• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2012

Recently, for the purpose of constructing artificial ecosystem, the public aquarium and experimental mesocosm systems are receiving attention. To design and establish an aquarium and mesocosm system, there is need of several materials for simulating the environment, such as sediments, rocks, and plants. Expecially for sessile mollusks, there must be proper materials to which sessile invertebrates can adhere. Nowadays, many aquariums and mesocosm systems are using dead coral skeletons for sessile mollusks. This study was proceeded to have data on the effect of dead coral skeletons on water qualities with the experiment on the environmental factors. For this purpose, I made glass tank for experiment, chose two types of dead coral skeletons imported from the Indonesia and observed the change of water qualities and decomposition efficiency of TAN (total ammonia-nitrogen), nitrite ($NO_2{^-}$) and nitrate ($NO_3{^-}$). As a result, the lager the surface area was, the more TAN, nitrite and nitrate decomposition rate increased. In addition, coral skeletons covered with crustose algae and bacteria in the tank showed faster TAN, nitrite and nitrate removal rate and stabilization. Accordingly, this experiment suggested that dead coral skeletons could be used as a sub filter for the closed system as well as an adhering plate.