Category:Tank Types

Setting up, stocking and maintaining a reef system is more than a hobby, it is a science and an art. We use basic principles of environmental science and supplement it with technology to replicate an environment. Then use our artisitic abilities to shape it looks in where equipment and livestock is placed. We can target specific environments to be modelled by the system, but the decision on the type of system it will should be made very early in the process. Reason for this is the type of system has a major impact on the type of equipment and methodologies used.

Below is a list of the different type of tanks (this list is not exhaustive and some groups can "bleed" into others) that a hobbyist may decide to set up.

A temperate reef tank replicates an environment from the cooler than tropical climates, the southern states of Australia. A temperate system typically will have few or no corals, some invertebrates such as ascidians (sea squirts) and sponges, and of course fish. It may target a particular species or be based on the collection of species from a particular area. Many seahorse tanks are set up this way with temperatures kept below that of a tropical tank. Due to the temperate temperatures required, special attention is required to cooling of the system.

Biotopes are efforts to replicate a particular, specific environment within the captive aquarium. It can vary greatly, from temperate to tropical, lagoon to reef slope, bommie to even mangrove, or whatever your target area requires.

For those of us that can't resist a bit of everything, inclusive of Scleractinia corals. It is more like a garden type of approach to keeping a marine aquarium, simply keeping the various organisms that are found to be attractive or desirable. This is what the majority of reef tanks tend to be.

The main focus of this type of system is of course fish, with liverock used to construct a reef structure and biological filtration. This allows fish that are not compatible with corals and other invertebrates to be maintained in the system.

A fish only (FO) is the same as a FOWLR, but with no or very little live rock and an external system of some type for filtration is utilised. This is typically a trickle filter or canister filter.

System set up around the predatory species of fish, eels, sharks etc. that couldn't be kept with 'prey' species. These are typically high nutrient systems that don't make inclusion of corals easy without specialised filtration.

A nano reef is the name generally given to reef tanks smaller than 75 litres or 20 gallons. Like many things in the hobby, this is not a hard and fast rule. The only real difference between a nano reef and a normal reef tank is the size, the same equipment is required, every thing is just on a smaller scale. This does not however mean keeping or owning a nano tank is actually cheaper than a larger reef.

A specialist tank which focuses on corals that are lacking zooxanthellae (Azooxanthella) or those which gain their main requirements for sustenance from sources other than light, primarily feeding on plankton, detritus and bacteria. Heavy feeding of phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria and pulverised foods, often continuously, is citied as critical to success.

• Micro-Ecosystems by Jay Hemdal - Reefkeeping Magazine