Water Analysis Record Keeping

If you're going spend several minutes every day testing your saltwater aquariums water then its recommended to record down the data. This is a good practice which will allow you to evaluate trends in your water quality. Jot down the info in a notebook then in future transfer the data to your laptop to create charts to map the variations that occur. With today's technology maintaining good accurate records on your computer will not present any issues.

Regardless on your way of recording your data, these should be the basis of your records:

• Date and time.
• Result of each test done.
• Nature and amount of any water conditioner added.
• Amount of water change performed.
• Reason for testing, routine or due to special reasons, note any dead fish.

By keeping these records over a period of time, you will quickly learn to notice any fluctuations in your aquariums water parameters. An example would be the pH levels vary depending on the time of day due to photosynthesis. Therefore pH will be higher by the end of the day compared to morning's readings. But if at the same time of the day over several days the pH is reducing then there might be an issue.

Gorgonian ( Sea Whip)

A gorgonian are basically swaying branches with some common names like sea whips, sea plumes and sea fans, the gorgonians are highly branched with beautiful polyps and are located throughout the oceans of the world especially in the tropics.

Gorgonians are similar to another soft coral called the sea pen. Individual tiny form up colonies that are normally erect, flattened, branching, and reminiscent of a fan. Others may be whip like, bushy, or even encrusting.  A colony can be several feet high and across but only a few inches thick. They are normally brightly colored, often purple, red, or yellow.

The flesh and polyps extend over a wirelike skeleton and typically good knowledgeable aquarists will look for exposed skeleton as signs of damage or poor health. Gorgonian's can be broken down into two groups:

1. Photosynthetic  algae
2. Non-Photosynthetic  algae

The gorgonians will need strong currents to help them rid themselves of the waxy film that is secreted to rid them of algae. Surge devices or turbulent water flow is best will be the best solution.

Care of Photosynthetic Gorgonians:
As they are photosynthetic, they will need good lighting as well as strong currents. Although most are not accustomed to the very strong lights produced by metal halide, it is said that they will slowly and eventually adjust and grow faster because of it. Some can be fed while others cannot. In either way photosynthetic gorgonians don't need to be fed in order to survive.
Care of Non-Photosynthetic Gorgonians:
For those type of Non-Photosynthetic  they will require feeding ,you can feed them once a week . On food such as detritus, brine shrimp, Daphnia, Cyclops, or pulverized flake food, shrimp or clams.

Marine Fish Compatibility Chart

Been wondering which marine fish and mix with which other fish?

Are clownfish compatibile with blennies?

He is a simple matrix table showing the compatibility of marine fish.

Source: thereefshop

Nitrites in the Aquarium

Nitrites are the second stage of the nirogen cycle and follow the ammonia in the cylce, as nitrifying bacteria is available and will build a colony as ammonia is available.

While ammonia is being converted by the species of nitrosomonas, nitrobacter is mainly responsible for converting nitrite into nitrate, which is the final stage three in the cycle. When we set up a new saltwater aquarium, the nitrogenous compounds will rise to high levels and this will enable the bacteria to form a colony of good bacteria and to start the conversion process (nitrogen cycle).
Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter are aerobic bacteria and need a constant flow of oxygen in order to survive and to perform their tasks.

Nitrite levels should be at an undetectable level at all times after the aquarium fully cycled which may take several months to complete. Nitrites are not as dangerous as ammonia, but still a highly toxic chemical, Nitrite causes fish stress at levels as low as 0.5 ppm. Levels exceeding 10-20 ppm are lethal over a period of time to fish. Immediate action is required if high nitrite levels persist after 7-10 days.

Nitrite interferes with the oxygen metabolism, it destroys the hemoglobin (oxygen carrying cells) of the fish, and aquatic livestock.
Detecting nitrites often means that the biological filter is not working properly, or the tank is overpopulated and the filter can not handle the load efficiently.

Ammonia in Marine Aquariums

What is Ammonia?

Ammonia is the biggest killer of fish in aquariums. Typically ammonia levels build up when you Nitrogen Cycle a new saltwater aquarium, but ammonia can build up when the fishes are to many for  the size of the aquarium and hence overloading.

Dead or decaying materials within the saltwater aquarium cannot be fully cleared away using aquarium filtration systems alone. Ammonia is formed when the excretion of fish in the tank, or any other waste material within the tank starts decaying and decomposing. Decayed food and any other decaying organic materials will increase the concentration of Ammonia within a tank. The exact toxicity of Ammonia will depended on several factors such as water salinity, pH, temperature etc. If the concentration of ammonia can be detected in your aquarium it is said to be too high for your fish.

Controlling Ammonia concentration within the tank can be achieved by cycling your tank. The nitrogen cycle aimis to create a colony of beneficial bacteria that will feed on the decomposing and decaying matter and will convert them into useful compounds. Bacteria called as Nitrosomonas consume the Ammonia that gets mixed in water and converts this into Nitrites and therefore we go to stage two in the nitrogen cycle. That is why it is necessary to cycle the tank before introducing fish in it. It is in the absence of such bacteria that the Ammonia levels start shooting up in a newly set up tank. These beneficial bacteria only need some organic matter and some time to make a colony.
Why Ammonia Posioning Happens?

Ammonia poisoning happens for two reasons:

1. Tank not cycled correctly- introducing a large number of fish into the new tank will cause the Ammonia concentration to increase . Thi is cause the fish will be producing waste and the beneficial bacteria is absent and hence cant be converted and the ammonia will increase until the fish start to die off or if the population of fish is too high for the aquarium size the fish produce too much waste for the beneficial bacteria to handle and it will lead to raise in concreation of ammonia.
2. Filter failure, lack of maintenance, over-feeding and use of medications- Sometimes over-enthusiastic beginners will also clean the biological filter media, thus killing the beneficial bacterial colony. When filters are being cleaned, it is important to keep the bacterial colony intact. After cleaning, the good bacteria will need time to recover and cope with the aquarium demands.

Symptoms of Ammonia Poisioning

Fish will show common symptoms if they have ammonia poisoning. The fish starts gasping for air and appear almost always at the surface of the water, or if the fish becomes very lethargic and spends a lot of time simply lying at the bottom of the tank, the fish may be showing signs of Ammonia over-dose. Or maybe the fish shows a red streaking on its fins or elsewhere on the body, this too could be indicative of high levels of Ammonia in the water. Loss of appetite is another common symptom. If the gills of the fish become red or purple, Ammonia levels need to be checked immediately.

How to Reduce Ammonia?

The best way to reduce Ammonia levels in a tank is through partial water changes. A new aquarium should always be cycled. Any new fish should be added slowly maybe only two at a time to ensure no overloading of the aquarium.  Proper maintenance of filters is also a must to keep Ammonia levels down.