Water Works Wonders

Salt creep is a common and unsightly ailment in saltwater aquariums. Salt creep occurs as water in the tank is splashed up on surfaces. The water evaporates but leaves behind a salt deposit- an unattractive dry white crusty mark. Salt is a corrosive material and, as such, it may leave permanent marks on surfaces to which it adheres. Salt can corrode metals and etch glass over time.

The best way to deal with salt creep around your marine tank is to prevent it in the first place. Once a month, wipe down all surfaces that come into contact with water from your tank. This includes the tank lid, lights, interior exposed glass and exterior glass. In most cases, simply wiping it down with water is sufficient but if salt creep is becoming noticeable, use a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water. Do not use vinegar on the inside of the tank as it can alter the pH levels of the tank water.

Take a moment to assess the area around your tank: the walls, floor and even ceiling. Is salt water spraying on these areas? Do you see any staining or deterioration? If so, rearrange the area around the tank to protect those surfaces. If water is spilling on to the floor, protect it with a rubberized surface. Put a cardboard shield behind the tank to protect the wall if necessary.

If you already have salt creep in or on your tank, it’s important to take immediate action. Salt can permanently cloud aquarium glass and salt creep can block light from your aquarium fluorescents. The first step if you have salt creep on your aquarium glass is to remove the fish to a fresh tank. Dump the water out of the original tank and thoroughly rinse the interior with dish soap and water. Move plants and gravel to separate containers and thoroughly rinse. Rinse the gravel until the water runs clear. Fill the tank half full of lukewarm water and top up with standard white vinegar (5 or 6% concentration). Let soak for 12-24 hours. The vinegar, which is an acid, will eat away at the salt deposit. After 12 hours, wipe the tank interior with a wet cloth and determine whether the salt deposit is coming off onto the cloth. If not, let it soak longer. Once the salt can be rubbed off with a cloth, dump the vinegar water out of the tank and rinse thoroughly with clean water several times. There should be no odor of vinegar when you are through. This is extremely important as vinegar can change the pH of the tank and stress the fish into hosting disease.

Remember to protect biological filtration systems including live rock from contact with the vinegar and from drying out in order to prevent the necessity of restarting your tanks nitrogen cycle. Every marine aquarium enthusiast encounters salt creep at one time or another. Protecting against it and cleaning it up when it happens is an important part of tank maintenance.

Proper lighting in a reef tank is one of the most important determinants of whether the tank succeeds or fails. If there is too much light, algae will take over the tank and throw it out of balance. Too little light will make the coral pale and suffer. There are many different light systems advertised in the market today, including both fluorescent and incandescent. Spending time upfront before you add your corals to your tank will save you great expense and grief down the road.

Many corals use the “farming” method of eating. They grow algae in their tissues to harvest as food. This is a symbiotic relationship. The algae provide the coral food and oxygen and the coral provides the algae food from its wastes. These algae thrive and multiply through the process of photosynthesis- they harvest energy from light and turn it into chemical energy which the algae can use to expel oxygen. Photosynthesis requires adequate light and reef tanks that contain these “farmer coral” need to adjust the lighting so there is enough for the symbiotic algae but not enough to allow an algae bloom to get out of control and choke the tank.

The symbiotic algae contain pigments called chlorophyll “A” and “C”, which take in blue and red light for photosynthesis. Many reef aquarium lights will appear purple because they are a combination of red and blue lights.

The intensity of lighting is important as the wrong intensity can inhibit and eventually kill the symbiotic algae. The minimum light required is called the compensation point. This is the point where the oxygen that gets produced by photosynthesis is equal to oxygen requirements of the algae. Any less and the algae cannot effectively feed from the coral’s waste products. At the other end of the spectrum is the saturation point- the point where any further increase in light does not help speed up photosynthesis. Lighting in a reef tank must be maintained between these two points to keep the algae and the coral healthy.

The least expensive lights for the reef aquarist are regular 48 inches long fluorescent lights. Generally, six of these will be required- four “daylight” tubes and 2 Actinic tubes that produce blue light. They will have to be changed out every six months or so. Even though they will still seem to be bright to your eyes, the intensity drops over time. If you leave the lights in too long, you may notice damage to your corals. Compact fluorescent lights (CFL’s) are recent additions on the aquarium supplies market. They take up less space and give more output. You may consider these for a smaller tank space. In any case, the lights should be no more than four inches above the surface of the water. There are many reasons to not use standard incandescent lamps. The most important one is that they do not produce light in the correct spectrum for the algae. They also produce substantial heat which can heat the tank to dangerous levels. The final reason not to use them is the cost. Incandescents need to be replaced more frequently than fluorescents and cost far more over the life of the bulbs.

