium husbandry in the near future. We had all data, which we spent six years researching, reviewed by a biochemist before releasing it so what is read is incontestable. It also contains a photo history of my plenum systems for the past ten years and numerous other image-like sketches. It’s going to change the way many hobbyists and professionals think about aquarium husbandry! It’s leading edge data on leading edge media! A very neat product if interested, and if so let me know and will have Sam Gamble contact you with further info so you can order.

Here’s a comment from a reader of the disc;

“I'm into chapter 5 of the book now and very much enjoying the information in there. I've already used some of the more basic information to correct a couple of plenum-related discussions on one online bulletin board! Will take me a while to get to grips with coupling and decoupling of nutrient cycles although I do begin to see how a plenum sandbed is reliant on a completely different set of energy pathways than a non-plenum sandbed system. It also makes sense to me why Dr. Ron Shimek promotes so-called deep sandbeds over plenum systems given his love of benthic invertebrates! Both approaches can work, but the plenum system works quite differently and depends far less on the vagaries of benthic invertebrate population dynamics. I also like the way the plenum pushes equilibrium away from storage and towards export. Deep sand beds without plenums would tend to store more, and therefore are more at risk of 'old-tank' syndrome.”

As for your question, an Auxiliary plenum is very feasible. Its physical size would have to be about half that of the main system to adequately handle the main system if all other filtration devices are removed. Since your main system is already up and running, an auxiliary plenum, even started with inert sand, would begin to benefit the main system within a couple of months. Within three months it should be fully colonized. While cycling it will not have any detrimental effect on the main system, even though the surface of its substrate may develop some diatom algae because of the acids produced by the forming microbial colonies. But that’s a condition quite normal and occurs in many different aquariums, especially where there is light to encourage their growth. Shade the auxiliary plenum and that may not happen.

Hope this helps,

Bob

Hi Bob,

I have been in this hobby for almost a year and I seem to be picking marine life that is not all that suitable for the aquarium. Even though I try to do all the research I think is appropriate, I find that the books I read are still misleading (somewhat). I have "The Natural Reef Aquariums" by John H. Tullock -- "Marine Fishes" by Scott W. Michael and "Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook" by Dr. Robert J. Goldstein. I like them. I think they are very helpful book's, but, they do describe certain marine life that I find are not only very difficult to keep, but probably should never be kept! As you know it is a" learn as you go" type experience. Even though I do try to read up on what I want to buy I hate buying marine life and then finding out later that it is not really going to stay alive.

I buy the "marine life" based on the info in these books. I make my choices based on my system and what I think will be a good home for it's new inhabitant. Still, it would seem that I keep finding my way to the ones that just don't fit in very well or last very long. I should say that I am in no way upset at any info I have solicited from you. Nor am I unhappy with the 3 books I have read by you. It's just that if the species is too hard to keep alive, even by the most informed effort of the novice or the highest of skilled aquarist, then the books should say so! Only the most hardiest of marine life with the best captivity record should be written about and sold in the trade! I know that this sounds "black and white".

I know that the more experienced and skilled an aquarist becomes the higher the interest in the challenge to keep such "marine life". However, books should be written with much more of this importance in mind. I would like to see the "learn as you go" method done away with! The trade (books or otherwise) can still make money (and inform the customer properly) without sacrificing marine life for the sake of color, shape, or the diversity to choose from! Capitalizing on the trade this way only leaves the hobbyist to find out that "unfortunately they just waste away, despite every attempt otherwise"! It is cruel and destructive. Aware of this, I will make it more of my responsibility to dig deeper with my research and inform others.

John

p.s. --- any suggestions on other reading material would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi John,

Excellent letter and one that should also be sent to the editors of various aquarium magazines.

As for my booklets, they have been written with no product hype. Their cost has been kept as low as possible, and serve only as an educational tool. There’s simply too much hype and pretty books out there that don’t do the job you state in your letter. It’s live and learn, and after being in the hobby for 57 years I can look back and hopefully try to impart my wisdom on those coming to or already in the hobby. Hopefully that in some small way will save many hobbyist downfalls and the waste of some animals.

As for a worthwhile books to read, get the Marine Aquarium Reference by Martin Moe, Jr. Its about $20 or less and can be considered a ‘bible’ of sorts. And also, The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Bob Fenner, as he is a standout among those who say it as you want!

Bob

Hi Bob, Has been a while since I was searching your brain for solutions to my problems, so thought I owed you an update. I've been using Marc Weiss BlackPowder and other products since your recommendation about a year ago. As you said, you stopped using it because the coral was overgrowing your tank. I seem to be having the same problem, however, I'm so pleased, I don't want to stop. I'm looking for some local people to swap corals with instead, and the Marine Technical Concept Mini Cal I got is just working away. So, my tank is right on the numbers - very satisfied with the information you provided to keep my coral garden healthy. Thanks.

Now that "Marine Fish Monthly" is no longer publishing, where can I look for your words of wisdom, as I miss the monthly words from you. Hope all is going well with you and your tanks,
Earl E. Carpenter"

Hi Earl,
Thanks for the feedback. You and many others are having the same results with these Marc Weiss products, and many invertebrate that have been impossible to keep, such as Dendronephthya sp., are now becoming easier to maintain long-term. And, I think you should checkout the new Combo-Vital, which is a combination of BlackPowder and Spectra-Vital. It's a great product because one can now satisfy with one feeding a wide variety of animals that prefer either plant or animal matter in their diet.

