Saltwater & Marine aquarium network
My Thoughts On The Responsibility Of Having A Reef Tank...
Since buying 2 new fish on Friday at my Local Fish Store, Orcutt Aquarium, I have been concerned that the fish I bought wont do well. Ok, you can call it paranoia but I am very concerned with all of the life contained in my Reef Tank. I am sure that I stated this in one of the million blog posts I have typed. Regardless, these animals to include Fish, Clams, Scallops, Crabs, Snails, Coral and my anemone are no longer in their natural habitat. They are in an artifical environment and they are 100% reliant on YOU, or ME.
I feel that if we decide to jump into this hobby, we really need to understand the big picture. I know that Reef tanks look super cool and are great in the front room, like a conversation piece. I know that I wanted to make sure that the color of the trim on my tank was very important because I wanted it to fit in with the color scheme of my living room. Within a few weeks, I set up my tank, put in the live rock and cycled the tank. Before I knew it, it was time for some fish and critters. My Uncle bought me a mated pair of Percula Clown fishe and the fish came with its home, which is a Long Tentacle Anemone in a lavender color and yellow tips.
At the time I was running the stock lighting that came with my 29 gallon Oceanic Biocube. The lighting was Power Compacts with a 10,000K 36 watt bulb and the other was again a 36 watt (I believe) Actinic Blue power compact. This system has the lunar lights and all that jazz. I was under the impression that this was all I was going to need as far as lighting went for my Long Tentacle Anemone. Well, that was before I really started to research the needs for LPS, SPS, Anemones, clams and what not. From what I learned, I could keep LPS Corals and Zoanthids and what not. They would survive but they wouldnt thrive. As for my Anemone, this lighting was not enough and eventually it would probobly die.
Now when I had my reef tank back in 1989/1990, things were different to include the knowledge and technology. Back then, I had a 55 gallon Semi-Reef with a home made lighting kit. I was able to stuff 1 Actinic 03 bulb, 2 Triton Bulbs and 1 Grow-Lux Bulb. As for the type of bulbs, Hell, that was close to 20 years ago!! I think they were either the T-8 or T-12 bulbs. All I knew is that they were BRIGHT!!!!! I thought that this covered the spectrum, in fact I am sure it did!! Then again, even if it did cover the full spectrum, it was probobly not intense enough. Well I had several Anemones in my tank, I used to work at 2 fish stores in my time, The First fish store (The Named Withheld)I worked at, the owner knew nothing about Salt Water fish!! He was very knowledgeable in frsh water and especially cichlids. As for Salt Water, he didnt know squat!!
For example, he used to order Atlantic Anemones, which in fact were Long Tentacle Anemones and new fish used to arrive on a Tuesday and Thursday. Once he added the Anemones and Inverts, the first thing he added to the tank was Copper Sulfate!!! Within 10 minutes of the introduction of the Anemones into the tank, It would shrink into a button. In fact it looked like a marshmellow but only smaller. So at the end of the day, I would buy them at a reduced rate. I would stick it in my tank and within 3 or 4 days it would return from the dead. I tried to explain to the owner about using copper in tanks that have Anemones and inverts, it fell on deaf ears. Who would listen to a young high school kid?? He was using a product called Copper Safe and he said that it is Chelated Copper so it wont hurt the inverts. Yeah right!!! Explain why the Anemones shrink into a marshmellow and die off in a week? Whatever!! He didnt care but I sure as hell did!!!
Many years later, this story still sticks in my head!! I couldnt help to think that the owner really didnt care about what he was doing, it still makes me mad!! Getting back to the story, after all the research, the Long Tentacle Anemone in my tank is not going to do well, eventhough the Long Tentacle Anemone is blown up and looking great to include the vivid colors. My Local Fish Store told me that the Power Compact should be good enough for the Anemone. At the store it was under the VHO lighting, as far as I know. Well, I dont want the Anemone to just live, I want it to thrive!!!
So that is the turning point in getting new lighting for my Reef Tank. A 250 Watt Current Sunpod would be more than perfect for my tank!! In fact, I would be running about 10 watts per gallon on a 29 gallon Oceanic BioCube. Eventhough watts per gallon shouldnt be a solid figure to go by, it is a good estimate from what I have been learning!!
So I placed my order and got it right away from Marine Depot. It costed some money, thats for sure BUT I feel that it is my responsibility to provide the best conditions possible for my tank. Ok, how about aquatic ethics? Should I bore you to death? Ahh, maybe I will!! If you dont like it, then you can skip over it!!
Ok, the good Lord created these creatures and put them in the ocean. The good Lord takes care of his creatures in the vast ocean. He controls the temperature, the currents, the lighting and the Salinity in the ocean. When we decide to remove these creatures out of its home, I believe we have a responsibility to take care of them. They were taken care of in the ocean but now since they are no longer there, we as humans should be good stewards of the creatures that God created.
