> Not a dumb question at all... A "Freshwater Reef" is a quick way to imply
> that the system would be analogous to marine counterparts. It would
include
> a wide diversity of the aquatic life found in the system it represents. A
> lot of work in the marine field has been done (albeit unintuitively for the
> most part) by dragging in the rocks of the reef to function as the primary
> filter of the tank.
>
The book "Dynamic Aquaria" by Walter H. Adley and Karen Loveland has been a
big help to me in trying to set up the ecological equivalent of a reef in
freshwater. The main problem is most habitats in freshwater are not as diverse or
as concentrated in macro-organisms as the marine environment. One way I have
been trying to get around this lack is putting together an "ecosystem" with
organisms "borrowed" from many different places. I think it is the only way to
mimic the appearance of a reef in freshwater and I have also found that many
layers of consumers tends to compensate for the relatively rich organic content of
a freshwater aquarium. Filtration in the traditional sense is as much a
"don't do" in a freshwater reef as it is in a marine reef aquarium. I spent years
maintaining marine reef tanks and try to mimic the same processes in my
freshwater reef as well. I am getting ready to convert my 150 gallon tank to a reef
type set up. It has taken me several years to feel like I can do this (as well
as gather up the equipment I need) I still want a few more species of
crustaceans and worms but it looks like most will be impossible to get. I figure it
will take at least a year to set this tank up as I allow certain species to
develop populations big enough to allow some predatory action. I am also going to
attach a refugium to this tank so some animals can reproduce without being
subject to predators.
Moon
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