In my neck of the woods its been a glorious day, sun shining and warm. Work has been going on in the garden after I’d finished my aquarium maintenance (I start that job early so I don’t miss out on the good weather).

Later in the afternoon I walked by the aquarium and noticed that the heater controller (I have an external controller with probe controlling two heaters) indicator was not flashing at all. This didn’t cause any alarm as I assumed it was caused by the increased air temperature. A check was made though and this proved to be the case.

Now there are those aquarists who have mainly blue skies and warm - or hot - weather all the time. Then there are others like myself who have seasons, these being spring, summer, autumn and winter of course.

Those with continuous warm or hot weather could find it best to invest in a chiller (seawater cooler). Though these are not cheap, they are very worthwhile to protect the reef (or fish) from unwanted excessive temperature increases. The device should be sized to suit the aquarium, and the pump used should be in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, to ensure that the seawater has sufficient contact or cooling time. They are easy to set, the heaters (if any) are set to the design temperature and the chiller to 2 degrees F higher. Again, the manufacturer’s instructions should be followed.

For other aquarists such as myself the increase in temperature because of the season may be insufficient or over too short a period to justify the cost of a chiller. There are other ways to cool an aquarium.

I have a 12″ electric room fan on a small pedestal. The fan will oscillate if required but I keep it fixed. The fan is directed across the front glass of the aquarium so that the air flow runs along it. The flow of air is surprisingly cool. This air flow causes the aquarium to act like a radiator and it spills heat. Sometimes I leave it running all day, switching it off in the evening when I notice that the heater controller indicator has started to flash - that is, the seawater is cooling sufficiently to need heat.

Another way of cooling an aquarium, and it is more effective, is to blow air across the top of the seawater. This can be done with small 4″ to 6″ fans, one or more as required. The fans are fixed to the end panels of the aquarium. The potential problem with this is electricity: the fans must be stable and secure and there must be no way whatsoever for seawater to splash the fans or it could be dangerous.

A much better way is to use a room fan such as I do - 12″ or so - but buy one mounted on a taller adjustable pedestal. This means the fan can be adjusted to blow across the seawater surface but is safer as it is not near the seawater, but standing away from the aquarium.

Using fans to blow air across the seawater surface is a good cooling method, but does increase evaporation.

Any aquarist who uses a hood for the lighting system should consider the heat that could be getting into the aquarium. This applies to metal halide bulbs, and also to T5 fluorescent tubes. An array of T5’s can give off a surprising amount of heat. The output from the lighting can increase the seawater temperature on its own, but allied with warm air in the room the temperature could rise excessively.

It is not difficult to vent a lighting hood in most cases. The use of computer type fans can be of use. Need depends to an extent on the size of the hood and the number of bulbs or tubes in it. Some aquarists use two fans, one at each end. One is set to suck and one to blow, creating a continuous cooling flow of air which moves the heat out of the hood.

Another way is to put a fan (or more depending on need) in the upper surface of the hood. The fan is set to blow air out of the hood, that is upwards. Therefore air is drawn in from underneath, or vents in the ends, and the heat is blown up away from the seawater.

Of course, depending on the amount of heat being extracted from the hood, this could have an effect on the room air temperature. If the air temperature rises, it can increase the seawater temperature. In this case if air conditioning is in use then that will deal with the air temperature but will have an impact, probably not particularly significant, on the running cost. Or maybe an extractor fan can be used in the room. Or maybe just leaving a window or two open will be sufficient.

Whatever the aquarist decides, the usually simple operation will avoid the stress caused by temperature increase. A large enough increase can be a disaster.

(Note: electricity and seawater can be a lethal combination. Electricity on its own can be dangerous. If the aquarist is not totally confident in his/her knowledge and ability, then it is important to seek qualified advice.)

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A calcium reactor is a device which is used to provide much needed calcium as well as other elements dependant upon the media used. They work by slowly passing water through the media and recirculating it via a small pump. CO2 is slowly applied to the device to reduce the pH level in the device so that the media slowly dissolves. When the media dissolved calcium is released which is slowly passed into the aquarium system.

