Live Rock from Tonga Added

Went to Sacramento to pick up some real live rock today from an aquarium shop that I knew would have some. As can be seen from the picture on the right I bought 5 pieces. I most likely won't leave them in the positions that they are currently in, but wanted to get them into the tank ASAP given the trip out of water from the fish shop. The piece on the far right had some dead material that needed brushing off, but other than that these rocks have been fairly well cured. I use the term cured in the sense that live rock that comes from the ocean usually has various plants and animals attached to them. Some of these aren't able to make the trip from ocean to the aquarium shop, and die in-transit. So the rock needs to be brushed off of dead matter, and spend some time recovering in a tub with good water movement and a protein skimmer. More dead material sloughs off, the water is changed, and slowly the rock begins to come back to life. The rock I bought today has already been through most of this process, so there shouldn't be too much concern about huge ammonia spikes in the tank due to rotting matter.

The reason for using live rock, is that it is rich in microbes, and algae that help make a reef system sustainable. It is a necessary component to a saltwater tank that is going to have corals and other invertebrate life. So in this case, I am using a few pieces of live rock to 'seed' my homemade rock. In time, my homemade will become alive with new generations of microbes, algae, and the two should be indistinguishable in outward appearance. Time will tell.

Michael changes a Freshwater into a Saltwater Tank

After reading some of 'The Reef Aquarium' volume 3, I was a bit dismayed by what the authors had to say about the use of aragacrete and other aquacultured rock. They felt that nothing comes close to Live Rock from a reef area. Homemade rock was looked down upon, and it had me questioning my own experimentation with making live rock. So after a few days, I decided to do a couple of things. First up was to convert my 29 gallon Freshwater into a Saltwater tank. Second, is to make this tank my Aragacrete tank, and see how it actually compares to a tank with all live rock. Compare that is, when the new tank arrives sometime towards the end of June.

In the mean time, here is a pic of my 29 gallon tank with my own homemade rock, 20 lbs. of Bio-Active Aragonite sand (read: a calcium carbonate sand, that has nitrifying bacteria and other beneficial microbes present for the marine tank).


I should also mention that this tank now has Sunpaq Dual Daylight (10,000 & 6,700K), Dual Actinic (460nm & 429mn) lighting system at 65 Watts. This is so that I will be able to keep the Live Rock and corals that I put into this tank healthy and alive (more on this later).

The tank looks barren, but when conditions stabilize (pH, temp, etc) I will be adding some select pieces of Live Rock to seed my Aragacrete rock. From there, we'll see how things go. That's it for now.

The ocean of nature

No news on the aquarium front, as I now expect that It won't be arriving until some time in June.

Watched an interesting movie today. Directed by James Cameron, "Aliens of the Deep" is a pseudo-documentary about Cameron taking some NASA Scientists and Marine Biologists on some 40 dives into the deep ocean. The cinematography was truly remarkable. We are allowed to go beyond lights penetration, many leagues into the deep and dark ocean. Revealed through amazing technologies and lenses is a world that we know so little about. Along the way we are introduced to the various people Cameron chose to come along, and what it is that they seek to gain through the experience. What the viewer gains is an overwhelming appreciation for how little we really know about our planet.

...more to continue

No Tank, Future Publications, and Something New

It's now officially over a month since I pre-ordered my saltwater tank. I've had a couple of conversations with an apologetic retailer who said that it appears that the shipments from overseas were in two batches. Unfortunately the one batch that has still yet to arrive has a critical part (have heard that it has something to do with the light) that needs installing on the tank before it can be shipped. While anxious, I am still in the curing stage of my concrete/oystershell base rock so I'm not bothered by this. I've read that patience is critical in this hobby, and I'm getting good practice with this right from the start.

In further publications, I would like to present a clear overview of how the oceans are involved in global warming, and what is at stake. Rather than submit all the detailed scientific data, the plan is to give a basic rundown of concepts and cycles with referrences to further details, if you choose to delve deeper. I believe that education and having a true understanding are the base requirments to making good decisions. Thus, having an understanding of the roll of our oceans in our lives, will help us make wiser choices when it comes to making decisions with regards to this Big Blue Planet.

I added something new to the blog today. If you look below the 'Archive' you will see news as it relates to keywords listed there. In this case, things related to the saltwater/ocean topic that I find important. Simply click on one of the key words, and a few of the latest news feeds will pop-up with that subject matter.

Some ocean facts

Well, I still haven't received my tank yet, but I have been reading, reading and then some more reading about saltwater reef systems. Online I've frequented nano-reef.com, reefcentral.com, reefbuilders.com just to name a few. It's truly amazing to see the myriad of successful and beautiful reef systems that people have put together. Their working reefs further confirm that the oceans are an intricate and diverse wellspring of life.

