Saltwater Tank Equipment

topics. Also read the article: Aquarium Chiller information. Before you spend your hard earned cash on a chiller try using a fan or two blowing across the fish tank or sump's surface. If you use a fan it will lead to more frequent water top-offs but it might save you money because aquarium chillers are still rather expensive to buy and operate.

for Saltwater Aquariums. Live rock is one of the most important components in your marine tank setup because it is a fantastic biological filter. Also read the article on Saltwater Live Rock.

Forum - Protein Skimmer info and reviews: Protein Skimmer Reviews, AquaC Remora Protein Skimmer, Tunze Nano Protein Skimmer, Octopus 800s Protein Skimmer

The protein skimmer cleans the saltwater and completely removes dissolved organics and proteins from the system into their collection cups before they get a chance to break down further and cause undesirable algae problems. Protein skimmers also help in increasing the dissolved oxygen level in the aquarium water.

Forum - Hang On Tank Refugium. A refugium is used to grow macro algae and smaller organisms (like amphipods and copepods) for the animals in the main tank. You can also use the refugium as an algae filter. As the macro algae grows it uses nitrates and phosphates and you can crop the algae as needed. The macro algae in the refugium will help keep nuisance algae from growing in the display tank (if the refugium is attached to the main system).

Forum on reverse osmosis and deionization topics, also check out the Reverse Osmosis and Deionization Units article. Investing in an RO/DI water purification filter is well worth the cost. Using reverse osmosis filtered water for top-offs and water changes will go a long way in helping with nuisance algae problems.

Forum for saltwater aquarium lighting topics. Perhaps one of the most expensive components in a reef tank set up, lighting is a topic that should researched thoroughly by the hobbyist. The type of lighting you use will determine which corals you can keep. There are several options for lighting such as T5-HO, VHO, Metal Halide, Power Compact and more recently LED. The new LED set ups are rather expensive but they can save you money in the long run.

- Topics related to the feeding of saltwater fish and invertebrates. It seems like new foods are being introduced all the time for the saltwater aquarium hobby. Pellets, frozen food, freeze dried, flake food and home-made fish foods are very popular. Feeding newly introduced saltwater fish species can sometimes be very difficult. Use this board to discuss your marine fish food issues or tips.

Forum for saltwater aquarium substrate topics. Do you have a bare bottom tank? Do you prefer a shallow sand bed or a deep sand bed? What are the best particle sizes for sand? Discuss stuff like that here.

- a saltwater aquarium sump is mainly used to hide equipment under the tank and a place to perform maintenance and dosing tasks without disturbing the display tank. It is great place to hide the biopellet reactor, protein skimmer, phosphate reactor, etc. The sump also increases the total water volume in the system.