There’s an old saying that only bad things happen quickly in a marine aquarium. That’s certainly true enough, but it’s also important to keep in mind that some problems that can affect the health and wellbeing of livestock tend to develop very gradually and almost imperceptibly over time. Here’s a quick (but by no means exhaustive) list of some of the sneaky marine aquarium problems that we must be vigilant against: 1) Downward drift in pH Maintaining a stable pH in the desired range of 8.2 to 8.4 demands careful monitoring, conscientious livestock husbandry, and diligent maintenance. Neglect in any of these areas can cause your pH to drift off course, and the trend is usually (though not always) downward as a result of the natural biological processes going on in the tank. In addition to regular water testing, your best hedges against drifting pH are: Performing regular partial water changes Maintaining an appropriate alkalinity level (between 8 and 12 dKH) Providing turbulent water movement at the surface to drive off carbon dioxide Avoiding overstocking and overfeeding 2) Loss of light intensity The gradual loss of intensity in aging aquarium lamps isn’t necessarily a big deal for fish-only and FOWLR tanks, but it can lead to significant problems in a reef system. Not only will the inadequate light level stress your photosynthetic invertebrates, but if you’re not careful, they can also be shocked a second time by the sudden increase in light intensity when you finally replace the lamps. Don’t assume you’ll notice the difference in the output of your aquarium lighting because you won’t until it has grossly decreased. It’s best to replace your bulbs/tubes regularly according to the schedule recommended by the manufacturer.
The post 4 Marine Aquarium Problems That Sneak up on You appeared first on reefs.com.