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A protein skimmer, sometimes called a foam fractionator, is a very essential piece of equipment you need to have for your reef aquarium. What does it do? It removes organic compounds from your water before they have a chance to break down into waste material. Removing these compounds is a great way to keep your water parameters at ideal levels.  Here are some of the many advantages of using a sump in your setup. First, they will raise the overall water volume of your system which makes your aquarium more stable. More water means more room for error. If anything should start going wrong, you will have a little more time to correct it. Second, they provide a place to put most of your equipment. Things like heaters, monitoring probes, skimmers, grounding probes, etc can be placed in the sump. This will give the display tank a much cleaner look. They provide a perfect place for a refugium with macro algae, more live rock and live sand. Efficient reef aquarium lighting is one of the most important aspects of reef keeping. Proper lighting intensity is required for photosynthsesis to take place. This is how your corals and invertebtrates create the energy they need to survive and grow. Maintaining correct reef water parameters in your aquarium is extremely important. Everything in your reef tank depends on the proper balance of chemicals and trace elements in your water. The most abundant substance in your reef will be the water. It is really important that you use the purest form of water you can get. As I stated in another section of this site, please don’t use tap water for your reef. Tap water almost always contains many trace elements that will lead to problems in your tank. It is very likely your tap water will contain phosphate, silicate, and nitrate, as well as lead and copper. These trace elements will heavily contribute to nuisance algae growth and other problems. Use RO or RO/DI water instead. The minimum amout you need is still a debated issue. A general rule is to have 1 to 2 pounds per gallon. This is not a hard and fast rule though, as I will show you. All live rock is not the same density. In fact, some types can be more than twice as heavy as another similar sized piece. This is because of the variation of porosity of different rock. Some rock will have many more large and tiny holes in it. This is usually a good thing as it allows many more hiding places for bacteria and many other tiny tank inhabitants. Buying fish and/or equipment on impulse. Not buying the right equipment the first time. Adding supplements rather than fixing the problem source. Stocking too soon, before the cycle has completed. Buying livestock without researching their needs. Over feeding. Underestimating water flow requirements. Impatience. Overloading the tank. Livestock incompatibility. Lack of proper tank maintenance. I’m sure there are more but these are the most common ones. Research and education will keep you from making these common mistakes. | Return Home | What's New | Our Services | FAQ Page | Contact Us | DRY GOODS | MEMBERSHIP | ORDER HERE | PAY NOW | |
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