Introduction:
When I first entered the hobby I was 14 and walked into a store wide-eyed and excited. What little money I had was burning a hole in my pocket. For most of us, putting together our tanks is a mix of research and experience. Often that research is post impulse purchase. Often that experience is fraught with bad investments and dead animals. Success in the hobby isn’t by luck, but rather, foresight and planning.
We can look at building the successful reef aquarium like building a house. The basics of the house consist of the very things that will make it livable. The brick and mortar are replaced by glass and silicone. The central air and furnace are replaced by chillers and titanium heating elements. Excellent ventilation becomes excellent circulation. Like any architect will tell you, building a house is more than just a job—it’s an art.
Often, the most difficult tanks to maintain are ill planned and jury-rigged together. Like an architect building around a central theme, the most successful and stunning reef aquaria are built with an initial thought, emotion, or animal in mind.
In the following articles, I will discuss stocking a successful reef tank with live goods. With an artistic eye and a vision, you can make the house that you have built into a home.
In the first part of my series, I would like to lay down the foundation to good planning. I will introduce a few basic rules, and guidelines that can make choosing livestock into a fun and dynamic activity.
In the second part of my series, I would like to explore the facets of different region specific set ups. Many areas of the world have exceptionally interesting animals that warrant special attention and design. Region specific tanks are not only more authentic representations of nature, but they allow us to more accurately develop systems attuned to the needs of its inhabitants.
In the third part of my series, I would like to look at different stocking regimen for the nano-reef. This is one of the fastest growing trends in the hobby; however, in our haste, we often compromise the requirements of the animals that we wish to keep.
In the fourth part of my series, I would like to close my discussion with a few animals that warrant attention. There are quite a few “bread-and-butter†fish out in the market. There are also a few animals out there that are particularly fascinating, and often become the centerpiece of which a tank is built around. I remember the effect that these animals had on me, walking into my neighborhood aquarium store for the first time. The spectacular colors to the subtle behavioral nuances captivated me. Sometimes, it is that one animal that makes the entire venture worthwhile.
I hope that what follows is worthwhile and meaningful.
Skeleton for future articles:
In the first part of my series, I would like to lay down the foundation to good planning. I will introduce a few basic rules, and guidelines that can make choosing livestock into a fun and dynamic activity.
-Keys to a successful tank
-Research
-Planning
-Patience
-Choose the animals first, then chose your tank
-Making a collage with the family
-Foam board, fish magazine cuttings, article cuttings, book refrences, online printouts, markers, and construction paper
-Stocking order, and a discussion on aggression
-The division of aggression
-Animals that have complex pecking orders
-Simple—clownfish
-Complex and unpredictable—tangs, anthias, wrasses.
In the second part of my series, I would like to explore the facets of different region specific set ups. Many areas of the world have exceptionally interesting animals that warrant special attention and design. Region specific tanks are not only more authentic representations of nature, but they allow us to more accurately develop systems attuned to the needs of its
inhabitants.
-Gulf of Mexico
-Carribean/Florida
-Indian Ocean
-Tonga, Fiji, Samoa
-Hawaii
-Red Sea
-Lagoonal
-Reef wall
-The seahorse reef (if we can even call it that)
In the third part of my series, I would like to look at different stocking regimen for the nano-reef. This is one of the fastest growing trends in the hobby; however, in our haste, we often compromise the requirements of the animals that we wish to keep.
-Less is more
-Stocking levels in small tanks (and a mention of the additional risks and hazards to the smaller tank)
-Animals that are particularly adept to life in nano
-Animals that are most definitely not
-A discussion on “grow to size†ethics.
In the fourth part of my series, I would like to close my discussion with a few animals that warrant attention. There are quite a few “bread-and-butter†fish out in the market. There are also a few animals out there that are particularly fascinating, and often become the centerpiece of which a tank is built around. I remember the effect that these animals had on me, walking into my neighborhood aquarium store for the first time. The spectacular colors to the subtle behavioral nuances captivated me. Sometimes, it is that one animal that makes the entire venture worthwhile.
-The Harlequin tusk
-Harlequin shrimp
-Anthias tank
-Pistol shrimp goby
-Clownfish, anemone
-Sexy shrimp, anemone crab, porcelain crab, SPS crab
-Panda Goby and pocillipora pair
-Lionfish, pufferfish, boxfish, triggers, and eels
-The acropora/clam garden
-Angler
(CONT TO PART-2)
When I first entered the hobby I was 14 and walked into a store wide-eyed and excited. What little money I had was burning a hole in my pocket. For most of us, putting together our tanks is a mix of research and experience. Often that research is post impulse purchase. Often that experience is fraught with bad investments and dead animals. Success in the hobby isn’t by luck, but rather, foresight and planning.
