Sera Marine Guide
Sera Marine Guide
Sera Marine Guide
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Contents
1.
1.1
1.2
2.
2.1
2.2
2.3
3.
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
4.
5.
5.1
5.2
5.3
6.
6.1
6.2
7.
7.1
7.2
8.
8.1
8.2
9.
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
9.9
9.10
10.
11.
1. Tropic seas,
an extremely diverse habitat
The seacoasts near the equator are not only
home to thousands of fish species but also
to invertebrates whose number is not yet
even known. The species diversity and the
networks the species form in a tropical coral
reef are as unbelievably complex as tropical
rainforests and their inhabitants, and they are
an inspiration for aquarists again and again.
Many of the species living in the shallow water of coral reefs, seaweed meadows or mangrove zones are excellently suitable for
aquariums and can be kept without much effort. Their unbelievable colors and behavior
make the animals, as well as the entire
aquarium, a real eye-catcher.
before
introduction
after having
attached corals
55
10
11
1
3
12
2
5
4
Clownfish
Amphiprion ocellaris
1 ,1
Cleaner shrimp
Lysmata amboinensis
2 specimens
Yellowtail damselfish
Chrysiptera spp.
1 ,1
Sea urchins
Echinometra spp. or Colobocentrotus spp.
2 small specimens sized approx. 2 cm (0.8 in.)
Carpet anemone
Stichodactylus spp.
In the foreground
13
Colonial anemones
Zoanthus spp., Protopalythoa spp.,
Parazoanthus spp.
Several small colonies, each sized about 5 cm
(2 in.), for settling the flat live rock chunks
Heliopora spp.
Euphyllia spp.
Mushroom anemones
Discosoma spp.
Add 2 to 3 groups in different colors
between the soft corals
Live rock
10 to 14 large and 6 to 8 small chunks,
about 15 kg (33 lb.) in total
14
1
4
2
5
6
15
Yellowtail damselfish
Chrysiptera spp.
1 ,1
Orchid dottyback
Pseudochromis fridmani
1 ,1
Lemon goby
Gobiodon citrinus
1 ,1
Cleaner shrimp
Lysmata amboinensis
2 specimens
Sea urchins
Echinometra spp. or Colobocentrotus spp.
2 small specimens sized approx. 2 cm (0.8 in.)
16
Mushroom anemones
Discosoma spp.
Add 2 to 3 groups in different colors
between the soft corals
Live rock
10 to 14 large and 6 to 8 small chunks,
about 15 kg (33 lb.) in total
Soft corals
Capnella spp., Sinularia spp., Sarcophyton spp.,
Xenia spp.
Several small colonies, each sized about 5 cm (2 in.)
17
18
Gobies
Cryptocentrus cinctus or Stonogobiops spp.
1 ,1
Pistol shrimp
Alpheus spp.
1 ,1
Cleaner shrimp
Lysmata amboinensis
2 specimens
Sea urchins
Echinometra spp. or Colobocentrotus spp.
2 small specimens sized approx. 2 cm (0.8 in.)
19
Mushroom anemones
Discosoma spp.
Add 2 to 3 groups in different colors
between the soft corals
Live rock
10 to 14 large and 6 to 8 small chunks,
about 15 kg (33 lb.) in total
Soft corals
Capnella spp., Sinularia spp., Sarcophyton spp.,
Lobophyton spp.
Several small colonies, each sized about 5 cm (2 in.)
20
2.4
2.1
2.2
2.5
2.2
3
3.6
2.3
2.3
2.5
2.4
2.5
3.1
1
3.3
ums T5 PL-24 W
actinic blue light
neutral daylight
2 LED lamps for moonlight
simulation
2 fans for cooling electronic
components
built-in food ap
openings for connecting a
cooling system or accessories
ltration
3.5
3.2
3.4
21
The sera marin Biotop Cube 130 is completely equipped as a 130 liter (34 US gal.)
marine aquarium, optionally with a matching
cabinet.
The following advice is for setting up larger
marine aquariums:
22
25
50
75
100
150
200
250
300
13
20
26
40
53
66
80
5C
9F
25W
50W
50W
75W
10C
18F
25W
50W
75W
15C
27F
75W
2x
2x
2x
100W 150W 200W 300W 200W
250W 300W
liters
US gal.
Tip
A stronger heater has a higher power reserve, e.g., if the heating in your home
should ever break down.
aquarium size
23
Skimmer tasks
A skimmer is the heart of marine aquarium
filtration. It removes protein that is permanently released into the water by micro organisms, invertebrates and fish. The skimmer removes particles such as floating
matter and aerates the aquarium. Protein not
removed from the water will lead to an increasing amount of harmful substances such
as ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (bacterial
breakdown chain beginning with protein).
