Understanding Old Tank Syndrome
In a few years, my reef will turn 50 years old. I believe I’ve avoided old tank syndrome by using the procedures outlined in this article.Old Tank Syndrome, or OTS, is something we have been hearing about since the hobby started, and I am not quite sure exactly what it means. Is it due to parameters, loss of diversity, lack of interest, diseases, metal accumulation, global warming, locusts, or all of the above? I think it is much simpler than “all of the above,” but some of those things are probably on the list of causes—especially locusts. It’s about bacteriaIn my opinion, OTS has to do with bacteria, or lack of it. Bacteria really run our tanks, and we are just there so the bacteria have something to make fun of. Without bacteria, our tanks would crash in less than a day.Does Your Marine Aquarium Pass the Smell Test?
Your senses play as important a role in maintaining your aquarium as test kits and monitoring devicesWe marine aquarists depend heavily on store-bought test kits and devices for monitoring water quality and parameters (like the FishBit monitor we discussed here recently), but we’re actually born with some of the best tools available for figuring out what’s going on with our tanks—our innate human senses. With the possible exception of taste (I’d recommend observing the general admonition that you shouldn’t put your tongue on anything related to your aquarium), our senses can tell us quite a bit about the health and well-being of our systems—if we pay them heed, that is. Here are some examples of how:Sight Obviously, our eyes give us the most comprehensive information about our tanks, so we’ll start there. They reassure us that our livestock is healthy and behaving normally, getting enough to eat, and interacting peacefully; that there’s ample water movement in the system (evidenced by swaying corals, particulates kept in suspension, etc.); that the lighting system is fully functional with no burned out bulbs/tubes/LEDs; and so forth. But sight isn’t the only sense that’s helpful to the marine aquarium hobbyist. There’s also… Hearing Unusual or louder-than-normal sounds often indicate that something is wrong in an aquarium system. For example, a rattling sound coming from a submersible pump or HOB filter could indicate a broken or cracked impeller.Wishing I’d Chosen a Wider Marine Aquarium
Consider using the widest aquarium your space and budget will allowI wouldn’t exactly say I have major regrets about choosing a standard 125-gallon tank for my current marine aquarium system, but if I had to do it all over again, I might go in a slightly different—rather, slightly wider—direction. For the benefit of any salties out there who are planning a new setup, I thought I’d share why I think going with a wider tank might have been a better choice. First I should specify that aquarium dimensions are typically given as length x width x height, with length representing the side-to-side measurement and width representing the front-to-back measurement. This always throws me because to my way of thinking, width should describe an object’s measurement from one side to the other. After all, when I look at my reflection in the mirror, I don’t think to myself, “Wow, my belly sure is getting long!” And there’s a reason ABC’s old sports anthology series wasn’t called The Long World of Sports.But I digress. This aquarium—which is 18½ inches wide (counting the trim)—has been operating for the better part of 10 years and functioned as a FOWLR system for most of that time. The tank serves as a room divider, separating the great room in my home into two distinct sitting areas, and is viewable from three sides. I only recently converted it to a reef tank after tearing down my 75-gallon system, which, as I’ve mentioned in prior posts, had become largely overrun with green star polyps and pulsing Xenia.Reef Threads Podcast #256
Visit the Coral Fever website at coralfever.com
This week’s topics are a most-unusual combination of reef aquariums and drag racing. Our guests this week are Seth and Angelle Drago, owners of Coral Fever, a reef store and maintenance business located in Mathews, LA, near New Orleans. Motorcycle drag-racing fans will know Angelle as Angelle Sampey, three-time NHRA pro stock motorcycle world champion and the winningest female in motorsports history. We hope you enjoy hearing from Seth and Angelle about their business and racing. Download the podcast here, or subscribe to our podcasts at iTunes. Also, follow us on Twitter at reefthreads.—Gary and ChristineAngelle Sampey at the track.
Sponsor: Rod’s Food
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Coral Fever website
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Angelle Sampey’s Facebook page
