When I think of all the reef aquariums I’ve owned, and visited over the years, the word sustainable never comes to mind. Home reef tanks use a lot of electricity, are tremendous water wasters (especially if you employ a RODI unit) and have been implicated in the release of invasive species into natural waters. This goes without mentioning, much of our livestock comes from the wild. None of this does the environment any favors. Conservationists and activists who work actively against the aquarium trade, hang their hats on these aspects. What they forget, is that reef aquariums offer a glimpse into a world, that without them, many people would never see. Here in the U.S., coral reefs are often thousands of miles from our homes, spread out over remote location in the Caribbean or South Pacific. I’ve been to islands barely visited by outsiders, to dive some of the most beautiful reefs on Earth. Here, the local population maintain a traditional lifestyle, which is both ancient and archaic by modern standards.
Needless to say, without coral reef aquariums, many people would have no connection to these ecosystems. Aquariums inspire conservation ethic, and have transformed islanders who once decimated their reefs for the limestone industry, into coral farmers and sustainable fish providers. As aquarium technology gets sleeker and more efficient, arguments saying that reef aquariums are a drain on resources, are getting weak. There are a few conscientious, and environmentally ethical choices we can make as aquarists, which trims the fat off our reef’s ecological footprint, and transforms the hobby into a sustainable, conservation inspiring wonder.
1. Use efficient equipment
Most of us know, in the reef world, cheaper is rarely better. One aspect of cheap equipment, ineffective pumps, circulation drives and lighting apparatus. Cheap pumps generate unwanted heat, are typically rather loud, and require more electricity than efficient, well-tuned circulation systems. A prime example of a top notch circulation pump, the EcoTech Vortech. The vortech is a variable rate pump, so it can pump a lot, a little, or anywhere in between. It requires less power to pump a little, and a random setting like reef crest mode, which alternates pump speed, is far more efficient than a power head, which simply pumps water at the same rate, all the time, all while giving off heat and warming your water.
Metal halide lighting is efficient at providing corals the light they need to thrive. It’s not efficient at lighting large spaces, and halides use a lot of electricity, most of which is converted to unwanted heat. For long tanks, or exceptionally wide tanks, a T5 fixture not only provides enough light, it’s far more efficient. Halides create a spot lighting, which is what causes the ripple effect we all love. The downside, the light stream loses intensity, the further away from the bulb you get. This is why often, you see large tanks with numerous halides, which can make a significant impact on your electric bill. Often what is eco-conscious, is conscious on your wallet in the long run, making T5’s a better option all around.
LED lighting is by far the most efficient. Even LED fixtures that pack a punch, use far less energy than a comparable metal halide, and in some instances, even a T5. The fact that the diodes last for 5-10 years, (some longer) before needing replaced, you can pride yourself in having a light fixture that doesn’t contribute to trash waste. LEDs can also ramp up, and down, providing periods of light intensity anywhere on the spectrum. Naturally, as they ramp down, or up, they consume far less electricity, then a light which pumps full intensity, all day long. It’s hard for anyone to argue that LED lighting isn’t efficient, making that one item we can check off the list, streamlining our aquarium’s footprint.
High end equipment, like this Black Pearl from AVAST, is often efficient and durable
2. Support captive breeding and coral fragmentation
Fragging is by far, the greenest thing to hit reef aquariums. Having multitudes of coral, handed down from one parent colony, makes a huge difference. When you consider that many parent colonies have been developed from a frag, the cord to Mother Nature has been totally cut. Entire show tanks have been developed, using corals and invertebrates totally grown in captivity. Since animal collection is the anti-reefer’s silver bullet, this really takes a large chunk out of their argument.
When we see all the corals collected at frag swaps, and sold by online vendors, it’s tremendous the amount of livestock that doesn’t come from a natural reef.
This spills over to fish keeping as well. There was a time, not long ago, that 100% of marine fish were harvested from wild reefs. Today, many species are available, born and raised in captivity. That list is growing, and may soon include several species of dwarf and large angelfish, along with a few species of tangs. Needless to say, one can have a beautiful reef tank, without taking anything from the ocean.
To make captive bred fish even more attractive, we find designer specimens such as Platinum Clownfish, and a huge host of others. This puts captive bred species, high on the aquarist’s want list.
As you can see, there are lots of options, when it comes to captive bred fish
Reduce-reuse-recylce, reef? (copy pasted, I did not write this)
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