Luis Mercado
In this series of articles I plan to take the reader on a journey. This journey will surround the setting up of a small reef aquarium for the home. Where most authors will start with the empty tank and work their way up from there, I would like to start a little further back in the process and then go forward
In the past few years many improvements in the way hobbyists maintain their tanks have occured, some of those have been new equipment, other improvements have been in animal care and husbandry techniques. From being in the hobby for many years, I have come to believe that although equipment and preferences changed with time, the fundamental building blocks to maintaining an aquarium will not change.
With that said, let us begin the journey:
Reading and more reading
In my opinion and that of several other authors I know, reading and fact finding is the single most important element in setting up a reef tank. Too many hobbyists begin by first choosing equipment and/or the tank they will use without the proper foundation on which to begin. When I first entered the hobby in the mid 1970's, there were not many good and up to date books on the subject of marine aquariums let alone reef tanks. The books that were available were limited in scope because marine aquariums were considered difficult if not impossible to maintain for the average person.
Most of the books were also written back in the 1960's when even less information was available. This made the task of deciding how to setup the tank and what equipment to purchase much more difficult. Little mention was made of the nitrogen cycle because not many understood its function. This contributed to the lack of success many experienced and they subsequently left the hobby. It was easy to conclude that this undertaking was too difficult for most.
Another factor that influenced the lack of success rate was the fact that many pieces of equipment available were adapted from the freshwater side of the hobby and were not really suited for use in the marine aquarium. More on this topic later.
As the decades passed, more information was desiminated, books were written and articles were published which made the flow of information better but not yet good enough. In the eighties many new magazines targeted at the home aquarists were brought into existence. One such magazine is FAMA (Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine) which has been covering the marine aquarium explosion longest. This helped aquarists learn and exchange ideas with noted experts in their fields as welll as make their own contribution to the existing database of knowledge. It also provided a way for aquarists to debate issues and give an incentive for others to conduct independent research into topics that were considered mysteries.
Why have I gone into all of this? Am I nostalgic, reliving the past? No! We are now in the middle of a technological revolution. The flow of information between peoples of all nations is at its highest peak and we need to take advantage of this situation. It applies very much in aquaristics as we are deciding the fates of living creatures placed in our care.
Many beginning hobbyists taking on the challenge of setting up a marine aquarium for the first time fail to realize how important reading is to our hobby. Often times we will spend money first on complicated equipment without realizing how it is used or why it is needed. This is my opinion the wrong way to go about things. Money spent on a few good books by reputable authors is the money well spent in the long run and will save the hobbyist money, lost animals and frustration.
Sprung, Thiel, Moe, Nilsen and Fossa are just some of the names of a few of the most respected and prolific writers in the marine aquarium field. Each is a noted expert and dedicated hobbyist. All of the above authors have at least one book written, and hundreds of articles that have appeared in the hobbyist magazines throughout the years.
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