You may want to contact Freshwater Aquariums and Marine Aquariums (FAMA) and subscribe, as I have a monthly column in that magazine called Sand-Mail. Call Susan, 800-523-1736

I also write for a Marine only magazine in the UK called Marine World. You can contact their Editor for subscribing info at lizdonlan@marineworldmagazine.com.

Checkout my new website at www.saltcorner.com and let me know what you think. If you have any digital photos of your aquarium/animals, I can post them on my site.
Enjoy,
Bob

Hi Bob,
I really enjoy reading your column in FAMA. I have learned a great deal and hope to learn even more. Let me tell what I have in my set up. I have a 125 gallon tank with a 40 gallon sump. I have 4 to 4.5 inch plenum system in the 125 gallon tank with a Berlin skimmer in the sump. I do a 15 gallon water change each month with Reef Crystals. I have four power compacts 96 watt each. I have about 140 pounds of live rock. My animals are snails, crabs, one yellow tang, two clowns,one damsel, bubble coral, anchor coral, lots of yellow pulps, leather corals, frog spawn, yellow torch. I use Seachem products: Reef Advantage Calcium, Reef Builder, Reef Plus and Reef Buffer. The pH stays at 8.11 to 8.35, temp 77 to 82, no nitrates. Make up water comes from a Kent Hi-S unit. Everything is going fine and the corals are all growing, but here are my questions?

1. I have the return water to the sump going through a gallon container of filter floss to remove solids in the water. Is this a good idea? Every time I take out the dirty floss and put in some clean floss, the protein skimmer goes crazy for about 1 hour then stops. I am thinking I may not need to do this but everything is looking good right now and do not want to "fix it if is not broke." Could this mean I do not have enough of bio filtration going on? I would like to get rid of the filter floss.

2. I am not using any bio-balls but wonder if I should. The thing about the skimmer going crazy after I put in fresh floss makes me wonder if I should. I am thinking you may think that is a bad idea, as the set up should have enough of that with the live rock and the plenum. Is that correct?

3. I just want the best tank possible for all the critters. As I have said I see no problems but want to always improve where it is possible. Do you have anything to add that may make an improvement?

Thanks very much for your help. Keep up the good work in FAMA!
Jeff Halcomb

Hi Jeff,
It looks like the aquarium is doing very well, however, there are some possible improvements you might want to consider. In my opinion you should upgrade your skimmer. Review the following brands - AquaC, Reef Concepts, A.E. Technology, Marine Technical Concepts, and Euro-Reef.

As for removing the filter floss, there's some value to prefiltering the return water to the sump. It does keep larger junk out of the sump and the floss should be changed/cleaned at least once weekly. When it gets very dirty, its somewhat changing/reducing the tension of the water and that reduces the skimming effect. It has no real connection with the biological filtration, however, when dirty/over a few days old, nitrification bacteria is growing in the floss material. Yet the impact to the system is marginal, as the plenum will adequately handle all system needs. There is what is called 'blue-bonded' filtering material/pads, that can be cut to fit, and I would consider switching to that. They can be washed clean under the tap and reused for very long periods before it needs replacing.

As for bio-balls, don't use them! They only supply surface area for nitrification bacteria and result in nitrate being expelled into the bulk water. The nitrification cycle needs to remain in the upper portion of the plenum sandbed, where it then diffuses downward to be further oxidized into nitrogen gas. Why discharge nitrate, from bio-balls, into the bulk water - that does not make sense or is it good for the well being of the system. Of course, algae would like that!

Hope this helps,
Bob

Hi Bob,

My name is Stanley and I'm a Singaporean and work in Malaysia. It's been awhile since we spoke. I hope you will have time for another long email.

I have just purchased two of your books and must say they did answered lots of my questions about a NNR or plenum system!

Currently I have a 40 gallon tank and have installed a plenum and coral sand (made of coral chips and shell chips). Live sand is not available both in Singapore or Malaysia (or I have not been able to locate it) and aragonite sand costs about $10 per KG, which means about $500 if I want to fill it with 50KG! The grain size used is about 4 - 6 mm, the next finer grade would be less then 1mm to 2mm. Maybe I should have used that instead.

After reading your books there are still some questions that were not answered in my mind and some about my tank.

1. The tank sand bed is now about 4 inches. But after 2 months I notice the nitrate has not gone down and practically did not see any improvement. I have hair algae all over the tank and on the sand bed. It looks like green soup now! I was wondering if you could advise me if it is ok for me to increase the sand bed thickness and by how much? And, whether to use the same grain size on the upper layer or a smaller one?

2. In your book, (after reading it two times!) I notice that you did not mention about the water circulation in the tank itself. How much circulation is advised? High or Low, 2 - 3 times or more? I have written to Dr. Jean Jaubert before and he advised not to go beyond twice the water volume. Is this too little?