I thought for the time being, that I'd list a few ocean facts that might not readily be known to help create a better awareness of the watery mass that makes up 71% of this planet.

Fact: An estimated 80% of all life on earth is found under the ocean surface and the oceans contain 99% of the living space on the planet. Less than 10% of that space has been explored by humans. 85% of the area and 90% of the volume constitute the dark, cold environment we call the deep sea. The average depth of the ocean is 3,795 m. The average height of the land is 840 m. (http://marinebio.org/MarineBio/Facts/)

Fact: The highest tides in the world are at the Bay of Fundy, which separates New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. At some times of the year the difference between high and low tide is 53 feet 6 inches, the equivalent of a three-story building. (http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov)

Fact: Even if you live nowhere near the ocean, you will still experience the ocean's influence in our Earth system. Most of the rain that falls on land comes from the tropical ocean. The ocean is the primary driver of weather and climate and can give us clues to global phenomenon such as El Niño. The phytoplankton (microscopic plants) that live in the ocean are responsible for almost half the oxygen you inhale and play a vital role in the carbon cycle. Far inland from the ocean, fields of crops enjoy rainwater that traveled through the water cycle and spent a few days or perhaps thousands of years cycling through the ocean. (http://science.hq.nasa.gov/)

Fact: A swallow of seawater may contain millions of bacterial cells, hundreds of thousands of phytoplankton and tens of thousands of zooplankton (http://www.savethesea.org)

Fact: Over 60% of the world's coral reefs are threatened as a result of pollution, sedimentation and bleaching due to rising water temperatures caused by global warming. Global Coral Monitoring Network (GCRMN) states that currently 27% of all coral reef worldwide has disappeared and around 2050 only 30% will be left. (http://www.savethesea.org)

No Tank Yet, but on the way !

It's been a couple of weeks since my last blog, as I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my tank. I am happy to report that I received an email today from nanotuners.com saying that JBJ finally has released their new tank, and that as soon as they have them, mine will be on its way. I should report that I have not been idle in the down time, and have ordered basic supplies, tests, books and salt in preparation. In addition, I decided that I would try my hand at making my own Live Rock (LR) out of cement. After much research I found that regular portland cement can be used, but must be properly cured for the reef tank by having it leach out the alkaline materials while sitting in water. This will take up to 6 weeks or longer. When the cement LR becomes fully cured for saltwater, I will add a few pieces of true LR, and live sand to the mix when putting it in the tank. If all goes well, my cement LR will eventually become truly alive with all of the algae and other organisms that are present on the true LR.

Making Cement Live Rock
Some Cement Live Rock results

Rocks in Bath to leach out alkalinity

Some supplies: Gloves, GFI, Tests, Refractometer, Chiller & Assortments

Got a little crazy on the books! These are the classics from what I hear online.

Books are:

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist - Robert Fenner
The New Marine Aquarium - Michael S. Paletta
The Reef Aquarium (volumes I, II, and III) - J. Charles Delbeek and Julian Sprung
Reef Secrets - Alf Jacob Nilsen and Svein A. Fossa
Reef Invertebrates, An Essential Guide to Selection, Care and Compatibility - Calfo & Fenner
Giant Clams in the Sea and the Aquarium - James Featherree

Two books not shown that I have:

Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential to know Aquarium Species - Scott W. Michael
Marine Invertebrates: 500+ Essential to know Aquarium Species - Ronald L. Shimek, Ph. D.

Current (pun intended) Details

As of two days ago, I ordered a JBJ 28gallon HQI all-in-one saltwater tank. It is a brand new model that is expected to be released any day now. It has on board, many features that nanoreefers have asked for over the past few years. I will high-light these features in the days to come for those who are interested.

In addition I also ordered the stand that comes with the tank, the JBJ chiller, various water test kits, and other miscellaneous materials. So the wait begins, and I will try to post pictures of every phase of the process as it happens.

An Introduction: Intentions and Meaning

Welcome All

The intention of this blog is to share in the process and development of my JBJ 28G HQI saltwater nanotank (a small tank by saltwater standards) from start to finish. Let me start by saying that I've never attempted a saltwater tank, but have had good success with freshwater tanks over the past couple of years. The tank will be a small reef tank, meaning that it will be a tank that has Live Rock, Corals, Invertebrates and a few small fish.

I am creating this small saltwater reef for a number of reasons. For starters, there is the aesthetic value. The ocean, and reefs in particular, can be a place of incredible beauty. In its physicality, it provides a rich variety of colors and shapes that make it something akin to fluid art. Yet, it is fundamentally much more than that, as the ocean and its reefs are truly alive. A complex system that is physically, ecologically and biologically diverse, we are only beginning to understand what happens in this massive body of water, from which all life came. So in trying to create a reef tank, I wish to understand and learn about life in salt water through maintenance and observation. To further appreciate the wonders of life on this planet.