Equipment Maintenance Everything wears out, of course, but you can prolong the life of your aquarium equipment by properly maintaining it. Doing equipment maintenance at the same time as your monthly water change makes sense.
1. Turn off the tank lights and unplug the fixture. If you use metal halide lighting, the lamps will need to cool down before you can move the fixture, or you risk damaging them. Besides, a dark tank makes the whole operation less stressful for the fish. Check the light fixture for any signs of salt accumulation or corrosion. Remove any that you find with a cloth dampened in fresh water. If corrosion is developing, try to determine why, and take steps to prevent further damage. Aquarium lighting is designed to resist corrosion and to protect electrical connections from saltwater, so corrosion is a sign of improper installation or a break in the water barrier. Any damage you discover to the electrical parts of the lighting system should be repaired immediately by a skilled person. Such damage may pose an electrical or fire hazard. Problems such as this are rare with good-quality lighting equipment.
2. With a damp cloth, carefully clean dust and salt spray from the lamps themselves, as any accumulation will reduce the light output. You may need to remove the lamps from the fixture in order to do this effectively, depending upon the fixture design. Many fixtures also have a plastic sheet that protects the lamps. The side of the plastic nearest the water surface invariably becomes spotted from droplets of seawater. Again, carefully clean the plastic with a damp cloth, ensuring that the maximum light output reaches the aquarium.
3. Shut down the filter pump and protein skimmer.
4. Wipe clean the outer surfaces of all the plumbing fittings and hoses. You’ll be surprised at how much dust they can accumulate. Also clean dust from any portion of the pump intended to ventilate the pump housing. Dust clogging the vents reduces the cooling effect, and makes the pump wear out faster. Pump designs differ from brand to brand. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for cleaning and maintenance of the pump. If it’s time to replace the impeller, do so now.
5. Disassemble the protein skimmer and clean it in the sink, in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. Usually, the skimmer collection cup and the tube through which foam rises toward the cup accumulate scum on their inner surfaces that interferes with efficient skimming. After a good cleaning to remove the scum, you’ll find that foam “climbs” up the tube more readily, and you may need to adjust the skimmer to prevent overflow. Only a process of trial and error will permit you to set a schedule for skimmer maintenance, since every tank is different.
Your skimmer may get thoroughly dirty in a week’s time, while mine may take two weeks to lose efficiency because of accumulated gook. Try to develop a schedule that results in a relatively constant amount of foam being collected per unit of time. If you keep track of the volume each time you empty the collection cup, you will note that a sparkling clean skimmer produces mostly thick, dark green foam, while a yucky skimmer collects a lot of diluted foam and water. You want to strive for a happy medium between these two extremes during the course of a month. Because skimmer designs vary, and because the amount of organic matter in the water also varies from one aquarium to another, it is impossible to give exact guidelines for properly adjusting the skimmer. You’ll get the hang of it after a month or two. Skimmers that use air diffusers may need these replaced every month or so, as they will become clogged with mineral deposits. Similarly, air-supply lines can develop mineral deposits where air and water come into contact. These deposits will eventually close off the line. They can be easily removed by soaking in a weak solution of vinegar and water, scraping with a toothpick, and rinsing in fresh water before reconnecting.
6. Always remember to unplug the heater before removing any water from the tank. Submersible heaters are usually trouble free, but it doesn’t hurt to check for any damage as a regular part of your maintenance routine.
Using a Maintenance Service While I assume the owner of the aquarium will be the one taking care of it, the possibility does of course exist for a hands-off approach. An aquarium maintenance service makes a lot of sense if you lack the time required to give the aquarium the weekly attention it needs. Nevertheless, feeding and checking key conditions on a daily basis, especially for a reef tank, can occupy more than a few minutes. On a weekly basis, an hour or so is required to carry out testing and record keeping, and part of the water should be removed and replaced with previously prepared synthetic seawater. Seaweeds, and even some invertebrates, may require pruning, algae may grow in places where you don’t want it, and equipment will need servicing. Depending upon the size of the tank, maintenance may thus involve more time than you can spare. Because conditions in even the best-designed system tend to deteriorate quickly without regular maintenance, if you don’t have the time for upkeep, you will need to hire someone to carry out these chores to avoid disaster.