But how do you know if and when you will actually need one?

Well realistically it depends upon what you are keeping? If you are keeping a lot of hard corals then quite probably before long you will need to add one. If you dont keep hard corals then you may be able to control your calcium levels by water changes, additives, kalkwasser etc.

The best thing to do is actually test your water. If you find that you cannot maintain your calcium levels by performing water changes then perhaps you should try additives. If you find that you are having to spend a lot of money on additives then the next logical step would be either try kalkwasser or go straight for a calcium reactor.

If you decide to purchase a calcium reactor then there are loads available on the market plus there are quite a few desigs available now for those DIY enthusiasts.

There are some people who purchase a calcium reactor at the very start just because they believe that they need one.

I don’t agree with this as the only way to tell if you actually need on is either by your test kits or by the amount of money you are spending on other methods. If you are spending hundreds over the year then to be honest it is time to invest in a calcium reactor.

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This is a question I was asked the other day by a colleague of mine who is considering starting a soft coral aquarium and is currently in the planning and research stage.

I have been helping him out as much as I can and offering advice as and when required. I could go and just tell him everything he needs but I feel that it is better for someone to learn the various aspects themselves rather than be told what to do. I have guided him a few times when he went off track though!

Anyway the aquarium he is thinking about is a L shaped aquarium which he is thinking of putting in his cinema room.

Being an L shaped aquarium this is going to bring about it’s own challenges two of which I belive are going to be water movement and lighting. He has already decided upon T5 lighting and I have guided him into researching closed loops. He was originally going to use power heads which although I am not a great fan of them I did not want to push this onto him. I was talking to him about closed loop circulation and the benefits it provides and he seemed quite interested in it. Time will tell what he chooses.

Another aspect with is being L shaped is the sump. He was thinking about having a custom L shaped sump built at the same time as the display aquarium but once he got the cost he quickly changed his mind. One of the questions he asked me was if the sump has to be an aquarium.

Well no it doesn’t. You can use anything for the sump as long as it is classed a food grade. What this means is that it is safe for food to be stored in. A food grade container will not leech anything out into the saltwater as this would be detrimental to the water quality if not eventually lethal to the livestock.

I helped him design his sump and he is looking at two sumps - whether he chooses to use aquariums or not we will have to wait and see. One of the sumps is going to house the equipment as well as a deep sand bed, the other which will be connected via tank connectors is going to be a refugium. The overflows have been designed to flow down from four areas of the display aquarium and the plumbing designed to that it feeds multiple areas. One goes to the skimmer section and the other three using tees flow to the refugium and the deep sand bed. The water from the protein skimmer exits into the deep sand bed area. The beneift of this is that the deep sand bed area received dirty, unskimmed water as well as water which has been skimmed.

Effectively what he is planning to have in sump number one is a protein skimmer section, a deep sand bed section and a return pump/heater section. The other sump will house purely the refugium.

In the display aquarium as said he is planning on keeping soft corals and some fish. His children really want to keep shrimps, crabs, starfish etc so I am sure that some of these will soon appear when the tank is up and running.

As said he is still in the planning/research stage so I have no idea how long it will be until he is ready to purchase everything and start putting it all together. I am positive that I will get lots of questions and I am happy to help.

I will have to choose some corals that I can propagate from my aquarium to pass on to him when he is ready.

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A captive reef system is great to build, all the way from choosing the aquarium to actually building the reef. Different ways can be tried to see which is the most pleasing with practicality in mind, and eventually it is done.

Fish are introduced over a period, also corals. All things being equal, the new reef is really something.

It needs to develop of course. The corals will grow and if live rock has been used different organisms could well appear. Sometimes something new appears after months.

The reef needs to be allowed to grow. I’m an advocate of ‘maintain and watch.’ When set up it will need adjustments to rocks, also corals that might be happier re-positioned where there is more or less light and current.

Adjustments from time to time are fine, everyone does it.

