CORAL Magazine March/April 2009
Say farewell to high-wattage, energy-sapping metal halides.
In a highly engaging event recently staged by CORAL and its partners, Tyler and Madeline Dawson of the Pet Advantage in Burlington, Vermont, several fascinating trends emerged.
Speaker Brian Edwards of Fins Reef and SERA noted the following shifts:
1] People are moving down from 400-watt (and 1,000-watt) metal halides to 250-watt bulbs on serious SPS systems. “You don’t necessarily need all that light to maintain the best colors, and people are becoming much more energy conscious.”
2] Overskimming is increasingly recognized as a contributor to loss of coral coloration in the aquarium. “Aquariums with big skimmers and highly aggressive skimming can lose color over time. The skimmers seem to be extracting too much. To compensate, the aquarist may need to supplement his or her system or back off on the skimming. This is not to say that skimming is bad, just that you need to match the skimmer to the system and watch your corals.”
3] Older marine aquariums are failing. “Aquariums are engineered for a lifetime of about 10 years. The UV in the tank can affect acrylic sealants and silicone has a limited lifespan. Think about how old your system is and if it might be time to upgrade to a new tank.”
A standing-room only crowd also got a glimpse of CORAL’s March/April issue and the breakthrough news of Matt Pedersen keeping and breeding the Orangespotted Filefish, Oxymonacanthus longirostris — an astounding feat for a home breeder using 24-gallon nano reefs. Must reading for serious reefkeepers.