3. I'm now planning to install an auxiliary tank with a sand bed to a bigger, 120 gallon fish only system that I had which is running for about two years now. There's a thin sand bed at the front of the aquarium directly on the aquarium floor, about 1 - 2 cm. The nitrate is pretty high, way over the range of a test kit! Question is, how should I go about it. Should I setup the tank and let the system run for a while and stabilize first with a few fish in it to start the sandbed? Or should I just connect it directly to the main tank. The auxiliary tank is a 24" x 18" x 18" with an overflow chamber. Do you advise me to use the finer grain size sand that is available here? How much water circulation and how much water should it turn over from the main tank.

4. In your book you keep mentioning about using live sand as a start. Because you did mention that live sand is not available in many countries out of America, I was wondering if I could use an additive to start the live sand to shorten the cycling time? How's a product like Hagen's Cycle? I was also thinking of drawing water from below the plenum for a start to increase the flow of water in the sand bed for the initial few days. The ideal is that to make use of Hagen's Cycle's bacteria to colonize the sand bed. Is that possible or do you advise something else?

I hope that's not too many questions for you to answer.

I have a dealer here in Singapore that is advising me to use a real deep sand bed with no plenum at all! He claims that's the way to go and he is now in the process of setting up a really huge show tank, about 8 feet x 4 feet x 4 feet! And he has already filled the bottom of his tank with one foot of sand! I better give your book to him and hopefully he can understand sandbeds better and stop telling people to create a chemical sink in their tank! Luckily, I have setup a real mini tank (4 gallons) to test his advice and the results were terrible, as there is no nitrate reduction at all! But the interesting part is, the inverts seems to be doing well! I have a cluster of mushroom, a cluster of star polyp and a piece of rock that is filled with Christmas tree worms. No fishes or anything else.

Seriously, if I have not purchased your book, I would have tried many funny things on my 40 gallon tank. The fish dealer in Singapore actually asked me to bubble carbon dioxide into the plenum to create an anaerobic condition and at the same time he claimed this would increase the water flowing through the sandbed! And I was thinking that the plenum should be anaerobic and I wanted to add lactose to it to help the bacteria grow! Your book seems to have answered all my questions. No doubt about it! I would definitely appreciate if you could answer my email. Most of the shops here actually still use other means of setting up a reef tank.

Best Regards

Stanley Tan

Singapore

Hi Stanley,

Thanks for a very good letter and insight to what's going on in your area. Let me first address the issue as why a plenum system should be more efficient than different depth beds directly on the aquarium bottom. Let's first think about "balance." When one thinks of "balance" a mental picture of an equal amount of something on either side of a dividing line comes to mind. Lately, the words "microbial balance" are being tied to biodiversity. The thought there is the closed system's environment needs to be in sync with what is found in the wild. Actually, aquarium microbial balance has nothing to do equal sums or the vast diversity of organisms found in the wild. To be truly successful with closed systems the microbial foundation of a closed system needs to contain the correct "proportions/volumes" of microbial processes that use "most of" the incoming energy/nutrients so major accumulation does not happen. Also, it must be clear how the words 'anoxic' and 'anaerobic' are being used in one's writings, and that is why they are defined in my booklets.

Having a closed system where microbial areas produce more nitrogen products, e.g., nitrate/ammonium, actually helps skew microbial 'balance' in favor of accumulation. At sometime in the future that's going to rear its ugly head and no-doubt become a maintenance headache, probably in the form of unwanted algae as algae are nothing more than a green form of those excesses. This is the reason why I prefer sandbeds that do not contain too much anaerobic volume, because that's where a class of anaerobic microbes exist that only reduce nitrate to ammonium, no further. However, the plenum sandbed retains a small amount of dissolved oxygen, therefore it continues to stay in an anoxic, not anaerobic state. The same would be true of very shallow beds directly on the aquarium bottom.

Even though many say I'm a proponent of a certain kind of filtration, I still believe an aquarist can be successful with any type filtration system, e.g., undergravel filter, deep sandbeds, trickle filters, fluidbed filters, plenum systems, etc. It all boils down to understanding the limitations associated with different processes/methods/equipment in relation to bioload. However, I'm a person that wants to better understand the more 'efficient' natural pathways and utilize them in a closed system to their fullest so as to establish a meaningful natural balance. And I have found with the help of Sam Gamble, a marine biologist, that understanding plenum mechanics before turning to other methods has opened the door to having a much better, balanced system.

Besides trying to limit anaerobic areas, another fact to consider is there must not only be proper oxygen gradients in the sandbed, they must be accompanied by the proper sequence of electrical charges for efficient use of energy. Deep sandbeds used directly on the aquarium bottom do not contribute to this situation. The deeper the sand, the more negative it becomes because of its lack of dissolved oxygen and the more the positive charged nutrients are attracted to the lower more negative depths. But the same end result is not true for the plenum system because one of the main purposes of the plenum void/space is to retain a small amount of dissolved oxygen, thereby having a slightly less negative redox than the sand above it. And yes, the sand in the plenum bed also becomes more negative with depth. However, its change in the sequence of the diminishing electrical charge at the void sends elements back up into the bed for proper reduction, recycling elements instead of accumulating them as what can occur in deep beds on the aquarium bottom. Plenum beds simply accumulate fewer nutrients because their microbes are more efficient. You may want to show this email to your storeowners! Fact is fact! Hopefully they will be enlightened.