What the living captive reef needs is stability of the seawater parameters, lighting quality and time. Seawater parameters are easy, routine checks confirm the situation. Lighting just needs a little maintenance and a change of bulbs and/or tubes at the correct moment. Then there’s time? It is the chance to settle and develop without disturbance.

On the wild reef, barring occurrences such as storms, there isn’t any interference.

My soft coral system has been running for 5¾ years. I do regular maintenance once weekly, so hands are in the tank then. I also have to cut corals from time to time because of overgrowth and crowding. Apart from that, the reef is left alone, though of course it is monitored. Closely looking at the reef rocks it can be seen that they are covered in marine growths. On the surface is quite a lot of coralline, though to be truthful there isn’t much rock surface to be seen. In addition are many, many short hard growths that look like sticks, about 1″ long and 1/8″ in diameter. I thought they may be tubeworms, or some other kind of worm, but despite close observation I haven’t seen any evidence of this. I’ve tried reference books to no avail. I’m not too bothered as they are clearly not malignant.

When viewed at night the underside of the rocks have a fair number of tiny tubeworms. Tubeworms they are, as the feathery heads can be seen, not the big showy ones but about ½ ” or less. They are in my canister filter as well, but not very many. I find more tiny shrimps in the canister.

There is a worm that lives in a tube at the top of the reef on the light-side of the rock. It wasn’t there when the tank started and has not been put in later by me. It appeared (or at least was noticed) when the system was a year old - a tiny tube, but bigger than the others mentioned. The tube is now about 2″ long and around 3/8″ in diameter. It is definitely a worm as it can be seen at the mouth of the tube. To catch food it trails a length of a very thin sticky substance and when it has some, it reels the line in. So that’s what it is named - ’fisher worm.’ The food caught is that which is targeted at the fish, frozen and flake. It eats both except for bits that the flame angel steals from the line. It must be a very healthy and happy worm!

What makes me really pleased is I didn’t use any live rock in the tank at all when the reef was built, it was all inert marine safe stuff, very light and very porous. The import of corals with rocks attached introduced organisms which spread and colonised the reef. This did take a long while though, it would have been quicker (but more expensive) to have incorporated a percentage of live rock.

Anyway, as the rock is now live the sulphur denitrator has been turned off and the rock bacteria are coping. There has never been a nitrate reading. The anti-phosphate filter continues to run.

I leave the reef alone and let it do its thing. Occasionally I wonder about a different skimmer but then I ask why? - all is well, leave it alone.

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Live rock as has been said time and time again is a phenomenal filtration medium. There are various different types of live rock available all of which provide the required filtration to the aquarium if enough is placed into the aquarium.

There is one in particular however that in my opinion is more decorative and ’standard’ live rock.

Tonga rock

Tonga rock is different to other types of live rock due to the reason that it looks like branches of a tree. It can be an extremely decorative addition to a saltwater aquarium. Due to tonga rock being thinner and not boulder shaped like the majority of other live rock with the obvious exception of plating rock you have the ability to be able to create fantastic water movement around it.

In my opinion tonga rock is fantastic for SPS corals as you can provide a large amount of water movement and if carefully aquascaped can look amazing. This is not to say that you could not have a fish only aquarium or a soft coral aquarium with tonga rock as you would be able to. You would just have to bear in mind that you will need to create caves etc for the fish to hide in as well as creating ledges to place the soft corals on.

But what about the filtration - is tonga rock as good as other live rock.

Tonga rock does have good filtration capabilities however they are not as good as other live rock. This is mainly due to the size of the physical rock. To purchase enough tonga rock to faciliate the filtration requirement would make it very hard to aquascape.

So what do you do?

In my opinion it is quite simple. I personally would use the tonga rock for decorative purposes and then have an in tank deep sand bed as well. The deep sand bed would be the main aspect of the filtration but the tonga rock would do some as well albeit reduced. You do not need to have the deep sand bed in the display aquarium it could be in the sump in the cabinet. You would just need to make sure that the partiton designed for the deep sand bed was large enough.

