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Sk8r
07/05/2008, 08:40 AM
1. aeration.
a. Astonishingly enough, a very primary source of high aeration is your skimmer: the more potent the skimmer, the more aeration.
b. Another source: a waterfall---an entry hose into your sump, water falling literally through air.
c. The surface area of your tank: the less restricted the better, IMHO. A circulation pump helps water move and overturn.
d. Cheatomorpha algae in your refugium. Very high oxy output.
NOTE: high-motion fishes have a high oxy requirement. Big high-motion fishes like tangs have a very, very high oxy requirement.

2. waste removal: particulates:
nitrate: nitrite: ammonia
a. your sand and rock bacteria process nitrate into nitrogen gas, which is harmless, and dissipates from the surface of the water.
b. a particulate filter which is cleaned every 3-5 days. Unfortunately a filter only blocks particulate waste and does nothing about breaking it down. Nitrate builds up in it daily, and will start messing up the water in about 4-5 days.
c. detritus eaters: various sand-sifting fish, bristleworms, nassarius snails, hermits, etc. And lps and softie corals will eat larger particualtes. SPS need waste broken down into very small sizes: bristleworms are good at this---nature's method, some say.
d. a natural barrier such as a great big cheatomorpha ball in a fuge.

3. waste removal: proteins.
You don't see 'em, but amino acids get into the water from fish waste. Your skimmer does what surf does at the beach: froths the water up and makes the amino acid come out of solution as foam, which it collects.

4. supplementation of minerals
a. your water changes. It's more than salt in your salt mix: incuded are all the trace and other minerals your fish and corals need, in an ocean-like balance. Fish and corals eat these. By changing out 10% of your water weekly, you add them back in.
b. hand-added supplements: hungry corals eat more than is in the mix. You have to supply calcium, buffer (alkalinity), and magnesium. Trust your water changes for the rest.
c. still reservoirs. For calcium and alkalinity. Adding kalk to your topoff water supplies calcium and maintains alkalinity. It does not supply magnesium, which you need to hand add.
d. reactors: a kalk or calcium reactor is a more concentrated way of using your topoff to do the same as a still reservoir.

5. supplementation of feeding for fish and corals.
a. a fuge can supply live food continually.

6. removal of bad chemicals:
a. ammonia and organics including coral 'venom': washed carbon.
b. phosphates: a phosban reactor or a fuge
c. metals: polyfilter. Also gets some organics.

And lest we forget:
7. Supplemenation of water
a. an autotopoff system. Second only to the pump in importance. Salinity changes kill inverts and fish and corals. Not good. An autotopoff is a way of being sure there is no change in salinity.


HTH

whitleyjb
07/05/2008, 08:57 AM
Nice write-up.

Thanks

che25
07/05/2008, 10:11 AM
As usual sk8r, you are a wealth of information.

Sk8r
07/05/2008, 10:30 AM
Thank you, guys.

Hopefully with this info people can figure out where they need to tweak their system to get it to do what they want.

Xavier613
07/05/2008, 10:36 AM
Definitely has helped me Thank you