Continued from page 2

Kalkwasser :

touched upon briefly early in this chapter, kalkwasser is a mixture that is used to increase not the "carbonate" hardness of the water, but the "calcium" hardness.

It is a very important additive for every hobbyist who maintains hard corals, as the latter use the elements in the kalkwasser to grow and multiply. The type of corals referred to include, for example, Meat coral, Sunflower coral, Elegance coral, Bubble coral, and similar ones. All coralline algae benefit from the addition of kalkwasser as well, of course.

Kalkwasser, or Limewater, has been advocated for invertebrate and coral aquariums since the days of Guido Hueckstedt and Peter Wilkens, in the 60's and 70's, in Germany, but nobody seems to have given it the importance it deserves, when the Reef Aquarium became a fact in the United States and Canada.

George Smit's constant reference to the need for having layers of "calcite" in the water, under the trickle filter, may have been the closest to suggesting that calcium carbonate, and calcium as such, are important in a Reef Aquarium. He did not go as far, however, as to suggest the addition of some form of calcium compound in a dissolved manner.

Adding Kalkwasser is, in my opinion, just as important as adding salt, or maintaining the right pH, temperature, etc. It is certainly as important as adding the right kind of supplements, e.g. Iodine, KSM, and others described in this chapter.

At Thiel-Aqua-Tech we add it every day, and have done so for years, with very positive results for all the corals we keep, and we keep many types. My company, therefore, also sells it to the discerning Hob- byist. We use USP grade calcium hydroxide and triple distilled water in its preparation, and run lab grade carbon dioxide through it, to adjust the pH. Marine Reef, our newsletter, recently carried an article describing how you can prepare it yourself. It is not easy, but it can be done, as long as you have a source for the chemicals, and already use carbon dioxide on your system. X-Nitrate :

a granular compound sold in several sizes that is placed somewhere in the water flow to remove nitrates, and some phosphates, in an aerobic manner. Aerobically means that this product does so in the presence of oxygen. It is, therefore, much easier to use than the so-called "denitrators" that are available, and that work on the semi anaerobic principle (facultatively aerobic-anaerobic bacteria), with the addition of a carbon source (the nutrient).

X-nitrate is a natural compound, must be rinsed well before it is used, and cannot be regenerated once it has exhausted its absorption ability. It is no t a zeolite. For Hobbyists whose tanks contain high amounts of nitrate, for what ever reason, this product is a very welcome addition to the reef product array. You can, for instance, test for nitrates with the Route 4 Marine Technology low range nitrate test . This will give you a good indication as to when you should replace the product. Incidentally, that same company markets a full range of Reef water tests.

Nitrate-Phosphate Control :

Coralife also markets a product that removes nitrate and phosphate from the water. Again the compound must be placed in the water flow. As the water contacts the product, the latter removes nitrates and phosphates.

Low nitrates and low phosphates are important in reef aquariums, because their levels affect the appearance of the invertebrates that you keep, and also affect the amount and type of micro-algae that will grow in the aquarium. Levels that are too high make the tank look dull and not appealling at all.

- Conclusion :

We reviewed most of the additives that you should use on your reef aquarium. There are probably still others, and newer ones may have appeared by the time your read this book.

Refer to an authoritative source of information to keep yourself up-to-date on the latest developments in Reef Aquarium keeping, the most challenging part of the marine hobby, but also the one where water quality is the most important, in terms of the type of success that you can expect.

Moreover, because the Hobby is still so "young" in this country, a lot of misinformation is unfortunately circulated, not willingly, of course, but because many shops and hobbyists have little experience that can be backed up with notes, time, empyric evidence, etc.

There are several excellent magazines dedicated to the hobby. Some are more orientated to marine environments than others. We highly recommend Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, better known to some as FAMA, and, of course, there is our own newsletter : Marine Reef, that deals with nothing but reef aquarium technology and the animals that you can, or may already be, keeping in your tank.

It is now in its second year of publication, and all issues of the first year, numbered 1 through 17, are available in soft bound form. Call Aardvark Press for details if you are interested. Signed, numbered, hardbound editions are available as well.

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