One of my dream aquariums (we all have them don’t we) is to have a 3 foot cube tank (3*3*3). In this aquarium a deep sand bed would be placed and tonga rock used for decorative purposes as well as some plating rock to provide some hiding places/ledges. Lighting would be provided by metal halides, the water movement would be chaotic and my corals of choice would be SPS with a small amount of fish.

We can but dream can’t we?

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I’m retired and have been for seven years, from the age of 60. It’s quite probable that when I was at work they would have said I’d retired before that! I had the good fortune to be more or less my own boss, though I was employed, and I can clearly remember getting to a point months before retirement and thinking ‘why am I still working - relax.’

In the morning when my wife gets up she is well aware of my ability to feign sleep, suddenly waking up when the noise of a coffee cup rattles near my ear. I also manage to check out of one eye on occasion to see if it is a nice day or not, and also to check if I need to keep my eyes shut as my wife is still present!

If the day is a good one - that is, not pouring down with rain or freezing everyone solid - and particularly if the sun is out in a blue sky, I’m up with a fair amount of speed. If it is not so then the temptation to listen to the radio or read is strong.

My aquarium is in the hall, located just outside the bedroom. Even with my eyes shut, my ears are accustomed to check the hum from the equipment - it tells me if all is hopefully well, with the equipment anyway. I don’t absolutely rely on this of course, and do physical checks as well from time to time.

I’m not a lazy bones, honest, but there is one occasion when I sometimes have trouble. It doesn’t happen in the miserable winter when all is grey, though on occasion it might. It happens in the spring, summer and autumn, spring and summer being the worst.

I maintain my aquarium on a Sunday morning. This is ‘the day.’ One week it is what I call a full clean, when everything is checked, major items are cleaned and a seawater change done. The next week it is a short clean, when the glass is cleared of any algae, and the protein skimmer is cleaned (the skimmer is actually cleaned twice weekly).

So it is a lovely day. I have opened my eyes as coffee is about. Up I get having spotted the blue sky and I take the coffee into the garden. Everything is so fresh, and the warmth is very inviting. If is a short clean day then not so bad, cleaning algae off the glass and checking the skimmer takes very little time. I have to make myself get on with it though, and avoid thinking it won’t take very long so I can stay out longer.

It is the full clean day when the weather is wonderful. Why is it that everything is so extra inviting outside on that particular day? It always seems that way, and before long I get tempting thoughts such as missing one won’t hurt, maybe do it this evening, perhaps the weather will worsen later on in the day and the like.

So I do the clean, I go to it and carry out all tasks methodically without break. It helps that if the day is nice my ability to ’stay asleep’ is abandoned (much to my wife’s amusement) and I am up much earlier than I would normally be, perhaps two hours or so, around 7 am. The clean takes about two hours, particularly if I have to deal with some of those irritating aiptasia anemones - which I usually do need to (anyone got a sure fire way of getting rid of them once and for all?). So anyway, I don’t miss out on a good sunny day.

My wife usually stays in bed on these occasions and gets a long read in peace, with coffee delivered. Well, to be honest, coffee is delivered to her on more occasions than that.

So what’s the point then? I don’t know. Maybe I’m showing off my ability to feign sleep (not very successfully my wife would say).

Actually I’m just showing the ability of my 67 year old brain - it can work out that if I get out of bed earlier and get on with it then I won’t miss out on anything - and to check the weather forecast the night before.

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New tank syndrome is well documented, in fact there is an article on it on this website (http://www.aquaristsonline.com/articles). It is where the aquarist has been impatient and has added livestock either in too much quantity in the first place, or has added livestock in ones or twos but has left insufficient time between additions. In other words, the bio-filtration has been unable to cope as it has not had the time to adjust to the bigger load. This problem doesn’t happen so much nowadays possibly because of better education, the widespread use of live rock, and highly efficient protein skimmers.

