The importance of lighting your reef aquarium - Red Sea
The entire reef ecosystem depends on light. Why? Because light drives photosynthesis.
The entire reef ecosystem depends on light. Why? Because light drives photosynthesis.
Algae, the most tenacious adversary with which the contemporary water garden enthusiast must cope, is actually a symptom of a more complex problem. Instead of being equipped with a clear-cut and direct approach for the control of algae, the pond hobbyist is, at best, often in the dark regarding the causes of algae growth and how to deal with the associated problems.
Sunlight arrives at the top of the earth's atmosphere at a power level of about one kilowatt per square meter. It is by this energy that all life-processes on earth are ultimately driven. Without the sun's constant energy input our planet would quickly radiate away its own energy in short order, making all life extinct.
In the early 1940s, our knowledge of the effects of light on reptiles and amphibians was very limited. It wasn’t until 1944 that we learned of the amazing ability of reptiles to maintain relatively stable body temperatures through thermoregulation. This was the result of a groundbreaking study by herpetologists Raymond Cowles and Charles Bogert, who coined the terms “ectotherm” and “endotherm.” Their landmark study inspired numerous research projects on the effects of light and heat on reptiles. Since then, our knowledge of reptile lighting has increased tremendously. We now know that many reptiles and amphibians can see things illuminated by ultraviolet-A, and that they can make vitamin D in their skin upon exposure to ultraviolet-B.
When it comes to capturing a little bit of nature in our homes, we aquarium keepers have managed to pick the most difficult environment to reproduce. The difficulty arises from the numerous chemical parameters that must be controlled.
Ammonia is the primary waste byproduct of protein metabolism in fish and it rapidly attains toxic concentrations in the confines of an aquarium. It exists as a mixture of free ammonia (NH3) and ionized ammonia (NH4+) in equilibrium. This does not mean that they are present in equal proportion, but that they are converted from one to the other at an equal rate.
Filtration is fundamental to maintaining a healthy aquarium environment and, unfortunately, it is an aspect of the hobby that is, at best, poorly understood and, at worse, fraught with unmitigated nonsense. Filtration is the removal, or separation, of one or more substances from one or more other substances There are three basic types of filtration that apply to the aquarium: mechanical, biological, and chemical.
At Seachem, we get many questions from hobbyists, not all directly related to our product line. We do our best to be helpful and answer questions without bias. We do not, however, follow the crowd, so that sometimes our views may seem contrarian. Here are some of the issues that come up repeatedly.