Red Sea MAX User Manual
25
5 Caring for the reef
The long-term success and health of the inhabitants of your
MAX aquarium depends on you.
Proper planning makes reef care easier to manage, and
quicker to perform. This will leave you more time for the real
goal: enjoying your aquarium. Care of the tank should follow a
logical, regular pattern. Divide the tasks into daily, weekly and
monthly procedures, including equipment checks, feeding,
water parameter testing and adjustments. You may find it
helpful to make a systematic checklist of care activities, and to
keep a log of the activities performed.
Your log does not need to be complicated. You will need to
track the following:
• The tank's parameters – pH, salinity, temperature, etc.
• Information specific to each animal – when you added
them, their approximate size, date of death (it happens
in the most successful aquariums) and possible cause,
etc.
• The general appearance of the tank and individual
species.
• Equipment changes – when you changed bulbs or
replaced heaters, etc.
By tracking this information you can head off problems before
they become insurmountable.
Daily reef care procedures
Check the appearance of your fish and corals.
Fish
Check the fishes' behavior. Look for signs of aggression (bites
or injuries), diseases or missing inhabitants (the prompt
removal of carcasses is crucial). If you spot any signs of illness,
treat the affected fish in a quarantine tank; most treatments
are highly toxic to marine invertebrates.
Corals
Check the polyp expansions, looking for signs of stress, such
as closed polyps (i.e. for long periods), fading colors or loose
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