Having a salt water aquarium is a popular hobby among fish owners worldwide, even though it involves a significant amount of work. Keeping and maintaining a salt water aquarium is substantially more difficult than caring for a fresh water aquarium, since there are many additional factors that need to be taken into consideration. While having your own salt water fish tank may seem like a daunting task, there are a few simple steps that you can follow to make the overall set-up process much easier. Here are some tips that will allow you to successfully set up your own salt water fish tank.
COST AND TIME
Before choosing to set up a salt water fish tank, it’s important to ensure that you have adequate time and money to begin this project. A salt water aquarium can cost from four to five times more than a fresh water tank setup, so it’s essential that you have extra money set aside. In addition to this, setting up and maintaining a salt water fish tank requires a large investment in time. Most salt water aquariums may need to operate for four to six weeks before they are able to sustain any living organisms. In addition to this, there are some daily and weekly maintenance procedures that are specific to salt water tanks.
PURCHASING SUPPLIES
For the initial setup of your salt water fish tank, you will need to begin by purchasing all of the supplies that you will need. This includes a tank, tank stand, aquarium substrate, saltwater hydrometer, live rock, heater, aquarium filter and protein skimmer, just to name a few. There are several published books that are specially designed to help you to become more familiar with the setup requirements of salt water aquariums, which are usually available for purchase in the fish pet care section of most pet supply stores.
AQUARIUM SETUP
Rinse your aquarium, aquarium substrate, decorations and supplies thoroughly in soap-free water. It’s best to first check your aquarium for leaks by entirely filling it with water before any other setup procedures are completed. Install your filter, heater, protein skimmer and all other equipment that you are using for your salt water fish tank. IMPORTANT – Do not plug any of this equipment in until you have added the salt water mix to your aquarium’s water. Once your water is properly mixed, allow your aquarium to operate for 2-3 days.
LIVE ROCK
A very important part of any salt water aquarium is the inclusion of live rock. Live rock is usually relatively expensive, and needs to be ‘cured’ for a period of time before it can be safely kept in your tank with your fish. It’s best to have your live rock fully cured before you even consider purchasing fish for your tank. To cure live rock, have it sit in your tank while all of the filtration equipment is fully functional. Every few days, scrub the outside of the rock directly in your aquarium with a stiff-bristled brush (such as an old toothbrush). Remove as much of the debris from the cleaning process as possible, and then refill your tank with clean pre-mixed salt water.
