Can someone tell me how to take care of a salt water aquarium?

Question

I just bought a 120 gal aquarium. I want to mount it in the wall beside the fire place. Behind it is a closet to keep all the equipment hidden and have access to the tank. I've always wanted to have a salt water aquarium, but never been brave enough to try it. I would just like to know the in's and out's of keeping one up. Thanks

Answer 1

A 120 gallon tank would make a beautiful salt water reef tank!
Do you have experience in fresh water? It is advisable that you start with freshwater to get the hang of it, because freshwater is much more forgiving of mistakes than salt water is.

The big word in salt water is : MONEY. Setting up a 120 gallon tank will be EXPENSIVE. I suggest that you don't try to cut corners. If you want to do salt water, go all out, buy all the stuff you need and don't skimp. A 120 gallon tank will be a heck of a lot of work if you need to take it down because something went wrong or if you want to upgrade.

I can give you some major guidelines here, but you need to buy a book. I like Saltwater Tanks For Dummies, but there are a great many good salt water books out there. You'll find lots at your local fish store, or e-bay.

The equipment you will need:
The tank (of course)
You will need a protein skimmer. This removes all the gunk that accumulates at the top of the water.
You will need a heater. I suggest you get two half sized heaters, one at either end of the tank. That way, if one breaks or sticks, your fish won't freeze or boil.

You may want to get a sump. A sump is a smaller tank that goes under your big tank. It allows you more gallons. For example, if you have 120 gallon tank and a 50 gallon sump, that's 170 gallons of water. You can also put a light over the sump, and put some live rock and live sand in it, and it will be additional filtration. Then it is called a refugium. The sump feeds into the main tank via a whole drilled into the bottom of the tank.

You don't have to go high tech yet, but you will need some decent lighting to keep the live rock alive. There are different types; metal halide, acticinic etc and what you want (anenomes, corals, etc) depends on the lighting you need.

You will also need a hygrometer and other testing supplies so you can keep track of your water parameters (salinity, pH, kH, GH, ammonia, nitrites, etc).

Your main filtration should probably be live rock. The organisms that live on the live rock will degrade the ammonia into less toxic byproducts. Liverock is 5-10$ per pound and you should have 1 pound per gallon. If you get corals and anemomes eventually, this is where they will go.

For sand, you can get live sand which has more organisms in it to break down the ammonia, but you can get plain ol' sand and a couple pounds of live sand, and the live sand will 'seed' the regular sand.

And of course you need the salt. They sell marine salt that has all the minerals etc you need.

Much of this stuff you can get on craigslist, ebay, aquabid, local aquarists' society, etc, for much cheaper than buying it new.

Once your tank is set up with sand, water, rocks, and necessary equipment, you need to leave it for 4 weeks. This gives the live rock the chance to cure - so, any organisms that have died can be biodegraded, and others can take their place and multiply so they can handle fish that you add. During this time, you can reread your book(s), visit petstores, fish forums, etc, and decide what kind of fish you want. Then you will need to add your fish slowly, no more than one or two per month.

Anyhoo, it sounds like a lot of time and work, and it is, but if you do it right and don't cut corners, there's no reason it won't go great for you.

However, don't discount freshwater just because it's freshwater ;) There are some gorgeous freshwater fish out there. I won't go into too much detail, but:
angelfish: http://www.mellowaquatics.com/AngelfishGallery/BlackVelvetVeil275.jpg
discus: http://kendziora.net/photography/discus.jpg
peacock cichlids: http://www.boesterscichlids.com/images/cyclopsalbino1.jpg
http://zenandjuice.com/word/images/Aul_eureka_01.jpg
http://www.alloddballaquatics.com/cichlids/Aulonacara%20sp.%20Rubin%20Red%20Peacock.jpg
http://www.fanartreview.com/farusr/6451/Picture_158.jpg

Answer 2

I would recommend putting the tank somwhere away from the fire place.