Keeping marine organisms in closed systems
would be considerably more difficult or, depending on the requirements of the species
in question, even impossible.
Function principle
24
3
4
sera marin
Protein Skimmer PS 130
25
Important:
rface
The su (one US
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ax
of one f sera sipor h
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t
quar lmost as m wn
has a al breakdo US
ic
biolog s 34 liters (9 er
a
lt
power of ceramic fi
l
gal.)
ia
r
e
mat
26
27
28
29
30
The rack
In case you do not want to place the aquarium on a cabinet, you will need a suitable
rack. It must be stable and stand exactly horizontally. A spirit level is very helpful.
The sera marin Biotop Cube 130 is equipped with a glued-on safety frame. Place the
aquarium with its frame directly onto the cabinet. Do not use any additional mats.
Aquariums without a safety frame require a
safety pad and heat insulation below the
aquarium as to avoid tension caused cracks.
The sera thermo-safe safety pad reduces
the danger of breaking glass caused by e.g.,
single sand grains or tension caused cracks
caused by torsion of the wooden cabinet.
31
1.023 g/cm at approx. 25C (77F). Depending on the setup, you will require about
130 150 liters (34 40 US gal.) of marine
water for a 130 liter (34 US gal.) aquarium.
You will need about 5 kg (1.1 lb.) of sea salt.
Density
at
16C
20C
25C
28C
30C
32
Salinity
Salinity
Salinity
33
34.5
36
1.025 g/cm3
1.026 g/cm3
1.0265 g/cm3
1.0235 g/cm3 1.025 g/cm3
1.0255 g/cm3
1.022 g/cm3
1.023 g/cm3
1.024 g/cm3
1.0215 g/cm3 1.0225 g/cm3 1.023 g/cm3
1.020 g/cm3
1.0215 g/cm3 1.0225 g/cm3
6. Setup
6.1 Bottom gravel
Coarse coral sand is excellently suitable for
the marine water aquarium. It is decorative
and contributes to pH value stabilization due
to its lime contents.
However, some fish species (e.g. gobies) by
all means require a zone with sandy bottom
material into which they can retreat during
the night. A separate zone with fine coral
sand must be arranged at the bottom for
these animals.
The remaining bottom area is covered with
an approx. 3 cm (1.2 in.) thick layer of coarse
coral sand. It is advisable to separate the different kinds of bottom material from each
other with stones as to prevent them mixing
up. Coral sand of different grain sizes is available from your local specialized retailer.
Another important bottom ground task is to
provide additional settling space for the bacteria that require oxygen (aerobic) in the upper zones and for the bacteria living without
oxygen (anaerobic) in the lower zones. These
purification bacteria in sera marin bio reefclear break down pollutants as in the filter.
The dry coral sand must first be washed thoroughly. Put it into a clean bucket in portions,
and pour about 4 5 liters (1 1.3 US gal.)
of warm tap water on top of it. Stir the sand
with thorough, circulating hand movements,
then pour away the water along with the pollution. Repeat this procedure until the sand
appears clean. Now fill the sand into the still
empty aquarium.
33
Examples of overgrown live rock with additionally added invertebrates in larger marine aquariums
34
tolerated by the animals only to a certain extent. There will be no harm as long as the
salinity is between 34 and 36 per mille.
However, the more constant you keep the
salinity at 35 per mille, the better for your animals.
35
36
You should replace approx. a third of the water each week during the first 3 months with
matured marine water (always ensure correct
salinity!). Enhanced algae growth taking
place during the first few weeks is perfectly
normal. Usually, a slight cover of red algae
appearing brown and slimy comes first,
which is replaced by green algae after a few
weeks. The green algae indicate that you can
now add the first organisms. You can care-
37
9. Regular maintenance
9.1 Feeding
Staple diet
Marine fish require much more iodine and
other minerals than freshwater fish. More
than 50 ingredients in sera fish food ensure
feeding the aquarium inhabitants a balanced
diet according to nature. This supports disease resistance and prevents deficiencies.
38
sera has developed the innovative crustacean foods sera crabs natural and sera
shrimps natural for the various requirements
of the crustaceans. The valuable ingredients
and the careful processing make these foods
an ideal staple diet for crustaceans. The
unique nutrient composition results from the
sole use of aquatic organisms such as marine fish, gammarus, spirulina and marine algae as protein and fat suppliers. The proteins
they contain are therefore characterized by
an amino acid composition that can ideally
be utilized by the crustaceans.
