Reflections: Part 2
The first LED systems consisted
of mainly blue and white colour
combinations but as the tech-
nology evolved full spectrum
LED lighting became the norm.
Interestingly in these early
years some aquarists, especially
those keeping SPS corals, found
the results disappointing and
reverted back to T5s. Today’s
high powered full spectrum
LED options have proven to be
more than capable of sustain-
ing even the most demanding
corals.
Although available for aquaria
use since around 1999 this
decade saw the increasing
popularity of bio-pellets to
reduce nitrate. Bio pellets are
a biodegradable polymer (poly
hydroxalkanoates) which, when
used in a suitable reactor and
with adequate water flow, are
soon colonised by bacteria
which consume the pellets
while at the same time utilising
nitrates from the water column.
Most effectively used in a re-cir-
culating reactor that indepen-
dently controls tumble and flow
rates, they provide an efficient
way of controlling nitrates (and
phosphates in some products)
and many hobbyists have had
great success with them.
Protein skimmers, often regard-
ed as a must have, had come a
long way since those early air
driven models. The hallmarks
of a good skimmer remained
unchanged; air volume, bubble
and chamber size and contact
time and we’d seen improve-
ments in bubble creation with
the introduction of pin and
mesh wheel pumps. Skimmer
bodies were traditionally bullet
shaped but the first cone skim-
mers were coming onto the
market. This design aided foam
collection by funnelling it to-
wards the skimmer cup and has
all but replaced the older type.
Some skimmers even began to
feature curved, wine-glass type
designs, and both DC pumps
and automated neck-cleaning
mechanisms came to market.
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