Modern ReefKeeping

Michael very interesting eric, especially about ph at levels to 8.6 Eric Borneman Well, that is an artifact of closed systems and the propensity of tanks to drop so much in pH (especially at night) oldsaint What are the effects of maintaining a high Ca level? I was told years ago, mainly stoney corals If you run a high Ca level this will put stress on the coral by robbing energy from their limited energy budget by trying to shed … Read entire article »

Aquarium Calcification The water chemistry of closed system aquaria tends to be significantly different than that of seawater; a result of the metabolism of highly unnatural groupings of organisms contained in such displays, the myriad additives and devices employed by aquarists, and the almost limitless potential chemical and biochemical reactions which may occur in such systems. Yet, little investigation of calcification has been done at all in private aquaria. Some public aquaria have published a few studies; … Read entire article »

Introduction The process of calcification, or the accretion of calcium carbonate to form reefs, is one of the distinguishing characteristics of coral reefs and reef aquaria. Both plants and animals calcify, although perhaps it is the corals and the coralline algae that are most noted to aquarists as the builders of limestone skeletons and frameworks. Octocorals (soft corals, gorgonians, etc.) also calcify by producing internal calcium plates and inclusions (spicules, sclerites); these are occasionally external in the … Read entire article »