You will want to get airstones, which are airpumps that increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in your tank water, and smoke from the fireplace will end up being sucked through those pumps causing toxic chemicals to be pumped into your water.

If you don't have airstones or powerheads or anything else to help dissolve oxygen in your tank your fish will suffocate to death.

Example: If you have ever gone fishing and put one of your fish in a bucket you might notice they die after a couple minutes; this is because the fish couldn't get any oxygen from the stagnant water.

Other than that the other suggestions above are pretty helpful...

One thing I would emphasis is a large amount of liverock and livesand/crushed coral... They store a lot of anarobic bacteria which breaks down animal waste keeping your water clear and clean.

Answer 3

Sounds like you have no experience with fish. I wouldn't try saltwater first if I was you. I've had a tropical tank for over 10 years and I'm still really questioning if I actually want a salt water fish.

If you ever have any where near to enough experience, you should know fish is very senstive to water temperature, especially salt water one. So why would you set tank by fireplace in first place?


You still have a LOT to learn. You're asking for trouble already.

Answer 4

To help you decide what type is suitable for u......

* What type of aquarium is best for YOU--saltwater or freshwater.

* A little-understood secret that will keep the water in your aquarium crystal clear.

* 3 easy steps you need to do every day—that prevent BIG problems down the road.

* The 6 special rules you NEED know to prevent you from accidently killing your fish! Look, fish don't live forever but you don't have to end their lives prematurely. There's nothing more heartbreaking than seeing your kids cry as you flush their favorite fish down the toilet -- especially when it's your fault! Learn this basic information or suffer the consequences.

* The number one thing you need to do before you set up your new aquarium.

* How to buy the best fish--6 things to look for when stocking your aquarium.

* How to know exactly how much to feed your fish.

* Inside secrets to help you avoid a “cash grab” by pet stores—this point alone can save you upwards of $100.

* How to keep your water warm, reduce heat loss and save money, all at the same time.

* Which foods to avoid because of parasites.

* Easy tactics to control water chemistry. You need to know this stuff or your fish could get sick even if your aquarium looks great. But don't panic. You won't need a white lab coat. This isn't your typical high-school chemistry lesson!

* Where NEVER to put your aquarium.

* Fluorescent or incandescent lighting? Learn which is best for your chosen set-up.

* When exactly to introduce fish to your NEW tank--if you don’t know this they might not make it.

* How "drip loops" can keep you and your fish from getting fried.

* How to keep your fish in the tank. (Some fish will jump right out! If your child finds it a few days later ... you'll have some explaining to do!)

* A simple strategy for establishing and maintaining a saltwater REEF tank! If you don't know anyone who has attempted to set up a tank like this you have no idea what a nightmare it can be...

* The minimum sized tank you should begin with.

* Bigger IS Better … in the fish world … size does matter! Find out what the heck I'm talking about!

* What to do if a fish starts to swim on its side.

* The easiest way to prevent a tidal wave in your living room. Imagine this. Your tank breaks and 30 gallons of water splashes onto the living room floor ruining flooring, furniture, walls, and electronic equipment before seeping down into the basement and wrecking the ceiling, the walls, wiring, insulation … ugh … just do one simple thing to prevent this from EVER happening.

* The truth about using a background.

* The 10 essential ingredients for your Fish First Aid Kit. You'll thank me for this one. If you're fish get sick you CAN help them get better. But if you don't have these items on hand ... it may be too late!

* The right kind of thermometer to use. This could prevent a disaster!

* The single biggest reason tanks get dirty--and how to avoid it.

* 3 little-known factors that are essential to plant health -- Somehow your friends just aren't impressed with dead, rotting, stinking plants floating around in your tank. Keeping them healthy is EASY when you know how.

* And that’s just a fraction of what you get with "Tropical Fish Secrets"!

ask yourself that... LOL....and check out the links.

Answer 5

You're first step would be to buy a book. AFTER you read the book, you should go to the local pet store and see how much the fish cost that you are interested in getting. After you do these things you can come back and ask again.

Answer 6

carefully

Answer 7

no