The “Hurricane Effect” Every now and then a hurricane or typhoon strikes near a reef. Wind-driven wave surges break off tons of coral fragments. The hurricane also stirs up debris, making the water turbid. Despite the apparent devastation, a hurricane actually benefits the reef ecosystem by flushing out accumulated sediments and pruning the coral. Coral fragments that happen to land in a suitable spot often resume growth as if nothing happened, creating a potential site for a new patch reef to develop. You probably won’t want to be breaking off coral fragments in the process, but creating a “hurricane” in your saltwater aquarium now and then is not a bad idea. Sediment tends to accumulate on any horizontal surface in the aquarium, just like dust gathers on your furniture. Periodically removing it not only helps keep the aquarium looking tidy, but also exposes the area under the sediment to light, providing algae and sessile invertebrates a clean spot on which to grow. Start by gently manipulating the top inch or two of the substrate layer with your fingers. This will stir up a lot of debris. If there are algae mats growing on the surface of the substrate, break them up with your fingers. Much of the sediment and algae will settle on the rocks and corals, but don’t worry about that at this point. Disconnect one of your powerheads. Holding it in your hand underwater, direct the outflow from the powerhead toward your live rock while someone else plugs the cord back in. Play the water jet over the surfaces of the rocks and corals, blasting debris into suspension where it can be picked up by the filter system. While the “hurricane” rages, you can also temporarily run a canister filter to “polish” the water by trapping most of the suspended sediment inside the filter. Try to sweep as much sediment as possible toward the front of the tank. With only a little practice, you will learn to operate the powerhead like a leaf blower to move piles of debris. When this step is completed to your satisfaction, turn off all pumps and allow suspended debris to settle out. Wait an hour or more. Overnight is fine. Then, use a length of hose to siphon as much of the sediment as possible off the bottom of the tank. Collect it in a bucket and discard. Top off the aquarium with freshly prepared seawater. Voilà! Hurricane complete, minireef freshly scrubbed. Doing this once or twice a year works wonders for keeping the aquarium looking healthy and sparkling. If you decide to go this route, choose the service with care. Make sure responsibilities, yours and theirs, are clearly understood. Confirm that the price quoted covers both labor and materials, such as synthetic seawater, that will be replaced in the course of normal care. If supplies cost extra, you should have the option of shopping for them yourself, rather than purchasing only from the maintenance company. Everything should be spelled out in a written agreement. The cost for professional maintenance can be considerable, and most companies charge a monthly minimum. However, proper care is the key to long-term enjoyment from any aquarium, but especially so in the case of saltwater. Failing to appreciate this fully has resulted in many a would-be aquarium owner’s disappointment. You don’t need a scientific background, or a lot of experience, to have a successful saltwater aquarium with thriving fish and invertebrates. All you need to do is use common sense and stick with my basic rules. In summary, they are as follows:
Set up the largest aquarium that your resources can accommodate.
Know the optimal conditions for saltwater chemistry, and maintain those conditions in your tank.
Choose a lighting system adequate for corals and other photosynthetic organisms, if you choose to include them in your tank. There is no substitute for light. Otherwise, use plastic reproductions.
Understand the critical process of biofiltration.
Add fish gradually. Start with no more than 10 percent of the total number you eventually will keep in the tank. This allows biofiltration to keep pace with the fish population.
Add hardy fish first. Save delicate species for later, when the tank is more stable. Always choose fish and invertebrates with care. Even if you follow a recipe from this book precisely, bringing home a sick fish will create problems.
Understand why nitrate is an indicator of the overall condition of the aquarium. Feed a varied diet in small amounts.
Carry out partial water changes on a regular schedule without fail.
Keep a notebook of observations, such as water test results, to refer to when making changes or diagnosing a problem. Most importantly, sit quietly near the tank for a short while each day and watch what’s going on. Not only will you learn a lot about the coral reef environment, your stress level will decrease, you’ll learn to relax, and, hopefully, you will live longer. Not a bad trade-off, in my view.
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