I'll now answer/comment on your questions;

There are two different methods for reading nitrate. Some nitrate test kits measure the "nitrate ion" (such as the Tetra kit) and others measure "nitrate nitrogen." Nitrate is a compound, or combination of elements. One molecule of nitrate is composed of one nitrogen atom and three oxygen atoms. Since the atomic weight of nitrogen is 14.01 and the atomic weight of one oxygen atom is 16, the weight of one nitrate molecule equals 62.01, or 14.01 + 16 + 16 + 16. Therefore the test kit that reads the nitrate molecule/ion will show a reading 4.4 times higher than a test kit that reads nitrate-nitrogen (such as those from Aquarium Systems). I mention this so you can accurately judge your nitrate level. Anything above 10 to 15 mg/l or ppm should be considered too high. And plenum systems, if constructed correctly, should easily keep it much lower! What is your nitrate reading? (Note, Stanley's reading in his new tank was about 15 ppm and he was using the Tetra kit. Therefore his nitrate nitrogen reading was only 3.4 ppm. And, therefore, the nitrate level in his fish-only tank was also far less than he thought.)

If not nitrate, what else could be causing the algae in your tank? Could be all that shell material, which is normally high in phosphate, has helped generate algae spores that came in on your live rock. This is a good reason why calcium carbonate material containing shell material should not be used in calcium reactors! Moreover, ammonium is normally available at the surface of almost any substrate/bulk water interface, whether that be sand or rock as that is where the nitrification cycle is beginning. Therefore algae on a fairly new sandbed surface is often to be expected. Try siphoning out the surface algae and some of the upper most sand grains as often as necessary until the microbial processes become more established. If your sand is slightly larger than 4.0 mm, add an extra inch to the depth of the bed so as to lessen oxygen penetration/diffusion into the bed. Stay after the algae and mechanically remove where necessary. In a few weeks the system should begin to balance itself. And, I'm not sure where the thought came about that two different size sand grains are needed for plenum systems, but that is incorrect. One correct size is all that's needed. (Note, Stanley followed these recommendations and his system became algae free within a few weeks.)

As for water movement, it depends upon what inhabitants are being maintained. Soft corals generally do better with less water movement than those sturdy stony corals found on fringing reefs. My rule of thumb is three times the volume of the tank per hour for soft corals, five to ten times for stony corals, all accomplished in varying surges. However that doesn't mean that volume should flow directly against the coral itself. That's a generalization for the entire tank, and Dr. Jaubert is simply stating flow that directly impacts the animal. Yet, trying to duplicate in a closed system the same flow that impacted the animal in the wild is nearly impossible. But keeping it mind when establishing a system, is useful.

Your question on an auxiliary tank is not clear. Are you saying this would be a plenum system and interconnected to the larger fish-only system? If so, set up the smaller plenum system and connect it immediately. If the sand in question will not fall through the screen material on the plenum grid and its particles are in the range of 1 to 2 mm, a three to four inch bed would be okay. As for the flow from the small interconnected plenum tank, it should be about half its volume per hour. I should note that auxiliary interconnected plenum systems are becoming very popular as they are easier to maintain and the main tank can then have a shallow bed. And don't draw water from the plenum void, as that would probably establish a fully aerobic bed and void where only nitrification would occur. Even if disconnected a month down the line, the establishment of natural pathways has been delayed and overall system efficiency is now delayed or severely impacted. Could be the impact from that would be far too many nitrogen compounds and skew system balance from the get-go. To shorten the cycle time any of the products helping to quickly establish the bacteria is useful. Hagen's Cycle is a good choice.

I hope this has been helpful, and enjoy,

Bob

Hi Bob,

I currently own a 10 gallon tank that is culturing live sand for my 125 gallon tank when I can afford some lighting. My problem now is nitrate at 12.5 to less than 2.5 parts doing Bi weekly water changes of 3 gallons. When I set up the tank I was talked into using a five gallon undergravel filter with a 201 AquaClear powerhead on it. I also have an additional one for cross circulation, also I have a Millennium 1000 back pack for surface agitation. I also use a carbon insert and the air valve in the filter. The substrate is a 50/50 mix of aragonite and crushed coral. In the tank are two green chromis, four snails, four blue leg hermits, one brittle star (burnt orange in color with black patterns on body and stripes on arms) unsure of name, also several small brittle stars as sand stirrers (they are tan bodies with white arms with black stripes). The store I bought them from in some live sand does not know what they are or if they are reef safe. I read in last months Sand Mail your disaster with sand stirrers and was curious about these.

But could my nitrate problem be in the stocking of the tank or the under gravel filter or something else? I would appreciate your thoughts. I also just received your booklet Live Sand Secrets and will be utilizing it for my big tank. Next will be the Water Quality Guidelines for Marine Aquariums.

Thanks for your help

Bubba

Hi Bubba,

Actually, the nitrate level is what I would call quite normal for this small system and its bioload. Reducing its level (nitrate) is probably not going to happen for numerous reasons. Even though you say there's an UGF in use, you don't tell me the depth of the bed, or the physical size of the grains. And that has a direct bearing on the biological processes occurring in the bed. And besides, the end result of UGF, trickle filters ,and fluidbed filters is 'nitrate.' That's to be expected! How much accumulates in the bulk water depends upon the efficiency of the bed, general bioload and system cleanliness. Water changes can help in small systems, but even that becomes less than cost effective as the system ages.

