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In the
natural marine environment in the sea, there are no protein skimmers
or wet-dry filters to improve the quality of the situation. The
ability to maintain such a healthy and powerful environment comes
from the very animals and plants that are living there. In a marine tank, this environment can be duplicated too, for example, detrivores
( animals that feed on the debris of others) clean up and maintain
the filtration system in the tank. Craps, shrimps, starfishes, sea
cucumbers and bottom-dwelling fishes are all under this category. At
the same time they are feeding themselves, they help to break up the
debris into smaller particles, allowing the next level of the echo
system to break it down more easily, physically and chemically.
Other
species that help maintain the eco-system are the microscopic bugs
and worms. These animals too help to break the debris even more, but
their presence is most felt in what they do in the sand bed. These
creatures move and maneuver around in the sand to keep it loose, a
very important process to keep oxygenated water to penetrate into
the sand. If this doesn’t happen, hydrogen sulphate will imerge,
giving the tank a very pungent rotten smell. In the presence of
oxygen, this harmful event can be avoided and yet maintaining a good
biological system to further convert the debri into harmless
nitrogen chemically.
So
in general, coral sand should be at least five to six inches deep. Live rocks are placed on top of the sand bed to give the
tank a complete ecological balanced systems. In addition to that,
the micro-organisms that live there will keep the sand loose, thus
releasing some of the natural trace elements and calcium naturally
back into the water.
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