Starting A Saltwater Aquarium

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 recommended 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. When considering the size of your aquarium tank, it is best to do that with 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 to be complete. The starter fish can then be introduced to the aquarium as soon as the water quality allows.

The Damselfish is a great starter fish because of their capacity to survive the conditioning period of the tank and their power of endurance. The domino damselfish, the blue chromis and the anemonefishes also known as clownfishes are all genera and species into which the damselfish can be categorized. These are very active and colourful. They are not very particular with their food, usually livelong and are inexpensive. Their less attractive features includes an ability to be highly territorial and aggressive towards their own species in spite of the fish size.

Knowing where the fish you are buying comes from is very important. While this may not be an issue when selecting common species of fish for your aquarium, it is a concern for reef fish and coral, which are caught in the wild. In fact, 25 percent of the plant’s marine life makes up wild coral structures. Bad weather and stress are amongst the factors that harm coral reefs.

Although wild marine life may be abundant right now, marine hobbyists need to consider that continuous harvesting would soon begin to play a role in the destruction of this magnificent splendour.

I will advice you stay clear of mini-reefs if you are just starting out. For instance, different species require different lighting and they are not as enduring as they seem.

Please, do some research if and when you decide to keep any coral. If you do take this task on, Good luck and enjoy.