For right now, stay with water changes. If nitrates get a lot higher, say over 50 ppm, then contact me and we'll take steps to correct it. But for now with the present bioload, I wouldn't be too concerned.

As for the so-called sand stirrer, it was one of my biggest mistakes to put that in my reef system! It simply ate all my good worms and crustaceans that helped keep the sand functioning. It's called Archaster typicus. Not truly an ideal animal for our sandbeds, unless they are very shallow and mostly there for looks.

Hope this helps and keep me posted,

Bob

Dear Bob,

You won't be able to publish this one in FAMA without doing some editing. Bob, I am a jackass. I read your Live Sand Secrets booklet and the GARF bullet proof reef thing as closely as I possibly could. The result of your advice was a beautiful, easily maintained reef. We had hard, soft, LPS and SPS in one tank without problems. We also had 3 grand maxima clams and fish (7 fish total). I would like to emphasize the fact that we had a tank with all of this and no problems at all, for 2 years. Then, I started to think too much. I wanted this easily maintained reef that I read about... the Ecosystem. Yes, please scold me... if it's not broke, don't fix it.

Now, I agree with you, there is a time and place for this type of system... mine wasn't one of them. As a result, after being away from my system for the past 6 months, I no longer have anything left. I was away due to circumstances beyond my control. I've had more than competent reefkeepers look out for my reef while I was gone, my wife being one of them. The new system just didn't work. Algae thrived, my corals didn't. So now, I have to revert back to the old ways. You win... you're the man.

So now I bet I have the most oddball question of them all for you. I have tons of room, and a more flexible budget than some of who I've seen send you questions. So here is my small group of questions:

1: I have used VHO from the start... no fantastic results, good, yes. My plan is to take my VHO setup - Ice cap 660 and put all actinic bulbs on (Coralife or ERI), and then add two 175 watt 10,000K MH to the mix. My current system is a 90 gallon tank with two 10,000k and two 50/50 VHO (110watts) bulbs with a separate magnetic ballast which ran three 36" actinic bulbs (30 watt). I turned on the actinics one hour before I started up my VHO lamps. I want to get rid of the electronic ballast and replace it with two 175 watt 10,000k lamps. So, if you can picture four 110 watt VHO actinic bulbs and two 175 watt white MH bulbs burning over a 90 gallon tank, good choice or bad? The VHO actinics would start ( all at once... Icecap 660, 4 VHO lamps). An hour later, 1st MH lamp would turn on, next hour the next MH would go on. After eight hours, the first MH woud shut off, an hour later, the next MH and an hour later the VHO actinics would go off.

Lighting is still arguably the greatest controversy in reefkeeping, next to plenums. Does this sound fair for an SPS tank? I really hate this lighting topic! I tried the cheap Home Depot $5.95 bulb lighting with an Icecap VHO ballast, but it didn't work for me. They burned out after 3 days. I think it's time for me to show the industry the money. The new lighting system that I have described would equal about 8.7 watts per gallon.

2: I do not wish to put a plenum in my main display. Sounds selfish, but everyone who sees my main display with a plenum tends to ask... why so much sand on the bottom? So my plan is to put a 1/2 inch thick layer of aragonite (or less) in my main display. My main display will drain into an approximately 20 gallon sump with a Berlin Classic skimmer (with a mag drive 7). According to Champion Lighting, the skimmer with that size pump is good for 250 gallons. From there, it will flow through a separate 90 gallon tank (in my basement) which is half full with water and a plenum (lifted 1" off of the bottom) with exactly 4 inches, I think, 1-4 mm aragonite sand. Is a separate 90 gallon half full with water, a plenum and absolutely nothing else good enough to keep a 90 gallon SPS tank with the lighting I have mentioned?

If I hadn't screwed this up to begin with, I wouldn't have these questions. I made some mistakes... unfortunately, at the expense of my wife's reef keeping experience. Do you think this sounds like a good plan? Bob, whether you like it or not, I will be using a 90 gallon main display with a 90 gallon sump with a plenum...so humor me!

3: What could I light the 90 gallon sump with? I was planning to use an extra three lamp electronic ballast that I had accidentally ordered to do the job. Since there will be nothing but a plenum in the sump, are there any particular bulbs or animals I should place in there? I might place some coralline covered live rock lifted up on some egg crate in there. What would you do if you had the opportunity to set a system like this? I already have the pumps, powerheads, wavemakers, chillers, ballasts, lamps and two 90 gallon tanks.

If you need more explanation please ask... I know that my letter probably sounds like mindless utterance. I do not plan to use a calcium reactor, using GARF's plan of attack on supplements, I did very well (previously to my changes) following their advice on some Seachem products to balance pH, alkalinity and calcium.

Bob, you have done so much for my wife and myself as far as our reef goes. I regret my changes. It ended up costing so much as far as money and more importantly, where our animals are concerned. Any advice you have for my ideas would be a benefit.

Thank you sincerely,

Chris

Hi Chris,

Your right, FAMA might not like your letter, however, there's no good reason it can't appear on my new website - www.saltcorner.com.

Oh yes - 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it' thing! I won't take that any further!