When buying fish, we as good stewards should research and find out what is compatible with each other. We shouldnt buy something because it looks cool!!! I have seen too many people buy Maxima clams and have them under PC lighting. Then they ask questions about if the clam will live under PC lighting!! This is something that the person should have researched before buying the creature. I find this action as irresponsible!!! I too have bought things on impulse, without doing proper research, this is wrong IMHO and shame on me!!!
I have seen people ask questions on the various forums about lighting, coral and fish. When experienced people chime in and tell that person that what they are doing is wrong, they become offended and flame!!! WHY??? I rather listen to those who have made mistakes in the past, especially the very experienced ones, and learn from their errors!! This allows me to use their experience and not make the same mistakes they did. As far as I am concerned, the creatures that we are looking out for, they deserve the very best!! I want to make sure they are comfortable and not lab experiments!!!
I dont know why I am writing this but aquatic ethics are important to me. We are playing God with these animals and I rather do the right thing and ensure their comfort rather than experimenting with adding things that might cause serious concequences and jepordize the lives of God's creatures!!! They need us to provide them nourishment. They need us to provide them light!! They need us to provide them with fresh clean salt water!! Basically, they need us to survive!! It is an unique relationship we have!! I rate them up there with cats and dogs!! Call me crazy, but I was trying to explain this to my wife!! She never had fish before, so it is difficult for her to understand. Little by little, she is understanding!!
Well, with that said, please let me know what you think!!! Am I crazy to take this responsibility so seriously??? I dont think so but I would like to hear from those out there and hear what they think and what stance they have on Aquatic Ethics.
Anyways, enough for now!!
Have a Great Monday!!
TNS
I feel that if we decide to jump into this hobby, we really need to understand the big picture. I know that Reef tanks look super cool and are great in the front room, like a conversation piece. I know that I wanted to make sure that the color of the trim on my tank was very important because I wanted it to fit in with the color scheme of my living room. Within a few weeks, I set up my tank, put in the live rock and cycled the tank. Before I knew it, it was time for some fish and critters. My Uncle bought me a mated pair of Percula Clown fishe and the fish came with its home, which is a Long Tentacle Anemone in a lavender color and yellow tips.
At the time I was running the stock lighting that came with my 29 gallon Oceanic Biocube. The lighting was Power Compacts with a 10,000K 36 watt bulb and the other was again a 36 watt (I believe) Actinic Blue power compact. This system has the lunar lights and all that jazz. I was under the impression that this was all I was going to need as far as lighting went for my Long Tentacle Anemone. Well, that was before I really started to research the needs for LPS, SPS, Anemones, clams and what not. From what I learned, I could keep LPS Corals and Zoanthids and what not. They would survive but they wouldnt thrive. As for my Anemone, this lighting was not enough and eventually it would probobly die.
Now when I had my reef tank back in 1989/1990, things were different to include the knowledge and technology. Back then, I had a 55 gallon Semi-Reef with a home made lighting kit. I was able to stuff 1 Actinic 03 bulb, 2 Triton Bulbs and 1 Grow-Lux Bulb. As for the type of bulbs, Hell, that was close to 20 years ago!! I think they were either the T-8 or T-12 bulbs. All I knew is that they were BRIGHT!!!!! I thought that this covered the spectrum, in fact I am sure it did!! Then again, even if it did cover the full spectrum, it was probobly not intense enough. Well I had several Anemones in my tank, I used to work at 2 fish stores in my time, The First fish store (The Named Withheld)I worked at, the owner knew nothing about Salt Water fish!! He was very knowledgeable in frsh water and especially cichlids. As for Salt Water, he didnt know squat!!
For example, he used to order Atlantic Anemones, which in fact were Long Tentacle Anemones and new fish used to arrive on a Tuesday and Thursday. Once he added the Anemones and Inverts, the first thing he added to the tank was Copper Sulfate!!! Within 10 minutes of the introduction of the Anemones into the tank, It would shrink into a button. In fact it looked like a marshmellow but only smaller. So at the end of the day, I would buy them at a reduced rate. I would stick it in my tank and within 3 or 4 days it would return from the dead. I tried to explain to the owner about using copper in tanks that have Anemones and inverts, it fell on deaf ears. Who would listen to a young high school kid?? He was using a product called Copper Safe and he said that it is Chelated Copper so it wont hurt the inverts. Yeah right!!! Explain why the Anemones shrink into a marshmellow and die off in a week? Whatever!! He didnt care but I sure as hell did!!!
