Joe Jaworski’s Weblog

Reef Geeks have their own language. When talking with a fellow reefer, be cool and insert a few of the terms found below in your conversation.

Acro – Short for Acropora sp. Any SPS coral belonging to the family.

Actinic – A type of fluorescent light that is very blue in color. This is the color of light that is most useful to the chlorophyll in marine life, and is the color of the sea below 10 meters.

Activated Carbon – This is carbon, that supersedes the term charcoal (which is made from animal bones, but that’s a whole different story). It can absorb many compounds out of the water, and is especially good at removing yellowing compounds to keep the water clear. Most carbons must be changed regularly, as after it has been used for a while, it may leach impurities back into the water.

Aiptasia – Nasty small anemones that spread quickly and can harm other corals and inverts with their potent sting.

Aragonite – Fossilized coral skeletons that have been ground up as gravel.

Ballast – The electrical supply for some lights, such as fluorescents and metal halide bulbs. These are available in several varieties, such as tar/transformer, and electronic. Don’t buy a ballast anymore unless it is electronic. It’s uncool and not green.

Berlin System – A method of biological filtration that uses only live rock and a large protein skimmer.

BTA – Bubble Tip Anemone. Short for the Entacmaea quadricolor, a hardy, easy to care for anemone.

Carbon - See Activated Carbon

Detritus – Organic matter produced by the decomposition of organisms and waste products. Appears as a dusty, dirty brown residue that settles on the gravel and live rock. Lowers pH, raises organics, and generally screws up your tank chemistry.

Dosing Pump – A pump which can supply a very slow drip which is used to add trace elements, 2-part additives, or make up water for evaporation. The most common type is a peristaltic pump.

DSB – Deep Sand Bed. Generally, an aquarium setup with at least 4 inches or deeper of gravel, possibly with a plenum or void space underneath the gravel. Used to be very popular for nitrate reduction. Due to its tendency to depress pH and harbor detritus, DSB’s have fallen out of favor.

FOWLR – Pronounced ‘Fowe · ler’. Stands for Fish-Only-With-Live-Rock. A Fish-only aquarium that is set up without corals and uses Live Rock for full or partial biological filtration. Sorry folks- usually fails without the addtion of a protein skimmer, fluidized bed, or HOB/Canister filter.

GSP – Green Star Polyps.

HOB – Hang-on-the-back filter.

HQI - Also called DE (double-ended). The latest type of Metal Halide bulb that provides greater efficiency and brightness for the same amount of electricity. HQI is cool. Don’t buy a new light fixture without it.

Kalkwasser – German for “lime water”, a saturated solution of Calcium Hydroxide in distilled or RO/DI water. I hate to reveal this, but Kalkwasser drips have always worked better than calcium reactors to maintain calcium, alkalinity, and pH levels.

LFS – Local Fish Store. Your regular old tropical fish store on Main Street, USA.

Medium Mogul - A socket type used on metal halide bulbs. Sometimes called Medium Base. The socket is identical to a regular incandescent bulb socket. Really old-school. Don’t ever buy a medium-mogul fixture. It’s uncool.

Mogul – A socket type used on metal halide bulbs. The socket looks like a regular incandescent bulb socket except that it has a larger diameter. HQI is in, Moguls are old-school.

Nanoreef – Usually, a reef tank of less than 30 gallons.

Nudi - Short for nudibranch (It is often mis-pronounced. ‘nude · ah· brank’ is the way to say it).

Needle-Wheel - A type of protein skimmer design that used needles instead of an impeller to break up air bubbles. Venturi skimmers are out, Needle -Wheels are in.

ORP – Oxidation/Reduction Potential. Sometimes called Redox. It is a measure of the filtering capacity of a tank.

PAR – A measurement of the intensity of light, similar to lumens.

PC – Stands for Compact Fluorescent. A fluorescent bulb type where the bulb wraps around to form a double bulb strip. Developed in Europe by Philips and in Japan by Panasonic.

Picoreef – Usually, a reef tank of less than 5 gallons.

QT Tank – Quarantine tank. A place to keep fish and inverts for observation and treatment to avoid contamination of the display tank.

RTN – Rapid Tissue Necrosis. A disease of corals.

Shroom – Short for mushroom, or mushroom coral.

Soft Coral – Common name for species of the Anthozoan order Alcyonacea of the subclass Octocorallia. In contrast to the hard or stony corals, most soft corals do not possess a massive external skeleton.

Softies – See Soft Coral

SPS – Short for Small Polyped Scleractinian. Often mistaken as the abbreviation of Small Polyp Stoney.

Square-Pin - One type of connector on PC Fluorescent bulb, where the 4 pins are arranged as 2 pins of two rows.

Starphire – A type of glass manufactured by PPG for its high clarity due to minimal iron impurities. An acrylic wannabe. Having your glass tank made out of Starphire is cool- providing you can swallow the bill.

STN – Slow Tissue Necrosis. A disease of corals.

Straight-Pin – One type of connector on a PC Fluorescent bulb, where the 4 pins are arranged in a single row.

T5 – A narrow gauge fluorescent bulb. This is the same size bulb used in kitchen under-counter light fixtures. For aquariums their narrow size means you can pack a lot of them side by side to get more light. A Metal Halide wannabe.

Venturi – A type of valve which produces bubbles by drawing air through a narrow channel in quickly flowing water. It is used on some protein skimmers to mix air and water.

VHO – A rather old form of high intensity lighting, but still viable today at its lower entry cost.

Zoa’s or Zoo’s – An anemone of the family Zoanthidae, usually found in intertidal areas and coral reefs. Commonly kept in reef aquariums for their wide range of colors and hardy, easy-to-keep nature.