As for your lighting question, if it were my tank, the actinic fluorescent lamps would come on as a the sunrise period. One hour later 'both' MH lamps would come on. Remember, they take a few minutes to ramp up, so there's no shock to the animals. And one actually starts somewhat before the other when on the same circuit. Eight hours later the MH's would go off, then an hour later the actinic lamps. And 10K is my preference for MH lamps. If possible, could your circuitry operate only two actinic lamps instead of all four? Eight watts per gallon is a max condition in my opinion, unless your desire is some of the more colorful sps corals.

The interconnected plenum system is growing more popular everyday. My 180 gallon system had that type setup. You can see that by visiting my website. Anyway, yes the interconnected plenum works very well!

As for lighting the sump, it was not lighted on my system. It was a great place to put sponges of various types. They don't need light, and they add great amount of additional filtering capacity! Sooner or later some infauna will end up there, but in the beginning, nothing needs to be put there. Trust me, it's the way to go. And yes, I did the same, and placed a few pieces of extra rock on a movable eggcrate shelf in the plenum tank. That way when I surveyed the bed for any hardening, I could easily move it.

Enjoy, and keep me posted.

Bob

Bob:

First I want to say that I have enjoyed reading your column in FAMA as well as your booklets...currently I'm reading your Marine Algae Control Secrets booklet. I have found it very informative and helpful. I have a question, specifically regarding the Two Little Fishies AquaStik epoxy putty. I have read where other aquarists use it to epoxy live rock, corals, etc. onto the side of glass aquariums. My question is how easy (if at all possible) is it to remove it from the glass at a later time? What I don't want to do is have a permanent fixture on the side of my aquarium! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Andrew Bentley

Hi Andrew,

Thanks for your letters and I have been using that same brand epoxy putty for many years on my acrylic tank sides where I attached different corals. When I moved to larger tanks, the putty simply pealed off with a plastic-edged scraper. In fact, an old credit card was the perfect tool for removing the old putty. Since it worked well on my acrylic tanks, it should even work better on glass tanks.

Hope this helps,

Bob

Dear Mr. Goemans,

I recently came across a product review on the IceProbe, mfg. by Coolworks Inc., that you had written for FAMA a few years ago while thinning out my magazine collection. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions about this product for me. I'll give you a quick run-down of my tank setup.

I changed jobs this past spring and decided to set up a 20 gallon high reef tank in my new office. All was well until the summer heat arrived. I have just a window A/C unit in my office which I don't run in the evenings or on weekends. We had two major heat waves this year in Maine and most of my reef critters didn't survive the heat (even with a fan blowing across the surface of the water). Even on cooler days, the tank temperature would bounce around. After I read your product review, I wondered if the IceProbe might be a good solution to the heat issue.

I checked out the Coolworks website but they don't give much information. I thought you might be of better help since you have used the unit. I was wondering if they still sell the Proportional Thermoelectric Controller as I didn't see it listed on the website? They now list the Fan Controller Board as a way to adjust the level of cold output. Is this device different from the controller? If so, is the control board attached to the top surface of the probe?

Also, does the IceProbe maintain a constant temperature and is there anyway to adjust the temperature (like a thermostat)? I know it runs constantly with the muffin fan rotating faster with more output. I would like to set it up and let it run without having to constantly adjust the settings. I think I remember reading once that someone mounted the IceProbe on the lid of a Hagen AquaClear hang-on power filter. Does this sound like an effective way to use it?

And one last, unrelated question. I subscribed to a monthly aquarium magazine, Marine Fish Monthly, and stopped receiving issues this past winter. After several attempts at contacting the publishing company, I was told they were having problems shipping the magazine to certain areas of the east and west coasts and that my issues should arrive soon. That was in February. I haven't heard one word from the publishing company since. I was wondering if you had heard any rumors about this magazine? I gave up a long time ago on the hope of receiving a refund on my subscription (about 7 months left on it).

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Jason Bartlett

Hi Jason,

MFM is out of business. After many emails and calls I finally asked the local authorities to checkout the company. A police official called to say the editor had taken extremely ill and was not expected to live. The place is shut down as of now.

You may want to contact Freshwater Aquariums and Marine Aquariums (FAMA) and subscribe, as I have a monthly column in that magazine called Sand-Mail. Call Susan, 800-523-1736

I also write for a Marine only magazine in the UK called Marine World. You can contact their Editor for subscription info at lizdonlan@marineworldmagazine.com

As for IceProbe, it could well be that one unit may solve your summer heat problem. Of course that all depends upon just how hot the environment gets in your office. Why not call the owner of the company, Brian Rabe and chat with him as to latest changes to the device. In fact I just called him at (415) 485-5552 and he said the Proportional Thermoelectric Controller is still available. He will tell you about the latest changes to the device, which sound interesting. Also, if you would like, his email address is brian@coolworksink.com.

As for locating the unit in/through a hood or sheet of plastic, that's quite possible, but the logistics of any set-up need to be taken into consideration. But the way I described in my review of the product worked well.

Checkout my website at www.saltcorner.com. The review of this product is posted on my site.

Hope this helps, and give me some feedback.

