Marine help?

Question

I just got an aquarium(I'm not telling the size) and i need to know all the possibility s for it meaning EVERYTHING saltwater!any help is greatly appreciated.

Including equipment.

Okay i didn't want you guys to tell me to get a bigger tank...i just wanted the details first.my tank is a 10gallon glass tank with NOTHING so I'm starting a saltwater tank. Thanks for the help...OH and BTW I'm extending the questions time.

Answer 1

Size really only matters in how much maintenance your going to need to do. Larger tanks are more forgiving than smaller ones. Going over everything in one answer is impossible as there are way to many variables.

First consider what kind of livestock you want. Fish? Fish with live rock? Full reef system? They have differant needs for equipment and care.

Lighting - For fish only or fish with live rock basic flourescents will work fine. If you want to have corals/anenomes/clams the lighting requirements change. Decide what you want to keep then research the lighting requirements for those species. T-5 light setups are a good alternative to the more expensive metal halide lights and can provide ample lighting for most reef tanks. Make sur eto look into the kelvin and nanometer of the lighting as well. Blue lighting above 10000k does better for corals while more yellow light below 10000k provides more for algae growth.

Filtration - There are so many out there. A smaller tank will do fine with a typical hang on back biowheel type filter. A setup that incorporates live rock, good water flow, crabs, snails, and shrimp will do better though.

Protein skimmers - Part of filtration are invaluable to a saltwater tank. Not required but a high quality one is worth it. They remove biological waste from the aquarium by simulating the foam made by waves.

Water flow - Move around 10-20 times your aquarium volume per hour. Try to get the entire aquarium circulated yet still leave some lower flow(not no flow) areas for fish and corals that perfer lower currents. Water flow is vital to oxygenation of the water. Good agitation of the surface of the aquarium provides proper oxygen exchange.

Substrate - A good sand substrate of around 3" is perfect. Provides the perfect place for beneficial bacteria to live and will also aid in nitrate removal.

Test kits - Very important. Test your water. Maintaining good water quality is the key to keeping a healthy tank. Fresh or salt. For normal tropical tanks pH 8.2-8.4, Nitrates <40ppm, Ammonia 0ppm, nitrites 0 ppm, calcium 400ish ppm, salinity 1.022(1.024 for corals), temp 78-80F.

Cycle your tank - Don't use fish. Add in some raw shrimp or fish food and get the cycle going. Even better yet use some live rock. Uncured is best for a cycle as it has more dead on it to decay and grow the beneficial bacteria. You will see ammonia spike up then nitrites spike. Your ammonia will decrease and your nitrates will start to rise. When your Ammonia and nitrites have both spiked and gone back down to 0 and the nitrates have risen to a decent level your cycle is done. Do a 50% change of the water then add in your clean up crew(snails,crabs, starfish, shrimp) . Watch your water tests and if all is well you can add in your first fish in about a week after your cycle. Go slowly as any new livestock will add to your tanks bioload and in the first few months it is very delicate and can be overwhelmed by new additions.

Any satwater tank can be a full reef tank. From a 1 gallon to a 5000 gallon tank. Larger tanks you can add more and have a much greater selection of fish you can add in. Smaller tanks are limited to well, smaller and less fish and corals.

There is of course much more to a saltwater tank these are just some of the basics. Your possibilities are endless. Your question should be how much do I want to spend for that possibility to be reality.

Answer 2

The size of your tank will determine whether or not some types of equipment (or fish) would even be practical. For instance, if your tank was 10 gallons, it wouldn't be practical for us to tell you that you should add metal halide lighting - you'd fry your fish with lighting that intense. Plus, there can be more than one piece of equipment or method that will work in a given situation, so you should consider as many alternatives to see what's appropriate for your tank size, what you'd like to keep, and budget.