Old tank syndrome is a totally different kettle of fish (so to speak!). The aquarium could have been running for years, so the bio-filtration will be well matured and fully geared up to the load it needs to handle. The equipment has been in use for a long time and has never given trouble. The aquarist has noticed that it just doesn’t look as good as it used to.

Often the aquarist cannot fathom out why this should be, and this is understandable. Routine seawater changes and general maintenance are done. The livestock is fed as usual and looks healthy enough.

The problem could well be with the aquarist him/herself. When the aquarium first started all was excitement, it was new, there was something happening all the time. It could have been the bio-filtration maturing, the addition of the first fish and then ongoing fish, the corals going in and settling and all the rest. Watching a captive reef settle and develop is terrific.

There lies one possible reason. There comes a point when the system is fully stocked and the aquarist, who has done the proper research, knows that to increase stock would be incorrect. The corals have grown over a period and been successful, so there isn’t a need for anything else to be added. It has been like this for a long time.

So the aquarist does maintenance week in, week out. Doesn’t complain of course, as maintenance is a responsibility, don’t do the maintenance - give up the hobby. There is pleasure generally in seeing the reef, but something is missing, and that’s the excitement and sparkle of it.

Taking things further, the success of the system can actually be a factor in old tank syndrome. Corals have grown, and done so sufficiently to alter the seawater flow patterns in the display aquarium. Consequently, some corals do not have sufficient flow and are showing the result of it. If the system uses piped seawater flow, such as from canister filters, a return pump in the sump and the like, the pipe internal diameter may have been reduced by deposits. This in turn reduces the amount of seawater that is being moved. There are consequences.

Though general maintenance is done, is the aquarist as punctual with new lights as before? Or what about activated carbon changes? Or what about cleaning the decorative sand bed? Or what about feeding the deep sand bed (DSB) (if it needs it)? Or what about regular cleaning of the protein skimmer? The list can be extended.

So old tank syndrome is not a danger of some disease or other malady possibly appearing after x number of years. It is a reduction in attention from the aquarist because the aquarium has become ‘just there’ rather than exciting.

There’s no need. A little bit of attention, such as some checks into possibly required cleaning and some careful cutting (“fragging”) of corals and the like should return the aquarium to its previous glory. When the aquarium perks up, so should the aquarist.

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With my day job I have the requirement to travel from time to time.

The past week or so has been one of those occasions. I knew that I was going to be travelling but I did not know at the time exactly how long I would be travelling for. Before I left I made sure that all the maintenance was done on my aquarium, the cleaning was done and the fish were well fed. I then left my wife explicit instructions (again and again I hasten to add) on how to feed the fish - how much, how often etc.

Whilst away I have had limited access in my personal time to the internet so have been watching the site, doing a few things etc but I have not been able to post anything to the site. The trouble is that I have been working on a new area to the site for the past 4 weeks or so and had hoped that it would be live by now but it is a couple of weeks off yet. I will post more about this nearer the time - hopefully it will be of benefit to all our readers.

That was just over a week ago and I am now home. I hate travelling with work and it is always a great pleasure to return and see my family again - as well as my reef tank.

After I returned and settled in, unpacked etc I went to check on the aquarium. Becky and Joshua had been feeding the fish and they looked well fed. The glass however was covered in a thin film of algae. This was to be expected as I normally clean it 2 - 3 times a week.

No problem I thought - a quick clean with the magnet cleaner and it will be gone. Off I went giving it a clean and although some came off there was pieces which were stuck fast. So out came the algae scraper and off I went.

That was just under two hours ago!

My arm is hurting, my fingers are all wrinkly and well I;m just tired now!

The aquarium now does look lovely and clean. All the glass is sparkling, all corraline and other algae removed from the front glass and it is back to it’s former glory but I just wish now that I had asked Becky to clean the glass with the magnet whilst I was away.

Becky is always worried about looking after the tank whilst I am away. I don’t know why but I presume that she is just worried in case something happens or she does something wrong etc. Things happen, I know that - we all know that. I remember as a child looking after my fathers aquarium whilst he was on holiday and two of the fish died. I was absolutely positive that it was something I had done. I even went to the shop and purchased him some store credit so that he could replace them when he returned. Store vouchers which he revoked when he came back as he knew, as I know now that I had not done anything wrong.