Bob

Dear Bob,

I'm a young fish keeper (12 years) and after three years of keeping freshwater I would like to start marines. The equipment I am planning to use is two small internal filters (with sponge for media), one protein skimmer, a plenum, one heater and two fluorescent tubes. The tank is 30"x18"x14" and holds about 105 liters. Livestock shall be made up of four Pajama Cardinals, one Mandarin Fish and maybe a pair of Common Clown's. The inverts I'm going to try are two Black Urchins, one Arrow Crab, four Cleaner Shrimps, a blue sea star, and three photosynthetic gorgonians. And the corals I would like to try are, two groups of Button Polyps, two smallish groups of Green Star Polyps, two groups of Anemone Mushrooms, four Feather Dusters, two Bubble Corals, and if the Clownfish are possible, a Ritteri anemone. Chosen decor is half an inch of coral sand and twelve pieces of live rock.

Also I would like to know of any supplements and test kits I should use for the health of the inverts, especially the gorgonians and anemone. Any other mixes of livestock would be greatly obliged.

Adrian Keene

Australia

Dear Adrian,

Thanks for your letter. I was once 12 years old and at that time had three years of keeping a freshwater aquarium. Of course that was over fifty years ago and have since learned the marine side of the hobby can be much more complex, especially when it includes invertebrates. With this much experience behind me I can understand your desire to keep marines, however, can also see some 'bumps in the road' with your proposed setup.

When it comes to equipment, two small internal filters utilizing sponge material for filtering water may or may not be necessary. If the sponge material is going to be used as a mechanical filter and will be removed and hand washed frequently, it should suffice for that purpose. Yet, if the sponge material is to provide biological filtration, it may clog rather easily and require cleaning in seawater so as to maintain the health of the bacteria. Actually, an additional biological filter will not be needed, as the plenum sandbed would provide all that is necessary.

The use of a protein skimmer is a very good idea as it not only removes some nutrients from the water, but also oxygenates it helping to provide a healthier environment for the animals in the tank. You mention the use of a plenum, yet note only the use of a half-inch of coral sand. Plenum sandbeds, i.e., the bed of sand above the plenum, are usually about four inches deep using a sand grain size of about 2 to 4 mm. The reason for that depth is that most of it will contain a very small amount of oxygen, or what has been termed an 'anoxic state' in our writings. That provides an area where the most efficient nitrate reducing microbes live. Having more microbes that function more efficiently than microbes that are not as efficient at this task helps to keep any closed system in a more balanced or healthier condition. Sand grain size is also important as diffusion of oxygen, other elements, compounds/nutrients is downward. Years of research have shown the size recommended with a four-inch bed works the best.

Should you not want such a deep bed, e.g., about five inches (Plenum grid and sand), I advise using not more than about two inches of sand directly on the aquarium bottom. That way, areas in the sand having no dissolved oxygen (below about one-inch) would be quite limited to anaerobic conditions. Just in case that is not understood, anaerobic bacteria as defined in our writings only reduce nitrate to ammonium, no further. Therefore another nitrogen compound, ammonium, is generated in those anaerobic areas and which is the primary algae nutrient. So reducing anaerobic areas in the aquarium make sense unless green is a favorite color.

As for fluorescent tubes, there are many to chose from. Some are better used in the home as general lighting and others are more specific as to where they can be used, such as over freshwater or marine aquariums. There are some key words that are helpful when selecting them. The first is 'spectrum.' It is defined by Webster's Dictionary as a series of colors formed when a beam of white light is dispersed (as by passing through a prism) so the waves of light are arranged in order of their wavelength from red continuing through orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

The Sun, a star located at the center of our solar system emits a broad "spectrum" of energy waves, some of which we can see and some which the human eye can not. The light the human eye sees is known as the "Visual Spectrum" and is only a small portion of the total electromagnetic spectrum discharged by the Sun.

When we see a rainbow we are witnessing a breakdown of the colors that comprise the visual portion of the spectrum, e.g., violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, and red. The violet/indigo/blue portion of this "visible" light begins at a wavelength of 400 nanometers. The visible colors then change to green at about 475 nanometers, then to yellow at about 580 nanometers, which is the brightest portion of the visual spectrum. At 625 nanometers yellow changes to red, which continues to be visible until it reaches about 700 nanometers. Beyond this range, the spectrum consists of infrared wavelengths and is invisible to the human eye. Below the 400 nanometer range the spectrum is also invisible to our eye and it's this portion of the spectrum that contains cosmic, gamma, x-rays and ultra-violet wavelengths. The blue and red wavelengths of the visible spectrum are perceived by the human eye as the darkest areas of this light source.

If we were to engineer a lamp to give off a certain color, e.g., yellow, it would be brighter than any of the other visible colors given the same amount of energy. Therefore it is a lot less expensive to light places such as parking lots, ball fields, and streets with "yellow" light. Yet, lamps such as these have no value for photosynthetic invertebrate as they lack the spectrum, mainly blue, needed to trigger photosynthesis.

Even though spectrum is important, it can further be defined with the word 'Kelvin.' When a piece of metal is heated its color changes as it gets hotter. The progression of color, matched to its temperature (measured in Kelvin's), can be plotted to further define "color." If there is anything about this subject matter that should be remembered is that lamps emitting a color temperature of less than 5500 Kelvin are not beneficial for reef aquariums. They are simply too low in the blue wavelength. Actually, 5500 Kelvin is a noon time temperature and should be considered the minimum color temperature for any lamp used to light reef aquariums. Higher color temperatures contain higher levels of blue light.

