The algae is then harvested regularly to remove the nutrients that they assimilate to grow. This method also will remove heavy metals and trace elements so additives, to replace trace elements, may be needed. Back to Top Choosing the Inhabitants Choosing corals, invertebrates, and fish for the aquarium is the fun part of reef keeping. The best advice is to make sure the animals you are buying are compatible. For instance, the reef is not a good place for many butterfly fish since they may dine on your corals.
Many triggers find crustaceans a handy mid-afternoon snack.
Another example is a higher nutrient reef with more leather corals, which is common in areas where rivers flow into the ocean, as compared to a low nutrient reef with more hard coral species that tolerate low nutrient conditions. Back to Top Maintenance, Care, Feeding There has been a lot written about maintenance in a reef tank. Of course the different filtration methods require slightly different maintenance but in general there are certain guidelines which can be followed for any reef. I am going to break the maintenance into daily, weekly, monthly and yearly tasks as I have seen done in many other texts. Notice any leaks or other obvious problems with the aquarium or the plumbing.