I truly wish that I did not have to travel with my job as I enjoy being at home with my family and do not like being away but the job requires it and without it we would not have all the things we have so I have to put up with it.

Oh well next Monday I get to go away again for a week - this time not with work though, this time it is a short break with the family. Think I will get my Dad to clean the glass as well as feeding the fish whilst I am away.

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It can take quite a while getting a reef system together. There are quite a few decisions that need to be made.

The first and obvious one is the aquarium. What size is it going to be, the biggest that will fit or a smaller one that will be cheaper to run but just as interesting? Then, once that is sorted out, will there be a sump or not? When the basic seawater containers are there, the equipment needs to be obtained. Heaters, protein skimmer, maybe a calcium reactor, a lighting system etc. Plus test kits and of course dry sea salt (unless clean natural seawater is available). As time progresses, new aquarists can get impatient. The wallet tends to get thinner too!

The whole of the construction of a marine system is exciting, but not so much as when thoughts of the reef itself arise. All equipment ready, aquarium in position. Let’s go!

There are still decisions to be made and the attacks on the wallet are not over yet. Will the reef be entirely made out of live rock, or will ordinary rock be used? It goes without saying that live rock is the one of choice, but it is expensive and to be effective there must be enough of it and at a high enough quality.

Perhaps a compromise can be reached. Use ordinary rock on the base and live rock to surface the reef. If the ordinary base rock is of the porous variety it will become live. This does take time though.

A point to watch when mixing live and ordinary rock is to be sure there is still enough live rock to be effective. If not supplementary bio-filtration could be needed, at least temporarily.

The rock can be mixed live to ordinary in any ratio, but obviously the more live rock that can be used the better.

Another possibility is to use all live rock, but save on cost by buying live base rock for underneath and premium rock for the surface. Base live rock is pretty boring looking stuff but still harbours the bacteria for bio-filtration. Premium rock carries the bacteria but in addition a potential diverse range of reef life, and it is much better looking.

Another way is to build a support structure from plastic ‘egg-crate.’ This means that there will not be a requirement for any base rock, therefore if live rock is to be used only the premium grade needs to be purchased. It has the advantage of increasing the seawater gallonage as displacement by rocks has been reduced. There is reduced opportunity to build in caves of course as the rock quantity is reduced, and obviously creative design is reduced as the rock formation follows the ‘egg-crate‘ foundation. It can still look very attractive however. Again, care must be taken that there is sufficient live rock for effective bio-filtration.

Anyway, whatever the aquarist has decided, excitement has increased as reef building is here.

If live rock is to be used it is obvious that it needs to be placed in seawater. If it is ordinary rock this doesn’t matter, it can be built dry. In the latter case, when the aquarium is filled with seawater time needs to be given for air bubbles to clear. This doesn’t take long, a few days. The ordinary rock can of course be placed into seawater in the first place.

Now, what is the reef going to look like? No matter how small or large the aquarium there are design choices. There are things to remember though.

Corals, hard or soft, are going to be placed on the reef. They will grow, so the rock structure does not want to be too close to the surface. Fish will no doubt be added and to feel secure they need holes and crevices to hide and sleep in. It is quite easy to incorporate a small cave or two within the rockwork. The different shapes of the rocks help to create holes and crevices.

Very important is the need for good seawater flow within the rock structure, so the reef shouldn’t be built too tightly. It does need to be stable.

Very small aquariums are more restricted in reef shape, they could be restricted to two or three pieces of live rock. These can be put together in more than one way though, and as there isn’t much of it the very best and good looking live rock can be used.

Larger aquariums can allow more imaginative reefs. They don’t have to be a straight run of rocks from one side of the aquarium to the other. That type of design has been likened to a display in a vegetable shop. It must be remembered that it is personal preference that is the rule in design, and if the aquarist wants a run of rocks so be it.

