12 Weeks to Your Own Coral Aquariumby Jenny Styles 4/1/2010 Salt water tanks are sought after by many aquarium enthusiasts, however they are more tedious to maintain so are not often undertaken. Keeping a saltwater aquarium requires patience, and having live coral in your saltwater tank requires patience and knowledge. Patience, we say because the healthiest and hardiest path to owning a home coral aquarium is to grow you coral. While it takes more time, growing your own coral makes it much easier to maintain the health of your coral. You must become educated about the requirements for growing coral, and follow very specific procedures, but if you can be patient for approximately 12 weeks, you can grow your own coral for your home saltwater aquarium. The basic set-up of a saltwater aquarium is the same as a freshwater tank. You purchase a tank and filter, and then select the best location for your aquarium. Once the tank is ready for water, there are several steps to follow: 1. Fill the bottom of the tank with sand. 2. Now it is time to add the water. Your aquarium water must be de-chlorinated. 3. Next add the salt, making sure to mix it so the gravity measures exactly 1.205. 4. Arrange any live rocks and plants you would like to include in the tank. 5. Finally install the water heater and place the hood on top of the aquarium. 6. And now you wait. About 4 weeks to be exact before moving on. Patience. Remember? The fours weeks will go by quickly, and in no time your saltwater aquarium will ... |
How to Start a Saltwater Aquarium With the Right Informationby Gideon O’Daniels 4/1/2010 An opportunity to get a close up view of an ecosystem and a new admiration of its delicate ocean creatures and array of spectacular fish can be opened up by starting a saltwater aquarium. A fish-only aquarium is a better way to start out for any one interested in taking up a marine hobby. It is not advisable to house marine fish in a tank smaller than 20 gallons, even though this is possible. My advice would be to start with a tank size you will be comfortable maintaining. One thing to have in mind when considering the size of your aquarium tank, is to have an idea of the number of fish you like to rear. For each inch of fish capacity, you should allow 3 to 5 gallons of tank capacity. As a guiding rule, ten gallon-tank equals two one inch fish. Some very important items that are needed to successfully keep a marine fish aquarium include a heater and thermometer, to preserve a recommended temperature of 78-80 degrees for tropical fish, a hydrometer, for measuring the aquarium’s salt content and a good filtration system - which is of paramount importance. It is worth remembering to always take a water sample to the store for test when purchasing a fish. Once the aquarium has been chlorinated, heated to the right temperature, and salted to the proper level, bacteria can be added. This is essential for cycling the aquarium. It can take a few days, a week or more for the process ... |
5 Saltwater Aquarium Types - Tips To Choose The Best Oneby Abhishek Agarwal 11/30/2008 When deciding which saltwater aquarium to get, there are five varieties to choose from. 1. Fish Only: The type of aquarium is pretty self explanatory. This is the easiest saltwater aquarium to own. Usually you are handling one species. You maintain a certain water temperature and pH and never have to worry about different kinds of food. You have to choose between tropical and cold water. Tropical fish are more popular because of their bright colors, but cold water fish are easier to maintain. 2. Invertebrate Only: In these aquariums you are going to find the bottom-dwelling creatures such as shrimp, hermit crabs or prawns. Some people even have starfish and sea cucumbers to round out their aquarium. 3. Fish and Invertebrate: This is combination of ... |
Changing Saltwater Aquarium Water - Simple Rules To Do It Safelyby Abhishek Agarwal 11/30/2008 In the wild, fish live in constant changing environments. The water is always moving in ocean, rivers and even lakes that it never gets overloaded with fish waste or residue. In an aquarium that is not the case. The water needs to be changed. However, you can’t just put new water into the tank when the fish were living in the older water. The new water could be a shock to their system and, with any living creature, a rapid change could be detrimental. Changing a saltwater tank could be tricky. A lot of it depends on the water you initially used. Did you get pre-made saltwater? Did you make your own? Whatever you used to start the tank should be the same type of water you are using when replacing it, even it was ocean water that you transplanted into the tank. Your fish have adapted to this new environment so try to keep it as close as possible. The water should be changed every few weeks and sooner if you notice it getting murky. You don’t want the fish to swim in contaminated water or with water with ... |
