Berlin Method

This methodology was created by D. Struber and P. Wilkens in Berlin, Germany. For this for reason it is also called the Berlin method. The main points of this method are:

Do not use sand.
Use of living rocks.
Have a strong movement.
Oversized skimmer.
Strong lighting.

1. Clearly, sand is not allowed in this method. Not even have a few cm

2. Rocks are defined as alive, due to the many forms of life that they contain.These have different function and they are fundamental. Basically these represent the aquarium filter as they start the nitrogen cycle by transforming pollutants into nitrates.

It is very important to have an adequate proportion between kg / lt ratio ( 1Kg every 4/5 Liters)

3. The movement inside our tank is of fundamental importance.

Movement is very important to allow the water to always be oxygenated. Facilitating gas exchanges, dispersing excess CO2 and also in order to allows corals to feed.

This of course must be considered, based on the animals you intend to breed.

In fact, if we wanted to breed SPS, we should have a greater movement than the LPS or Soft corals.

Usually in my full sps tanks the movement is about 40/50 times the volume of the tank. This parameter is of course only a theoretical data and could be different. This depending on the corals (size and quantity).

It would be a good thing to use more than one movement pump in order to better cover the tank and thus avoid stagnation areas.

4. Another fundamental point to apply this method is to use very performing skimmers.

Considering that the estimation made by the manufacturers are quite overestimated, I recommend taking a skimmer recommended for three times the liters of the gross capacity of your tank.

5. The llighting is a fundamental element, because in addition to giving life in our tank, it triggers metabolic processes, for the reduction of pollutants. In the Berlin method it is recommended to use a very high amount of light with a photoperiod of 10/12 hours. In order to select a good llighting we shall consider the tank size and the animals inside. For example, if we have to light a tank with this size (in cm) 90x60x60 for sps SPS I wil suggest you to use T5 neons (sorry I am hold school 😉 ) 39×10

These 5 points listed above are the main points that must be followed in order to apply the Berlin method.

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