Replicating Habitat in the Tank

Biotoping Aquarists Look to the Natural Habitat for Instruction

Feb 2, 2008

It is so easy in the marine aquarium hobby to focus on the equipment, but the aquarist interested in biotope set-ups is well served to study the natural habitat first.

Deciding how to return water from the sump is a critical decision every aquarist faces when planning a tank. In previous articles, the overflow, sump and return pump for a 135-gallon display tank connected to several biotope-specific display tanks was discussed in some detail. This article looks at configuring the return line and outlet(s) based on recreating the natural habitat.

The philosophy behind this biotope-based approach to the marine aquarium hobby is not only to improve system stability and health by mimicking the interconnectedness of adjacent biotopes in the wild, but it is also about focusing the aquarist’s attention on the processes essential to sustain coral reef ecosystems worldwide.

As John Blatchford pointed out in his first article in this series, "If the term ‘habitat’ refers mainly to physical parameters then the term ‘community’ describes the plants and animals that live there – together they make up the ‘ecosystem’ of that part of the biosphere." In the aquarium, it is the physical characteristics that are strongly influenced by the equipment (flow rate, currents, temperature, etc). As a result, a healthy captive ecosystem relies heavily on the proper selection, configuration and installment of equipment that can adequately replicate the physical parameters of the natural system.

The system being discussed in this series of articles replicates the ecosystem indigenous to the Wakatobi–the second largest marine protected area in Indonesia. Specifically, the 135-gallon display tank is replicates a nearshore reef in the western Banda Sea. A later article will look at how to configure the return line and outlets in order to create the appropriate habitat, but first it is important to the look at the natural ecosystem itself.

The western Banda Sea is an extraordinary marine environment known to divers thanks largely to the Wakatobi Dive Resort on Pulau Tolandono. In addition to this popular resort, there is a marine research facility (operated by Operation Wallacea) on Hoga Island. The coral reefs of the western Banda Sea are some of the most biologically diverse reefs in the world with a multitude of reef habitats including pinnacles, walls, lagoon bowl reefs and deep water drop-offs.

The 135-gallon display tank is intended to replicate a nearshore reef off the coast of Hoga Island where strong currents dictate the physical parameters of the habitat and the community of animals living there. A later article in the series discusses how to create these conditions through configuring the system’s return line and utilizing some specialized equipment.

While the reefs surrounding Hoga Island are relatively well-preserved, even these reefs–like coral reefs worldwide–are in a state of decline. Recent studies have shown that between 2002 and 2006, there has been a 40 percent decrease in coral cover at a Hoga site monitored by researchers associated with Operation Wallacea. Not surprisingly, the mean abundance of fish on the surrounding reefs are declining by as much as 13 percent annually.

It is this degradation, combined with the aforementioned diversity, that make the Hoga Island reefs an ideal focus for the biotoping aquarist. The diversity of species allows the aquarist to consider many different fishes, corals and other invertebrates, and the diversity of habitats is ideal for a large system with several interconnected, biotope-specific tanks. The ongoing degradation of this habitat, not to mention the reduction of species, provides the impetus to study and learn about how these fragile ecosystems depend on a multitude of interconnected biotopes for their health.

The copyright of the article Replicating Habitat in the Tank in Aquariums is owned by Ret Talbot. Permission to republish Replicating Habitat in the Tank in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.