Many years later, this story still sticks in my head!! I couldnt help to think that the owner really didnt care about what he was doing, it still makes me mad!! Getting back to the story, after all the research, the Long Tentacle Anemone in my tank is not going to do well, eventhough the Long Tentacle Anemone is blown up and looking great to include the vivid colors. My Local Fish Store told me that the Power Compact should be good enough for the Anemone. At the store it was under the VHO lighting, as far as I know. Well, I dont want the Anemone to just live, I want it to thrive!!!
So that is the turning point in getting new lighting for my Reef Tank. A 250 Watt Current Sunpod would be more than perfect for my tank!! In fact, I would be running about 10 watts per gallon on a 29 gallon Oceanic BioCube. Eventhough watts per gallon shouldnt be a solid figure to go by, it is a good estimate from what I have been learning!!
So I placed my order and got it right away from Marine Depot. It costed some money, thats for sure BUT I feel that it is my responsibility to provide the best conditions possible for my tank. Ok, how about aquatic ethics? Should I bore you to death? Ahh, maybe I will!! If you dont like it, then you can skip over it!!
Ok, the good Lord created these creatures and put them in the ocean. The good Lord takes care of his creatures in the vast ocean. He controls the temperature, the currents, the lighting and the Salinity in the ocean. When we decide to remove these creatures out of its home, I believe we have a responsibility to take care of them. They were taken care of in the ocean but now since they are no longer there, we as humans should be good stewards of the creatures that God created.
When buying fish, we as good stewards should research and find out what is compatible with each other. We shouldnt buy something because it looks cool!!! I have seen too many people buy Maxima clams and have them under PC lighting. Then they ask questions about if the clam will live under PC lighting!! This is something that the person should have researched before buying the creature. I find this action as irresponsible!!! I too have bought things on impulse, without doing proper research, this is wrong IMHO and shame on me!!!
I have seen people ask questions on the various forums about lighting, coral and fish. When experienced people chime in and tell that person that what they are doing is wrong, they become offended and flame!!! WHY??? I rather listen to those who have made mistakes in the past, especially the very experienced ones, and learn from their errors!! This allows me to use their experience and not make the same mistakes they did. As far as I am concerned, the creatures that we are looking out for, they deserve the very best!! I want to make sure they are comfortable and not lab experiments!!!
I dont know why I am writing this but aquatic ethics are important to me. We are playing God with these animals and I rather do the right thing and ensure their comfort rather than experimenting with adding things that might cause serious concequences and jepordize the lives of God's creatures!!! They need us to provide them nourishment. They need us to provide them light!! They need us to provide them with fresh clean salt water!! Basically, they need us to survive!! It is an unique relationship we have!! I rate them up there with cats and dogs!! Call me crazy, but I was trying to explain this to my wife!! She never had fish before, so it is difficult for her to understand. Little by little, she is understanding!!
Well, with that said, please let me know what you think!!! Am I crazy to take this responsibility so seriously??? I dont think so but I would like to hear from those out there and hear what they think and what stance they have on Aquatic Ethics.
Anyways, enough for now!!
Have a Great Monday!!
TNS
Comment
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Comment by The Noble Savage on April 15, 2008 at 9:38am -
Thanks for the kind words!!! This is something that I have had near and dear to my heart for a very long time. I am far from being an environmentalist or an animal rights activist, this has more to do with ethics and being a good steward of God's creatures, along with the responsibilities involved with keeping animals in our care. I am glad that more people feel the same as I do when it comes to this!!
Again, thanks for reading my blog!!
TNS
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Comment by Becky C on April 15, 2008 at 9:13am -
The more I read in magazines and forums and then witness in others' tanks at meets, the more rigid I am with my beliefs on what we should keep and what we should leave be.
Nice read!
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Comment by Matt on April 15, 2008 at 5:24am - Good post
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Comment by Logan on April 14, 2008 at 11:29pm - Quite the write up. I agree with you 100% we choose to "play god" with Reefing and we need to accept the responsibility that comes with it.
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Comment by The Noble Savage on April 14, 2008 at 11:17pm
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Amen to That!!!! Thanks for reading Chuck!!!
TNS
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Comment by Chuck on April 14, 2008 at 6:30pm -
Anyone with an ounce of compassion and empathy for Mother Nature's other creatures should feel the way you do. I think aquaculture is the future of our hobby. We need to begin to demand tank raised fish, aquacultured corals, aquacultured live rock, etc. This way, we are not taking an organism from the wide expanse of a coral reef and sticking them in a glass box, because no matter how "big" we think it is, it's still miniscule compared to where the critter came from. I think you've made a thought provoking blog post. The bottom line is, we are responsible for anything we choose to care for. Our "pets" rely 100% on us for everything. That is a heavy burden for anyone that truly cares about their lives.
Chuck
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