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The Reef Aquarium Set-Up and Coral Livestock That Can Inhabit Your Reef

on Jan 25 in coral aquariums tagged anemones, coral species, inverterbrate coral, large polyp stony corals, mushroom corals, reef aquarium set up, reef cycle, reef livestock, small, soft corals, stony corals by Aaron

By Aaron Ediger, Main Contributing Author to Coral Reefing

THE REEF AQUARIUM SETUP

The first thing to consider is system size. This is measured in gallons. I used the term system rather than tank because the display is not the only piece of equipment holding water. HOB (hang on back) filters, refugium, sumps, canister filters all hold water. Rock and substrate in the tank also take up volume. The total two gallons is an easy equation and you don’t need it just yet. What you do need to know is with size comes stability.

For example; it will take more antifreeze to kill a big dog than a little dog. Why? Body mass, or size.

A dying anemone can toxify a small tank and kill everything in it, but in a large system the death and decay process will not affect the other organisms (unless there is direct interaction).

AQUARIUM REEF LIVESTOCK

Most of us know about the circle of life, it was made famous by a certain animated movie and Elton John made us all want to sing about it. So what does this mean to your reef? In said movie, they say when you die your body is returned to the earth and you make the grass grow and then animals eat the grass. There couldn’t be a better analogy for what is happening in your aquarium reef system. Death, organic decomposition, and nutrient redistribution are an essential element of a successful reef system. This referred to by aquarists as the reef "CYCLE".

Coral Species You Can Grow

Coral are all invertebrates, belonging to one of the most diverse groups of animals on the planet. In the hobby there are 4 commonly referred to groups of coral, and coral relatives all classified in the cnideria phylum. First here is the technical stuff.

Soft Corals- This group contains no internal calcified skeletal structure, (Ahermatypic). These corals are classified in the Alcyonacea order. Zoanthids, Xenia, nepthea, and Anthellia are all examples of this group.

Large polyp stony corals- This group calcifies a skeleton and are the primary reef builders (Hermatypic), most are classified in the Scleractinia order. This group is comprised of aggressive and potentially dangerous animals. The polyp has feeding tentacles that can extend quite far in some cases and they contain stinging cells. Echinophyllia, Acanthastrea, Fungia, and Favia are examples of this group.

Small polyp stony corals- This is the group that covers the top of the reef, they are calcareous (Hermatypic) and typicly grow quite quickly, 6"-10" a year. The polyps are quite small, usually smaller around than a pencil eraser. Acropora, Montipora, Cyphastrea, and Pocillapora are examples of this group.

Anemones and mushrooms-These creatures from the Actiniaria and coralimorphia orders have powerful stinging cells, and are often quite aggressive. Some people would put mushrooms in the soft coral group, but they are much more closely related to anemones. Some examples of the Actiniaria order are Aiptasia, Condylactis, Pseudocorinactis. Discosoma, Actinodiscus, Rhodactis, and Ricordea  are all members of the coralimorphia order. Although they are closely related these two groups of animals act in both very similar and very different. They both attach to the reef with a foot and can move pretty quickly, as fast as 2-3 inches per hour with some anemones.They are both A-sexual and Hetero-sexual, and use diamorphic cellular reproduction.

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