39
Healthy treats
sera Spirulina Tabs can be attached to the glass inside the
aquarium. This completely vegetable tablet in premium quality contains more than 20% of
Spirulina algae. sera Spirulina
Tabs are indispensable for algae-eating animals such as
surgeonfishes or blennies.
40
An important tip
41
42
Why do these levels sink? Corals and mollusks, in particular, precipitate calcium hydrogen carbonate as calcium carbonate by
means of their endosymbiontic algae, using it
as construction material of coral skeletons and
mollusk shells! A growing coral thus withdraws
a part of the buffer system from the water.
Some mollusks are also able to do so. For example, giant clam species (Tridacnidae), which
become more and more popular, withdraw
calcium hydrogen carbonate from the water
for their shell growth! Bacteria living in the bottom gravel can also cause local precipitations
due to their metabolic products.
43
Trace elements
44
Trace elements are not only important in enzymes, but they are also present in certain
color pigments. They can be found in the
coral tissues of stony corals, especially in
parts of the colony that are exposed to direct
sunlight. It is likely that they reduce the influence of aggressive sunlight. Keepers of
stony corals wish to achieve the same color
intensity of the animals kept in the aquarium
as in nature or even enhance it. This is possible, even under aquarium light, which is
weak compared to natural sunlight (approx.
5,000 Watt/m2). An elevated level was found
to lead to enhanced color intensity of stony
corals under aquarium conditions. Accordingly, some brown Acropora corals turn into
violet ones within only a few weeks!
Iodine
Iodine does not remain active in the water
very long. Iodine is precipitated by high concentrations of other ions. It is thus removed
from the water and becomes unavailable for
45
pH
acidic
5
6
pH value
neutral
7
freshwater
7
alkaline
9
10
11
marine water
8 8,5
Caulerpa
46
kH
acidic
5
6
KH inc
alkaline
9
10
8,5
11
rease
marine water
47
48
The CO2 supply for the calcium reactor is best controlled by a pH controller such as the seramic pH
Controller. The device interrupts the
CO2 supply as soon as the adjusted
pH value is reached. A pH value lowered to at least 6.5 by CO2 is required
for converting calcium carbonate
into calcium hydrogen carbonate, for
higher performance possibly a pH
value lower than 6.0. This pH vale
can be automatically maintained by
the seramic pH Controller, provided the pH measuring probe is located inside the calcium reactor.
Heterotrophic
bacteria
Fish waste,
uneaten food
and dead algae
Immediate pollutant
breakdown within the
aquarium by
sera marin bio reefclear
Nitrosomonas
bacteria
Ammonium/
ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrobacter
bacteria
Nitrate
49
Ammonium/
ammonia
Nitrite
The ammonium and nitrite levels can be lowered with sera marin bio reefclear. sera
marin bio reefclear contains bacteria that
break down ammonium and nitrite and is
therefore effective merely biologically. The
liquid product is simply added to the aquarium water and to the filter medium (please
see page 26).
Nitrite
Nitrate
50
Nitrate
51
52
KH
Carbonate
hardness
weekly
8 12 dKH
Ca
Calcium
weekly
Conductivity
weekly
50 54 mS/cm
Density
weekly
NH4/NH3
Ammonium/
Ammonia
weekly
NO2
Nitrite
weekly
sera KH/pH-plus
Parameter
Ideal parameter
When to check?
ideal: maximum 20 mg/l (ppm)
NO3
from 20 mg/l (ppm)
Nitrate
Mg
Magnesium
weekly
PO4
Phosphate
weekly
Cu
Copper
Fresh water
Fish feeling
unwell
weekly
O2
Oxygen
every
2 weeks
Cl
Chlorine
Water change
New setup
53
54
Give your fish an extra portion sera fishtamin before your holiday. By doing so, your
fish will remain fit, healthy and lively.
55
56
An Oodinium ocellatum (velvet disease) infection is effectively treated with sera med
Professional Protazol. Please read the instructions for use carefully.
Parasitic diseases caused by micro organisms (bacteria, single celled parasites) virtually only occur after preliminary damage
caused by chemicals (e.g., ozone, hydrogen
peroxide, phosphate) and are almost never
observed in well maintained aquariums.
Combating the mentioned parasites with
remedies is only possible in a quarantine tank
because remedies cannot differentiate between desired and undesired invertebrates.
Fish
Diseases affecting ornamental fish are reliably treated with sera treatments. The danger of a disease outbreak is reduced by
proper maintenance and regular vitamin supply with sera fishtamin. We recommend
dripping sera fishtamin onto the food and
then allowing it to soak in for a minute immediately before feeding.
The most frequent and disturbing disease
that affect marine fish and the recommended care for your fish while ill, are described
below.
57
58
59
40/11US