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Heating a 75 Gallon Aquarium
Marine aquarium systems need to be kept at the same temperature as freshwater ones, i.e. 24°C(75°F). But marine fish are far more intolerant of temperature fluctuations than freshwater fish, and so it is important to buy reliable heating equipment. For a centrally heated 'average' home environment buy a heater/thermostat with a rating that allows 10watts for every 4.5 liters(1 gallon) of water in the aquarium. In a colder environment, increase this allowance to 12 watts. Since even the best heater will fail eventually, and invariably when the local shop is closed,buy two half-size heaters for all except the smallest tanks, rather than buying one main heater and one spare. Then, if one heater fails, the other will cope until you replace it or, if one heater sticks in the on position, it will take far longer to raise the temperature to dangerous levels, and give you far more advanced warning. A word here about thermometers. Glass thermometers are available filled with spirit or mercury. Both sorts are inconvenient to read, and mercury ones are lethal if they break, while spirit models are usually unreliable. The stick-on digital thermometers are the best to choose for marine tanks as they are for freshwater ones. Although their reading is not too accurate, they will record temperature fluctuations fairly accurately. But it is a good idea to check their accuracy with a mercury thermometer briefly suspended in the tank. >Add warm water to the aquarium slowly so as not to disturb the decor you have already put in place and remember to allow margin for adding further items. Fitting a cover glass or plastic condensation tray prevents any fishes lumping out and cuts evaporation of water . On larger tanks you can fit more than one cover glass. How much salt ? Multiply the tank length,width and depth incontinent and divide the result by 1,000 to obtain the volume in liters. (Divide this number by4.55 for gallons.) If you are adding solid decorations,reduce this by 20% for displacement by multiplying the volume by0.8. To find the weight of salt to add, multiply the resulting number (in liters)by 0.35 and this will be the number of kilograms of salt needed. (Multiply this by 2.2 for the weight impounds.) Check the specific gravity of the water using a hydrometer when the aquarium is upland running and add water or salt as necessary.> What do 'specific gravity' and 'salinity' mean? Both terms reflect the saltiness of water. Basically, the more salt in the water - and here the word 'salt' refers to a mix of salts, in which sodium chloride dominates - the higher is its specific gravity and salinity. The two measurements are quite distinct,however, and are expressed indifferent units. Specific gravity This is the ratio of the density of ali quid compared to the density of distilled water, which is said to have specific gravity of one. In the marine aquarium, 'healthy' values hover around 1.020, and very small change sin specific gravity represent significant variations in salt concentration for the marine creatures in the tank. Salinity This is a measure of the salt concentration in water, and is expressed in grams/lit re. There is ac lose relationship between salinity and specific gravity, but it alters with temperature. At 24"C(75.F), for example, a specific gravity of 1.020 is equivalent to a salinity of 29.8 gm/litre.As the temperature rises, the salinity required to maintain a specific gravity of 1.020 also rises. This is why it vital to measure and stabilize the specific gravity of the water in your aquarium at the final operating temperature .Salinity varies slightly around the world. The Pacific near the Philippines,for example, has a salinity of 30-34gm/lit re, the Caribbean 35gm/lit re and the Mediterranean 36-38gm/lit re. This is a swing-needle type of hydrometer that clearly shows the specific gravity of your aquarium water. Simply place this device in the tank and tap it gently to dislodge any air bubbles on the needle. Make sure that you test the tank water at its recommended operating temperature. Ideally, aim for a reading of 1.020. The aquarium is beginning to look like a miniature portion of the tropical ocean. At this stage you can fit the protein skimmer, but do not start it, and run any power filters with biological media, not chemical.eave the system running for about24 hours. By the next day, the water should be clear, the temperature should have stabilized, and the specific gravity should be around1.020. Now you need to mature the system by adding a proprietary agent.If you have a friend with a marine tank, 'borrow' a cup of mature sand to hasten the process. The system will take between ten days and a month to mature. Measure the nitrite level regularly. At first there should be no reading, but as you add the maturation agent, the nitrite reading will steadily increase. After a week torso it will peak and remain high, and then one day it will fall to zero. Synthetic sea water It may be difficult to understand why natural sea water is inferior to artificial sea water. After all, it is obviously good enough for the fish that live in it. Let us assume that you live near the coast, and collecting sea water would not be expensive or inconvenient - big assumptions!Firstly, natural sea water is usually polluted, especially near the shore,so it would be necessary to collect it offshore. Secondly, natural seawater is full of 'life', including plankton, much of which would die in home environment, thus creating a pollution problem. It is also likely that a great deal of the life forms would he disease organisms, which would attack your tank's future inhabitants.
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