sera guide - Marine aquariums

7. Filling in marine water 35 In aquariums with internal filters pour sera marin bio reefclear over the sera siporax in the biofilter chamber before filling the aquarium with marine water. In case of ex- ternal filters, pour sera marin bio reefclear over sera siporax before the filter is filled with water (please also see page 26). The pu- rification bacteria will then settle immediately on and in the porous filter material. They can optimally multiply there and quickly start their purification work. This considerably shortens the biological activation phase of the aquar- ium. The aquarium is filled to the upper edge with the matured marine water. It is best to allow the water to flow into the aquarium over a plate. Otherwise, all the bottom gravel will be stirred up. You can store possibly remaining water in the plastic barrel under aeration and use it for the first water change. As in every other aquarium, water will evap- orate. Depending on the situation, top up evaporated water every 2 – 3 days: Use tap water conditioned with sera aquatan to do so, as the salt dissolved in the marine water does not evaporate. The salinity would slowly rise if you would not top up water, which is tolerated by the animals only to a certain ex- tent. There will be no harm as long as the salinity is between 34 and 36 per mille. However, the more constant you keep the salinity at 35 per mille, the better for your an- imals. 7.2 Topping up water Switch on the filter equipment after you have filled the aquarium. Switch on the units in the following order: submersible pump, UV clar- ifier, skimmer and heater [set the temperature to 26°C (79°F)]. You can now watch how the water flows back to the spray bar attached to the outlet and circulates. Air from the out- side is blended with water drawn inside the skimmer. From now on, the water is con- stantly purified. 7.1 Starting filtration and technical equipment