For a long time, aquarists have wanted to keep jellyfish. In the past, it seemed like an impossible feat. Not because jellyfish are particularly sensitive to aquarium life, but because their jelly like (boneless) bodies have the terrible habit of getting stuck in circulation pumps, filter intakes, or overflow drains. A traditional reef aquarium is certainly no place for a jellyfish, and it’s only a matter of time until they are sucked up by filtration, or shredded to bits by a propeller pump. When I first stumbled upon Jellyfish Art, I sort of chuckled to myself, thinking that it was impossible jellyfish keeping would become popular, or even easy. I had watched several of my aquarium pals invest some serious dough in a “jellyfish aquarium” with no luck whatsoever, just a lot of wasted dollars and a few dead jellyfish. Suddenly though, a few aquarists I know were giving Jellyfish Art’s all-in-one jellyfish systems a shot, and they were reporting great results. Had this small crowd-funded start-up discovered the “art” of jellyfish keeping? What had changed, making something seemingly impossible to keep, suddenly possible in a small pico-environment? To find out for myself, I decided to give a Jellyfish Art system a try. Needless to say, I am pleasantly surprised, even thoroughly impressed with the results. Kreisel tanks:
Successful jellyfish keeping owes everything to the advent of kreisel tanks. Kreisel is a German word meaning “spinning” or “gyro-scope.” A kreisel tank is entirely round, and the filter overflow is a screen without any large openings. It only allows water and very small particles through, preventing jellyfish from making their way into a filtration chamber. In a kreisel tank, all filtration is separate from the main aquarium, and circulation is accomplished by a specialized piping return, which both creates a gentle gyre through the round tank and prevents jellyfish from getting entangled. Kreisel tanks create a non-stop circular gyre, which jellyfish can drift through much like they would in an oceanic current. They sort of work for jellyfish, like endless pools work for swimmers. These tanks were designed to raise jellyfish, or larval stage fish and seahorses. The Jellyflap Aquarium:
Jellyfish Art owes a lot to the kreisel design, and their $ 399 Jellyflap Aquarium is essentially a stylish kreisel tank. The tank is entirely round, with the back sticking out like half of a large basketball where filtration is located.… More:
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