There are other ways though. Perhaps the reef could start high on, say, the left and gradually slope down leaving a good space at the front and on the right for a decorative sand bed. Or perhaps there could be one big pinnacle in the middle (not the exact middle, a little offset one way or the other), with decorative sand all round, and a few live rock pieces placed randomly. If the aquarium is big enough, how about two pinnacles, not geometrically set but one close to say the left and the other offset to the right of the middle. Then comes the sand and the singly placed live rock pieces.

The choice of design is up to the aquarist and his/her imagination. Just remember that corals are going to be placed on the reef so this needs to be considered when building.

Looking at ’featured aquariums’ on different internet sites, the imaginative design of reefs can be seen. With the careful addition of corals the display can be stunning. No matter if the corals are going to be hard or soft types, if they are carefully chosen for colour, shape and consideration is given to potential size, the captive reef that has been built can be individual and very beautiful.

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This exercise is very similar to moving an aquarium from house to house, but escapes some of the disruption and the need for transport. This leads to another plus in that virtually anything that is strong enough and seawater safe could be used as a temporary holding vessel. If transport were required the containers would need to be able to stand the rigours of the road.

Obviously the first thing required is the new aquarium, and a sump if one is to be used. The aquarist should have decided if the new system is going where the old one was or if there is somewhere suitable elsewhere for it is to be positioned. If the second is the case then procedures are a little easier. Normally, however, the new aquarium is to go where the old aquarium is.

Be sure that the floor is strong enough to support the increased weight of the new aquarium if it is bigger. Any doubt, get qualified advice.

A full check should be made that all necessary upgrades of equipment are available. If the new system is of a similar size to the previous one perhaps upgrades of the equipment will not be required. If the new system is substantially bigger than the old one a check of the protein skimmer should be made to ensure its capacity is suitable. Likewise calcium reactors and other equipment. The bottom line is that the new system should be complete, the realisation that equipment should have been upgraded during the transfer is not disastrous but could have been avoided.

The old aquarium cannot be moved with seawater, rocks and sand. Seawater safe containers are required to hold these temporarily. They cannot be placed in the new aquarium until it is in position. The containers can basically be anything. The capacity required can be generally judged from the net gallonage of the old system.

Have a supply of cloths standing by to mop up the inevitable drips or spills.

It is a good idea before the move - a day or two before - to draw a basic diagram of how the reef looks with its corals. This will assist in the placement of the rocks/corals in the new system.

Talking of rocks, it could be that further live rock or rock is required for the larger aquarium to increase the size of the reef. Or maybe the aquarist is to redesign the reef, or leave it as it is to increase swimming space. If further rock is required, arrange to collect it as early as possible on the day of the move or as near to the move as possible.

Obviously, the net gallonage of the new aquarium is going to be more than the old one if it is larger. If more rock is to go in this will offset it somewhat. Take the gallonage of the old system away from the gallonage of the new system and prepare new seawater to the normal specific gravity and temperature in advance.

It is a good idea to talk to a friend (or more depending on the size of the aquariums) so that physical assistance is available for lifting. Don’t forget to have a few beers on hand!

Right then, the day has arrived and all is ready. The first thing is to move the old aquarium. The night before the light control should have been set so that the lighting does not activate on the day of the move. The first action is to turn off the heaters and protein skimmer etc.

This is going to be a stressful time for the fish (and corals), and so even though the desire is just to speedily get on with it, try and be as gentle as possible.

Take as much seawater out as possible without over exposing corals and put it into the waiting containers- the containers should be half filled. Take the top layer of rocks out and place them into the containers, displacement will raise the seawater level. Continue doing this until the rocks are out. Beware of damaging corals.

If there is a sump, then this can be emptied, moved and then used as a container.