Maintaining Marine Aquariums - How To Make This Tough Task Simpleby Abhishek Agarwal 11/30/2008 Building a marine aquarium isn’t for the casual fish fan. Marine aquariums are heavy-duty projects that are time consuming and need lots of attention. However, for those wishing to make one, the time is worth it in the end. There are three different types of marine aquariums to build: fish only, fish with live rock and reef aquariums. This is a difficult task to maintain because there are different levels that must always be upheld and the marine aquarium must be on constant watch. The pH level, temperature and salt level have to be carefully assessed. The salt level is most important because with either too little or too much your life forms won’t survive. Most salt tanks require a 1.6 or 1.7 salt level. There are kits and books available to assist you in getting the right salt level in your tank. There are monitoring tools available as well. Salt water tanks are little more difficult to uphold than its freshwater counterparts. When it comes to the pH level, you want to get fish, rocks or reefs that need the same pH to survive. This makes maintaining the marine aquarium easier since you only have to worry about the tank being at one pH level. The filter system isn’t going to be like any other you have seen on fish tanks. The filter systems for marine aquariums are expensive and you usually have to go through a specialty shop or catalog to get what you need. It’s almost double the price of a ... |
Saltwater Fish Care - Tips To Feed Your Aquarium Fishby Abhishek Agarwal 11/30/2008 Feeding fish can be a science. When it comes to saltwater fish this is not different because feeding saltwater fish can be tricky. There are certain rules to follow and guidelines that should be met. When you get saltwater fish the first thing you want to do is find out what kind of food the fish need to thrive. Most fish are going to need a balanced diet and require different foods. Using those friendly flakes just isn’t going to cut it. Depending on the fish you can use a variety of vegetables, live, frozen and fresh food. Look at everything you are giving the fish and see if the diet contains about 10 percent fat and 30 percent protein. This will ensure the fish are getting everything they need out of their diet. Most predatory animals will eat types of meat. You can give these fish beef heart, live or fresh foods. They will skip to the top of the tank, or swim where ever they land. With these saltwater fish just make sure are not putting them in an aquarium with their prey. If you do it that, you could end up with a few less fish. For invertebrate and bottom dwelling animals, they need food that is going to sink to the bottom of the aquarium. These saltwater fish feed on food that is easily within reach. Otherwise they cannot reach them and will not survive. It’s imperative to feed fish by making it easy for them. Herbivores will feed on ... |
How to Approach Your First Saltwater Fish Tankby Darin Sewell 11/30/2008 After you pick your tank you will need to decide what type of fish you want to keep. Keep in mind that saltwater fish are much different then freshwater fish. There are many that do not get along well with others or some that grow very large and will end up eating smaller tank mates. A good local fish store or marine aquarium guide can help you narrow down your fish choices to some great easy to care for colorful species that will thrice in your beginner saltwater setup Once you have decided on what type of fish you want to have in your saltwater fish tank you will have to buy your filtration equipment and other tank supplies. The choices here vary wildly and could very well fill a book. But for the beginning aquarium keeper a good canister filter should do the trick ... |
15 Things to Do For Reef Tanks to Keep Your Reef Aquarium in Top Shapeby Darin Sewell 11/30/2008 Having a successful and stunning reef aquarium is every reef keepers goal. For many people however their attempts are met with failure and frustration. Usually it was not one big thing that lead to the tank failure but a series of small ones. To avoid this there are some things to do for reef tanks that can help you fend off disaster. 15 Things to Do For Reef Tanks To Keep Them Thriving * Give your tank a visual inspection everyday. Look at all livestock and give the tanks equipment a quick visual check. * Check the water temperature, nothing can kill a reef faster then a cold reef or an over heated reef tank. * Test your nitrates and phosphates weekly and keep them at the lowest levels possible. * Do not over stock your tank and hold off the impulse to add just one more fish. * Clean filtration equipment and your protein skimmer frequently to ensure it is performing at its peak levels. * Check and maintain your calcium and alkalinity levels and keep them at appropriate levels. * Do not over feed your fish or corals * Do not over use additives or add additives into our tank unless you can test for them * Add water to replace any water that has evaporated from your reef aquarium. ... |
