What all does it require to keep salt water fish?

Question

I heard it is extremely hard to have salt water fish,and was wondering what is all the requirements to do this?

Answer 1

It isn't all that difficult anymore. It can be more costly because you have to mix the salt with bottled water for every water change and replace your light bulbs every six months. Here is an aquarium that comes with all the supplies for a saltwater aquarium ( BIO-Wheel filtration system, full-spectrum fluorescent lighting) you will also need a heater, gravel washer, and air pump http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=3865&cm_mmc=LiveAquaria_DFS_Links-_-Fish_Supplies-_-LiveAquaria_Gen_Page-_-Aquariums_Furniture&ref=3969&subref=AA&N=2004+62760 but it also comes in a 29 gallon version that I use. You may need to add a wave-maker to increase water circulation. You need to add some live rock of sand (about one pound/gallon) to start the biological cycle and wait several weeks for the spikes of ammonia, nitrite and nitrates to level off before adding living things. You will need to replace all evaporated water with plain water and do weekly (I do it every other week) water changes with mixed and aetarted saltwater (there is a store not far from me that sells pre-mixed water wich I find worth it ).
This site has some articles for you to look into:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/category_home.cfm?dept_id=0&siteid=6&acatid=158

Answer 2

i'm assuming that you recommend you've freshwater fish in a tank. to that end, you won't be able to easily "swap over" to salt water, you should get a separate tank for the saltwater fish. they're a lot more durable to keep than freshwater fish, as you should visual demonstrate unit salinity and Ph stages, alongside with making confident that they get the right sorts of nutrition (meaning no longer only taking position to the community Meijer and finding out to purchase a field of economic fish flakes). you also want some different kit for it. It also relies upon at this sort of fish you're transforming into, yet because it type of appears like you're making plans on getting coral fish, you'll also want coral, that you'll even ought to maintain and look after.

Answer 3

it isn't extremely hard, some of the setup is more expensive. Most all tanks need a skimmer. Sumps are generally rcommended. Fish only tanks aren't too hard at all - if you get in to a reef tank the you have the lighting and a lot more expense in setup. you have a wide range of fish to chose from in all price ranges and hardiness.

I would recommend finding a copy of the Consientious Marine Aquarist and reading through that - it has a lot of good information on the different type setups and stocking.

Answer 4

as long as you're willing & have the cash & time to spend, then reef tanks/saltwater tanks are really rewarding. they're a little more time consuming than freshwater but they're well worth the extra money & time. be aware that stocking terms are different than freshwater. generally speaking you can put far fewer fish in saltwater than in freshwater tanks. i have a 40 gallon that only has 4 fish in it.

basic requirements:
salt mix or natural seawater from a clean source
live rock
good test kits like salifert (not strips, they're worthless)
if you want corals then you have to get good lighting like metal halides or pc's/t5's/vho's. some corals require higher lighting than others, make sure you know in advance before you buy them.
and last but not least, PATIENCE!

Answer 5

filter
hydrometer
marine salt
lighting
fish food
Steady maintenance.