Once the old system is down to seawater in the bottom, the question of the fish arises. It is best to have a container empty of rock but fairly full of seawater that has been removed from the old aquarium. Now the fish can be caught - they will try their best not to be and it may be that two nets will shorten the process, or they can, one at a time, be chased into a container. As already said, try to avoid over stress, but stress itself will not be avoided. Gently release the fish into the container. Hopefully, the delay in transferring them back will be short. If there is any doubt about their welfare, put in an airstone and a small heater (hang the heater up away from the bottom as the stressed fish will try to hide behind it - it is the only object available to them).

The old aquarium is now ready for moving. If there is seawater left in it, remove and save as much as possible but avoid any detritus that is present.

Your friend or friends can now bring their muscles into action. Move the old aquarium to its pre-designated place. If the stand is to move, now is the time.

While the area is clear, any dust etc that could not be reached can be cleared.

Again with friendly help, the new stand can be put in place. Check with a spirit level that all is well front to back and end to end. All should be well if it was with the old aquarium. Ensure that it is exactly where it should be and that there is access to the electricity supply.

The new aquarium can now be put into place. Make sure it is properly supported under the base plate.

If a sump is to be used, then it can be placed into position. Connect the seawater down-feed and, if it is required, silicone the joints. Silicone takes 24 hours to cure so when the tank is filled do not allow the seawater to reach this overflow.

Once the sump is in place, if silicone has been used place the switched off heaters temporarily in the display aquarium. Fix in position circulators such as powerheads.

Now put seawater into the display tank, if there are containers with seawater in but without rocks and fish use this first. Try to use the old seawater first as far as possible, not the new mix. When the seawater has risen high enough to take the first rocks, place these in. Then take more seawater, then more rocks. As before, be careful with the corals. Eventually, all the rocks will be in and covered in seawater.

When putting the rocks in attempt to be reasonably accurate, but do not delay too much as some adjustments can be made later. At this point, reasonable speed is important.

Once the seawater is high enough, and there isn’t any danger of falling rocks, turn on the heater(s) if they have been put temporarily in the display aquarium. Once the circulators are covered sufficiently, turn them on.

Using remaining seawater, including the new mix if necessary, bring the level up. If silicone has been used, do not cover this up. If silicone was not used, bring the level fully up- if a sump has been fitted this will now start to fill from the overflow. The heater(s) can be turned on if they were placed in the sump as long as they are well covered with seawater. Once the sump is full, turn on the return pump. Check for levels once it has been running a little while.

The fish can now be gently transferred from their holding container to the new aquarium. If seawater has been used from their container it will not cause problems to them, as long as they have sufficient remaining. Remember to turn off the small heater and air stone if used. The heater should be allowed to cool in seawater before removal.

The system is now heated, has filtration and is stocked. Now is the time for that beer!

If it is not late, clearing up can be done. In any event, if the old aquarium needs to be moved again get the friendly muscle to assist while there.

All is not yet done of course. If silicone was used on the pipe work to the sump, once it is dry (after 24 hours it should not be sticky or give off a smell) the seawater can be brought up to the proper level. Once there, the return pump can be turned on. Final level adjustments may need to be made. In addition, the heater(s) that were placed temporarily in the main aquarium can be transferred to the sump. Make sure they are switched off and allowed to cool in seawater before they are moved.

The protein skimmer can now be put in place and turned on, as can any other equipment.

The lights can be positioned and connected, but it is a good idea to let the fish settle a little before turning them on. A full day is a decent period (the corals will not suffer).

Check for leaks, these are unlikely. Check the proper functioning of equipment. Make sure the seawater temperature is correct.

When the lighting is activated, adjustments to the reef structure can be made. Do this carefully, as the fish are de-stressing and there isn’t a desire to stress them again.

Account for the fish - are they all there? They need time to feel secure, this will be after they have explored and got used to their new home. There may be some bickering over the new housing arrangements.

Try some food, but feed like a miser to start. Make sure food does not get left to rot.

It’s done! Keep an eye on the fish for any problems following the stress they have endured over a period of a week or two. Aquarists should routinely keep an eye on them anyway.

All that’s left is to watch the new reef develop. If the friends left any beer, get one out and just enjoy.

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