Lighting your reef aquarium is not difficult but it can be one of the more expensive parts of your aquarium and does take some time and planning upfront to keep your coral and fish happy and healthy.

Listed below are a number of important factors that could lead to failure with your salt-water aquarium. Check over the list carefully and if one applies to you, you will know what went wrong.

1. Hands were placed in aquarium without rinsing. This could have introduced soap or hand oils to tank, with harmful results.
2. Fish were not introduced to the aquarium properly. If fish were not floated in a jar or plastic bag and introduced to the tank slowly they could have developed “Ick” or they could suffer from shock, especially if changed from natural to artificial water.
3. Coral was not well cured.
4. Insufficient aeration. If not enough air, fish will die, sometimes slowly. Always have strong aeration so the water circulates all over the aquarium.
5. Fish were in poor condition when purchased. This is sometimes a leading factor and if the fish are in very bad condition it may well be impossible to save them. Before you purchase a fish examine it closely and observe whether or not it is swimming contentedly about the aquarium. Also be certain it is eating. If the fish will not eat and if it stays at the bottom or top of the aquarium without swimming around, it most likely is in poor health. Also check the fine, transparent portions of the fins for signs of “Ick” or fin rot and fungus. Never buy fish if they are dashing about the aquarium erratically or are continuously rubbing themselves against the coral as they are diseased and will infect your fish, and soon die unless quickly cured. It is especially important that you observe the fish for ten or fifteen minutes at least, before you buy. Many marine fish are being treated with copper sulfate before shipment and often the solution is too strong. The fish becomes poisoned and although he may not die right away, he will usually refuse food and gradually waste away. That’s why it’s important to see him eat before you buy. Healthy fish have healthy appetites.
6. If you had your fish flown in from an out-of-town dealer there can be complications that could lead to failure, At the present time, many dealers are using artificial sea water to ship their fish, and this could be a source of trouble. The fish first are caught by the collector, who brings them in to his main base, where they are then shipped to jobbers or dealers. Quite often the jobbers are not near the ocean, so they must use artificial sea water. The fish in this case are taken from natural sea water and transferred to artificial water before they are shipped. This is all right if the fish have been gradually acclimated to the artificial water, but sometimes that is not the case. The fish are simply dumped into the man-made water and shipped on to the dealers. Then the dealers, who may have an entirely different brand of artificial water, will put the fish into their mixture. When the customer purchases the fish he may transfer them into still another brand of artificial water. The constant change from one type of water to another, each having a different pH and mineral structure can easily result in the death of the fish. Not only are synthetic sea water mixtures quite different in structure, but the fresh water this salt is mixed with to make sea water can vary tremendously from one state to another. Therefore, if it is possible, hobbyists or dealers should request that their fish be shipped in pure sea water so that they won’t have to go through so many changes of salt solution. This one factor alone results in heavy losses of salt-water fish, both to dealer and hobbyist. If a fish is caught fresh from the sea and then shipped directly to the customer in pure sea water, the customer can float the fish in this same water and add the water to his aquarium. This will lessen the shock to the fish in the transition from natural water to man-made water and also add trace elements to the aquarium water.

If you are going to use live coral in your aquarium instead of the white, bleached coral, it should not be treated, bleached, or cured in any way, which of course would kill it. It should be handled just like a live fish, and may be taken directly from the ocean and placed in the aquarium.

While en route from the ocean to your home the coral should be kept shaded and in clean sea water, with aeration if needed. When it is placed in the tank, sufficient fresh sea water should be added to insure the health and proper chemical balance of the water. Sea water varies greatly with each location; so when gathering live coral for your aquarium it is best also to bring back enough fresh sea water to fill the tank, if possible. Remove any slime from the aquarium, if any is present, after you place the corals in your tank.

The slime can easily be taken out with a fine mesh net or siphoned out with a plastic hose. Live coral should be watched closely the first few days, and if it appears to be dead and is turning white it should be promptly removed. If you are not certain that it is dead, place it in a fish bowl or other container of sea water and observe it for a few days.

Although the distribution of live coral to aquarists away from the ocean is limited, it is can shipped by air and small heads up to six inches across, complete with live tube worms, may be ordered from collectors.

