AQUATECH

A publication of AquaTouch containing Tips & Techniques for being a successful Marine Aquarist...

AquaTips:

• When preparing for a water change, remember a few basic procedures.
  
  1. Mix your synthetic sea salt with purified water for a minimum of twelve hours (unless it’s an emergency). Some high-grade salts are best dissolved over 24 hours. This allows salt crystals and trace elements to fully dissolve.
  
  2. Unplug your aquarium heater before siphoning off your tank water. A heater running dry can shatter when exposed to water, or worse yet... cause you a severe burn.
  

• Flake food is a great supplement to the diet of your marine fish. For best feeding results, take a pinch with your fingers. Put the food below the water surface and slowly let go. The flakes are now suspended in the water... making it more natural for your fish to feed on.

Fish Spotlight:

Red-tooth Triggerfish

Odonus niger known also as the Niger or Black trigger are native to the Indo-Pacific and Red Sea. Although the color of this fish range from bluish-black to green, its' dark red teeth remain prominent. It will reach sizes up to 20 inches in the wild, but only about half that in the aquarium. They swim through the water by rhythmically waving their dorsal and anal fins in an undulating motion. This triggerfish is a pleasure to watch. Small specimens do well in a community tank. They can however be aggressive toward similar sized animals and same species. Niger's are also aggressive feeders, so be sure the other fish can hold their own at feeding time. It is best to feed plenty of meaty foods such as krill, squid, silversides and shrimp. The use of food supplement marine vitamins are recommended for best health and vibrant coloration.

Invert Spotlight:

Emerald Crab

From their appearance... most hobbyist would not think the Mithrax sculptus or "clinging crab" is a reef safe species. But it indeed is! Emerald crabs are found throughout the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Caribbean. It derives its name from the shinny green color of the carapace and claws. Their four pairs of walking legs are hairy, but they too have the dark green color. A unique feature of the genus Mithrax is the blunt tips on the claws. It uses these to pull at and feed on such algae as Valonia (these are encrusting green bubble algae which often grow on live rock). There has not been any reported evidence these crabs bother corals or other invertebrates... so if you are looking for an natural approach to keep that bubble algae in check... it’s a real gem!

AquaTouch News:

New Arrivals

Due to popular demand, we now offer POWER COMPACT lighting from Custom SeaLife. Their units are compact in size and come in Retrofits, ABS or Oak hoods and Pendants as well. They have proven to be a viable solution for your intense lighting needs. Stop by and you be the judge.... See our animals under the 4-96 watt fixture in our Reef Room. We also now carry SALIFERT test kits. These European tests greatly narrow the gap between the hobbyist & expensive laboratory grade tests. You’ll get accurate results at an affordable price. We currently stock the Calcium, Alkalinity, Iodine, Strontium and Nitrate tests.

Question of the Month:

Q: I keep hearing so much about water... with Purified, R.O., Drinking, D.I., what about good old tap water?

A: This is a subject that often confuses people. We do not recommend tap water for use in any marine aquarium. The reason is this.... In the aquarium, we rely on biological and mechanical filtration to remove waste. It is our goal as aquarist to maintain as little excess nutrients as possible. This limits unwanted algae growth. When using tap water, you are putting in excess heavy metals, such as lead, copper and aluminum, not to mention phosphate, nitrate and organic compounds. The use of aquatic tap water conditioners will only remove chlorine and chloramines. Water that is purified via steam distillation is generally not cost effective. Some may actually have traces of copper from this process.

The most efficient and cost effective water source available is by Reverse Osmosis (RO). Consumer units are easy to install. They take tap water through several pre-filters before the RO membrane, which allow only the purest water to pass through. The contaminants are bypassed to the drain. RO units can efficiently remove up to 98% of the impurities. We suggest (and use) Spectra-Pure brand units. Hobbyists, retailers and public aquariums world wide use these due to their quality and cost efficient operation. In the hobby, Deionization (DI) filtration is used mainly by reef aquarist. This further processes the RO water through special resins. This removes additional contaminates such as Silicate, which can cause diatom algae (hard encrusting brown or green spots). Aquariums using some form of purified water are much less prone to algae problems. Not to mention, a purer environment for all the animals!