We can look at building the successful reef aquarium like building a house. The basics of the house consist of the very things that will make it livable. The brick and mortar are replaced by glass and silicone. The central air and furnace are replaced by chillers and titanium heating elements. Excellent ventilation becomes excellent circulation. Like any architect will tell you, building a house is more than just a job—it’s an art.
Often, the most difficult tanks to maintain are ill planned and jury-rigged together. Like an architect building around a central theme, the most successful and stunning reef aquaria are built with an initial thought, emotion, or animal in mind.
In the following articles, I will discuss stocking a successful reef tank with live goods. With an artistic eye and a vision, you can make the house that you have built into a home.
In the first part of my series, I would like to lay down the foundation to good planning. I will introduce a few basic rules, and guidelines that can make choosing livestock into a fun and dynamic activity.
In the second part of my series, I would like to explore the facets of different region specific set ups. Many areas of the world have exceptionally interesting animals that warrant special attention and design. Region specific tanks are not only more authentic representations of nature, but they allow us to more accurately develop systems attuned to the needs of its inhabitants.
In the third part of my series, I would like to look at different stocking regimen for the nano-reef. This is one of the fastest growing trends in the hobby; however, in our haste, we often compromise the requirements of the animals that we wish to keep.
In the fourth part of my series, I would like to close my discussion with a few animals that warrant attention. There are quite a few “bread-and-butter†fish out in the market. There are also a few animals out there that are particularly fascinating, and often become the centerpiece of which a tank is built around. I remember the effect that these animals had on me, walking into my neighborhood aquarium store for the first time. The spectacular colors to the subtle behavioral nuances captivated me. Sometimes, it is that one animal that makes the entire venture worthwhile.
I hope that what follows is worthwhile and meaningful.
Skeleton for future articles:
In the first part of my series, I would like to lay down the foundation to good planning. I will introduce a few basic rules, and guidelines that can make choosing livestock into a fun and dynamic activity.
-Keys to a successful tank
-Research
-Planning
-Patience
-Choose the animals first, then chose your tank
-Making a collage with the family
-Foam board, fish magazine cuttings, article cuttings, book refrences, online printouts, markers, and construction paper
-Stocking order, and a discussion on aggression
-The division of aggression
-Animals that have complex pecking orders
-Simple—clownfish
-Complex and unpredictable—tangs, anthias, wrasses.
In the second part of my series, I would like to explore the facets of different region specific set ups. Many areas of the world have exceptionally interesting animals that warrant special attention and design. Region specific tanks are not only more authentic representations of nature, but they allow us to more accurately develop systems attuned to the needs of its
inhabitants.
-Gulf of Mexico
-Carribean/Florida
-Indian Ocean
-Tonga, Fiji, Samoa
-Hawaii
-Red Sea
-Lagoonal
-Reef wall
-The seahorse reef (if we can even call it that)
In the third part of my series, I would like to look at different stocking regimen for the nano-reef. This is one of the fastest growing trends in the hobby; however, in our haste, we often compromise the requirements of the animals that we wish to keep.
-Less is more
-Stocking levels in small tanks (and a mention of the additional risks and hazards to the smaller tank)
-Animals that are particularly adept to life in nano
-Animals that are most definitely not
-A discussion on “grow to size†ethics.
In the fourth part of my series, I would like to close my discussion with a few animals that warrant attention. There are quite a few “bread-and-butter†fish out in the market. There are also a few animals out there that are particularly fascinating, and often become the centerpiece of which a tank is built around. I remember the effect that these animals had on me, walking into my neighborhood aquarium store for the first time. The spectacular colors to the subtle behavioral nuances captivated me. Sometimes, it is that one animal that makes the entire venture worthwhile.
-The Harlequin tusk
-Harlequin shrimp
-Anthias tank
-Pistol shrimp goby
-Clownfish, anemone
-Sexy shrimp, anemone crab, porcelain crab, SPS crab
-Panda Goby and pocillipora pair
-Lionfish, pufferfish, boxfish, triggers, and eels
-The acropora/clam garden
-Angler
(CONT TO PART-2)
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