A few choice pieces of coral and a shell or two, if properly selected, will give the aquarium its basic beauty. Avoid loading your aquarium with excessive coral as this may cause much trouble. Chosen wisely, it will enhance your aquarium and even without fish, the salt-water aquarium artistically decorated with beautiful coral is a magnificent thing. When properly lighted it will handsomely decorate the finest of homes. The coral should be arranged so that it will provide hiding places for the fish so that they will feel secure. Rather than crowd the tank too much with coral, a few well chosen shells will furnish a snug, safe home for your fish. One or two choice pieces of coral, with a shell or two, should be sufficient for most aquariums, depending on the size of the tank. Then it will be a simple matter to siphon out uneaten foods without disturbing the fish.

All coral, shells, etc. must be absolutely clean and sterile before placing in the aquarium. Just because an object is snow white does not mean that it is clean. Coral should be soaked in fresh water at least two or three weeks before use. Then it should be rinsed thoroughly and if completely free of decaying odor, it may be dried, preferably in the sun. Then it may be used but with discretion. If your first aquarium was a failure it was probably due to improperly cleaned coral. Coral taken directly from the sea must be cured much longer. A minimum safety time would be from one to three months or longer depending on the size and type of coral being cleaned.

The only type of shells which should be used are shallow clam shells. These are quickly cleaned and seldom cause harm. The baby giant-clam shells of the Tridacna family are ideal as they make perfect homes for the marine fish. Pushed part way into the sand, they will leave several openings for the fish to enter or escape and it will furnish them with a dark, snug home. These shells may be obtained in any size, from an inch and a half to several feet long so they will fill the needs of any type specimen.

The best coral to use is the Staghorn, Elkhorn, Lace, or Cluster coral as these types are usually available and they are easily cleaned. They come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and will fill nearly every aquarium need. The cluster coral is white with a beautiful brown base and it makes an attractive combination. Most of the corals will be snow white, when cleaned, with the exception of the Organ Pipe coral which is brick red. This type of coral is much in demand for it gives the desired color to an otherwise all white display. It is constructed of tiny hollow “pipes” which gives it an interesting appearance . However, because of its construction, it should be used with caution. Not more than one or two pieces should be used in the aquarium and these must be soaked and washed for at least a month to be certain that ail decayed matter is removed from their interior. This type of coral is relatively soft so that it can be easily hollowed out with an ordinary table knife, to make superb homes for your salt water pets.

Lettuce coral, Brain coral, Rose coral, etc. also may be used and they are extremely beautiful and interesting. However, because of their dense structure, they are quite difficult to cure and to be safe, they should be soaked in fresh water for at least six months before use. Then they must be inspected closely for decay and if there is still a foul odor present, they must be soaked even longer. The author has cured some exquisite specimens of Brain coral for as long as two years before finally considering them safe for the aquarium. Don’t let this discourage you however. If you have a favorite piece of Lettuce or Brain coral and would like it for your aquarium, by all means cure it! You can always set up your aquarium with one or two smaller pieces while waiting for it to cure. But don’t take a chance on it and put it in your marine aquarium until it is absolutely spotless and free from odor. You may lose your entire display.

Color changes as fish approach or reach maturity are normal phenomena and are seen in many species ranging from guppies to goldfish. Occasionally adult fish will show additional color changes varying from small areas to the entire body without any other symptoms. Local areas of increased color do not necessarily indicate disease and are not adequately explained. Total body color changes can be seen in mature goldfish occasionally. Some of the author’s blue scaled goldfish have sometimes turned pure white over the course of a year or so. Other goldfish often show gradual spreading oflighter colored areas into the usual gold color.

Young goldfish normally show black fringes on their fins and tail which gradually disappear as the fish grows. The black fringes sometimes recur in mature fish and can remain for several weeks. If the fins are not actually rotting or fungused the change is probably temporary and will spontaneously revert to normal. If the change is a result of infection or injury on the fins or tail then treatment should be directed towards the cause.

Albino fish may occasionally turn up in spawnings from any species of fish and represent spontaneous mutations. They usually will breed true. Many species of fish are now available in albino varieties. Albanism occurs similarly in humans, both as an inherited characteristic and as a spontaneous mutation.

Humans also occasionally develop a condition called vitiligo which is a local depigmentation of the skin. The cause is not known and there are no other ill effects. The color change in humans is permanent.