When it comes to fluorescent lamps for use over a reef system, attention to their spectrum and Kelvin rating is important. If at all possible select a lamp that notes its visible spectrum range, sometimes found as a graph on the side of the lamp container, as having more blue light than yellow or red. Also, if possible, select something near the 10K range. Unfortunately some lamps for our purpose are only advertised as multi-spectrum, wide-spectrum, full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, etc. If so, choose those that say full-spectrum.

I doubt very much whether two regular wattage lamps, probably 24W each, will suffice for photosynthetic gorgonian and Green Star Polyps. Button Polyps may be okay. They definitely would not suffice for a Ritteri anemone (Heteractis magnifica). Yet, mushrooms, feather dusters, and Bubble Corals would do well. Making a choice between invertebrate requiring a lot of light or those that do well under low to medium light appears to be a decision that needs to made. If increasing lighting intensity is possible, you can stock the more light loving animals such as the gorgonians, yet not the anemone as it should have a much larger aquarium. If not, stay with Bubble Corals (Plerogyra sinuosa), Mushrooms, and some other medium light animals such as Torch Coral (Caulastrea furcata) or Brain Coral (Trachyphyllia geofroyi), Open Meat or Sea Button (Cynarina lacrymalis) or Euphyllia. There are three species of interest: E. ancora commonly called Hammer or Anchor Coral; E. glabrescens called Torch Coral; and, E. divisa called Frogspawn, Wall Coral, or Zig-Zag.

As for the Mandarin, that would be something you only want to add to the tank once it has fully matured as they need a constant supply of live crustaceans, such as copepods. Otherwise, they will starve to death. And I doubt your small system will be able to supply enough of its natural food supply.

When it comes to Feather Dusters, they are often found in the wild buried in sand/mud. Their tubes are constructed of sand, detritus, mucus, and other bits of sediment. It is better to locate these worms near the bottom of the aquarium where this material is more plentiful. The fact that particulate matter is higher near the bottom of the aquarium and they are not photosynthetic, are other good reasons to place them near the bottom of the aquarium.

They use their slime-coated filaments/tentacles or "feathers" as some call it, for respiration and to collect suspended particulate matter/plankton. The collected matter is then drawn towards the mouth area at the center of the tentacle ring. Solutions containing phytoplankton or zooplankton (rotifers) are recommended. These feeding solutions should be applied near and under the crown of feathers so it can normally be drawn up and to the beating cilia on the feathers. It should be noted that these tiny hair-like extensions generate the current that draws the food supply into the feather-like head of the animal. Simply dispensing the feeding solution above the animal may cause the animal to retract with most of the feeding solution going to waste/elsewhere.

Feather dusters may lose their crown of "feathers" for many reasons, some being; poor water quality and/or being disturbed too often. This does not mean they are dead as most will grow their feathers back in a month or so. Always wait a couple of months and if no reappearance occurs, feel the tube for the worm inside. If there is some movement inside the tube, put it back and be patient for another month.

When it comes to keeping any of the ornamental type worms, predators like triggerfish, wrasses, angelfish, most shrimp, and the arrow crab will not make suitable tankmates. Unless you intend to hand feed, they should not be placed in a new system. Give the tank about six months it mature so that some detritus is present in the sandbed. Then stir the sand so as to suspend some of it so the animals can draw it in.

When it comes to urchins, they do require a lot of algae to stay healthy. They also strip coralline algae, which is sort after by many reef keepers. It's your choice, however, something I'd give more thought to. I would also think twice about having an Arrow Crab in the same small tank as four Cleaner Shrimps. Anything with a claw can be dangerous, especially to something tasty such as shrimp/feather dusters. When the shrimp molt they are totally defenseless and can't run and hide. A perfect time for the crab to get them.

When it comes to water quality, salinity, pH, alkalinity, and calcium are the most important to maintain. Salinity should be maintained in the range of 1.025, pH near natural seawater level of 8.1 to 8.2, alkalinity in the range of 10 - 12 dKH, and calcium near 400 mg/l. To easily care for pH, alkalinity and calcium with one additive product, I recommend using any of the two-part calcium and buffering additives on the market. Salinity is easily checked with any of the plastic hydrometers on the market. I would also test nitrate occasionally, and as for test kits, Aquarium Systems Fastest Kits would suffice for measuring all these parameters as would many other brands.

As for feeding, if you upgrade the lighting and decide on keeping the anemone, it prefers its base attached to rock in open water where there is good water flow and intense light to stimulate its symbiotic zooxanthellae. As for feeding, small pieces of silversides, shrimp, krill, fresh fish flesh, and/or whole fishes fed once to three times a week should suffice. Place the food morsel on the tentacles or near the central orifice.

I highly recommend reading up on any animals before placing them in you system. Many have requirements quite opposite from others and placing them in the wrong environment could lead to their loss. In fact, it could lead to the loss of the whole system, which may turn you away from this wonderfully educational hobby. There are many magazines where advice from experts are available and websites where a wide range of topics are discussed. Search them out and be sure about an animal's need before purchasing it.

Hope this helps and don't hesitate to ask more questions,

Bob Goemans