A reef aquarium or reef tank is a marine aquarium that prominently displays live corals and other marine invertebrates as well as fish that play a role in maintaining the tropical coral reef environment. A reef aquarium requires appropriately intense lighting, turbulent water movement, and more stable water chemistry than fish-only marine aquaria, and careful consideration is given to which reef animals are appropriate and compatible with each other.
Reef aquariums consist of a number of components, in addition to the livestock, including:
Display tank: The primary tank in which the livestock are kept and shown.
Stand: A stand allows for placement of the display tank at eye level and provides space for storage of the accessory components.
Sump: An accessory tank in which mechanical equipment is kept. A remote sump allows for a clutter-free display tank.
Refugium: An accessory tank dedicated to the cultivation of beneficial macroalgae and microflora/fauna. The refugium and sump are often housed in a single tank with a system of dividers to separate the compartments.
Lighting: Several lighting options are available for the reef-keeper and are tailored to the types of coral kept.
Canopy: The canopy houses the light fixtures and provides access to the tank for feeding and maintenance.
Filtration and water movement: A variety of filtration and water movement strategies are employed in reef aquaria. Bulky equipment is often relegated to the sump.
Aquarium
AquascapingSump (aquarium) and Refugium (fishkeeping)
A "reef ready" or simply "drilled" tank is often used. This style of tank has holes drilled into the rear pane allowing water to drain into the sump or refugium.
These drains are usually housed in an internal overflow apparatus made of plastic or glass which encloses a drain standpipe and a water return line. The surface water pours over the overflow, down the standpipe, through PVC piping, into the sump. After transiting the sump, water is pushed by a return water pump through the second hole and into the aquarium.
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Understanding process and role of biomineralization (minerals formed by living organisms) in context of Earth's evolution,global chemical cycles, climatic changes and remediation.
An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic reptiles, such as turtles, and aquatic plants. The term aquarium, coined by English naturalist Philip Henry Gosse, combines the Latin root aqua, meaning 'water', with the suffix -arium, meaning 'a place for relating to'.
Live rock is rock from the ocean that has been introduced into a saltwater aquarium. Along with live sand, it confers to the closed marine system multiple benefits desired by the saltwater aquarium hobbyist. The name sometimes leads to misunderstandings, as the "live rock" itself is not actually alive, but rather is simply made from the aragonite skeletons of long dead corals, or other calcareous organisms, which in the ocean form the majority of coral reefs.
Color temperature is a parameter describing the color of a visible light source by comparing it to the color of light emitted by an idealized opaque, non-reflective body. The temperature of the ideal emitter that matches the color most closely is defined as the color temperature of the original visible light source. Color temperature is usually measured in kelvins. The color temperature scale describes only the color of light emitted by a light source, which may actually be at a different (and often much lower) temperature.
Nitrogen limitation is the foundation of stable coral-algal symbioses. Diazotrophs, prokaryotes capable of fixing N-2 into ammonia, support the productivity of corals in oligotrophic waters, but could contribute to the destabilization of holobiont function ...
ROYAL SOC2023
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Objectives The endosymbiosis with Symbiodiniaceae is key to the ecological success of reef-building corals. However, climate change is threatening to destabilize this symbiosis on a global scale. Most studies looking into the response of corals to heat str ...
Motivation: Host to intricate networks of marine species, coral reefs are among the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth. Over the past few decades, major degradations of coral reefs have been observed worldwide, which is largely attributed to the ...