Tips to Make Marine Aquarium Care Fast and Easyby Darin Sewell 11/30/2008 Many new aquarium keepers are scared off by saltwater aquariums for fear that they are difficult to care for. The truth is caring for saltwater tank setups is not rocket science or does not involve any complicated methods. It does however involve consistency and dedication to keeping your marine fish aquarium in top shape. Proper Saltwater Tank Care The first thing you should do is to break your maintenance schedules up into daily, weekly and monthly tasks. This will allow you to take care of things in a more efficient manner. It will also allow you to actually spend less time on your system then if you would do all the tank care in one day. Breakdown Of Marine Aquarium Care Tasks Daily Tasks * Feed Your Fish taking care to not overfeed * Examine all fish for signs of injury, stress or disease. * Make note if any fish are missing or have died * Check the aquarium temperature to make sure it is within an acceptable range * Check all filters and pumps to make sure thy are operating properly Weekly Tasks * Top off any water that has evaporated from the tank * Clean the tank stand off with aquarium safe cleaner * Clean the front glass with aquarium safe cleaner. * Clean the inside of the glass with a magnetic aquarium cleaner Monthly Tasks ... |
Tips For Keeping Your Marine Aquarium Cleanby Darin Sewell 11/30/2008 Many people who are thinking of setting up a marine aquarium wonder how long saltwater aquarium maintenance will take. Using a 40 gallon tank as an example you will be able to see how easy taking care of your saltwater aquarium is and how little you really have to do to keep it in top shape. Monthly Cleaning Tasks For Your Tank The list below should take you no more then 45 minutes to one hour to complete every month. * Pre mix new saltwater to add the tank during a water change * Vacuum the gravel bed to remove excess debris, remove about 20% of the tanks water during the gravel cleaning. * Add the pre mixed new saltwater to the tank * Remove and clean any artificial decorations that are in the tank. * Clean your filters to make sure they are running properly * Replace any filter media and or filter pads with fresh one * Wipe the aquarium stand and outside glass down with an aquarium safe cleaner This saltwater aquarium maintenance program will be adequate for most marine aquariums. If your tank is slightly bigger or smaller the time may vary slightly. Daily Tasks For Saltwater Tanks For daily maintenance of your marine aquarium all you really need to do is clean the inside of your tanks glass and feed your fish. The nice thing is that you can ... |
How to Stop a Fish Jumping From a Saltwater Tankby Darin Sewell 11/30/2008 Fish jumping out of saltwater tanks is a problem that many marine aquarium keepers have to deal with. While not all fish are prone to jumping out of the tank there are some that are more likely to do so the others. Unfortunately knowing what fish you have that may jump is hard to tell. Most times you only find out when you find them dried up on the carpet or behind the tank. How To Cheaply Stop Fish From Jumping From Your Tank The best bet to stop the problem and keep your fish in the tank is to use the glass tops that the tank manufactures supply with most new aquarium set ups. However not all saltwater tanks can accommodate these tops. This is especially true in reef aquariums where many people run with no tops to keep water temperatures down. Additionally the tend to get full of salt creep over time and many people dislike having to replace them or constantly clean them. If you fall into this category and cannot use the glass tops the easiest thing to do is to grab a screen kit that is available at any hardware store and custom make the screen to fit your marine aquarium top and use this a a barrier to stop the fish from jumping out. This will not trap heat, allow good gas exchange and also stop fish jumping out of saltwater tanks that you own. Just remember to use nylon screen because saltwater will quickly rust metal screen materials. |
Tips to Help You When Setting Up a Saltwater Aquarium For the First Timeby Darin Sewell 11/30/2008 Starting a saltwater aquarium can be a very rewarding experience or a dreadful one. The level of success and the health of your saltwater fish will greatly depend on the choices you make in the very beginning of the project When starting a saltwater aquarium the first decision you need to make is how big of an aquarium are you going to setup? If this is your first tank you may want to keep your choices over 40 gallons. Larger tanks have more chemical and temperature stability and when it comes to saltwater aquariums stability is critical! The next step when setting up a saltwater aquarium is choosing between a glass or acrylic aquarium. Glass aquariums are by far the more popular choice, they are more durable but they also do not insulate as well and the seals eventually wear out. Acrylic aquariums are clearer then glass, insulate better and are much lighter then glass. They do however scratch very easily. The scratches can be fixed but it does require physical effort to do so. They do however last almost forever so they never have to be replaced. The next step is deciding where you will be setting up a saltwater aquarium. Location of the tank is a critical step in determining the success of your saltwater aquarium setup. If you place it in an area that gets to much direct sunlight you will more then likely be battling algae for the life of the tank. So make sure you place it an an area ... |
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