Same with fish - a green moray wouldn't even fit in a tank that size! When considering fish for saltwater, you need to take into consideration the tank size, adult fish size, activity level, aggressiveness, compatibility with fish and other organisms in the tank, hardiness, and experience of the keeper.

You won't be able to fit all that information into just a few paragraphs in a forum. A better approach would to be to get a good book on saltwater aquariums. You can also use a few good websites to use as additional references.

For books I'd recommend The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 or The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5

As a website, I'd recommend these as starters:
http://www.apapets.com/MarineEcosystem/whatto.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16

You can also try finding out if there are any aquarium societies in your area. There will usually be some members that are interested in keeping marine tanks and they can help you and maybe even be there to help with set-up and whenever you have a problem.

Good luck with your tank!

Answer 3

A 10 gallon tank could only suite a pair of Clownfish. You need atleast a 55 gallon tank or larger to start your tank.

Answer 4

http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterAquariumSetup.htm

Try this website! It should help you get started.

Answer 5

What?

Answer 6

Well, for the type of saltwater fish tank setup (marine aquarium) described in this article you will need the following equipment:

Aquarium
Aquarium Photo Background or Paint the background - see Aquarium Aquascape Design for more info on painting the tank background.
Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral
Live Rock
Saltwater Mix
Saltwater Hydrometer
Aquarium filter
Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon
Multiple Powerheads (2 or 3)
Heater - be sure to get one large enough for the size tank you're getting
Protein Skimmer - See the equipment reviews section for some protein skimmer reviews
Saltwater test kit(s) to test water parameters and monitor the infamous aquarium nitrogen cycle
Saltwater fish food
Aquarium vacuum
Fish net
Rubber kitchen gloves
Aquarium Glass Scrubber
Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
Aquarium thermometer
Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock
Quarantine Tank for acclimating new arrivals and monitoring for signs of fish disease
Power Strip

Realize the responsibility, time and costs involved
A saltwater aquarium setup is just like having a dog or a cat when it comes to the amount of effort on your part. In order to have a successfully setup saltwater aquarium you will have to work at it. On a daily basis you will need to feed your saltwater fish and monitor the water parameters (temperature, nitrates, etc) and some of the Aquarium Equipment. Once a week, or at most once every month, you will need to perform some kind of maintenance on your aquarium. Most of the time you will be performing water changes and water quality testing.

Cost is a very serious factor. Take the list above and research the prices of the various equipment needed to setup a saltwater fish tank. You will soon realize that a saltwater aquarium can cost significantly more to purchase than a freshwater aquarium setup. Not to mention that saltwater fish are usually more expensive that their freshwater counterparts.

You also need to understand that setting up a saltwater aquarium takes time. It often takes 4 to 8 weeks before you can add any marine fish safely to your marine aquarium setup.

Read, read and then read some more
There are many great saltwater books out there and we've reviewed a few of them. Some of the better saltwater books are:


The Conscientious Marine Aquarist,
The Complete Book of the Marine Aquarium,
Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies,
Reef Secrets,
Simple Guide to Mini-Reef Aquariums,
Complete Encyclopedia of the Saltwater Aquarium,
Marine Fishes, 500 Essential to Know Aquarium Species, and
The New Marine Aquarium.
There is also a ton of information online on saltwater fish. Do yourself a huge favor by reading as much as you can before you invest any money in your Aquarium Equipment and fish. You'll be glad you did.

Decide on an aquarium size and location
It's a good idea to know what kind of saltwater fish you want to keep before you purchase your aquarium. Do a lot of research on the various types of marine fish to determine which fish you would like to get. Some marine fish only grow to be an inch or two, whereas other types can grow to 12 or 18 inches! Knowing what kind of marine fish you want will help you decide the size of the aquarium they will need. Many books stress that you shouldn't get started in the saltwater hobby unless you have at least a 40 gallon. But if you've done your research and thoroughly prepared, there is no reason why you can't start with a smaller tank. Be warned, a smaller tank will pose more challenges and will force you to perform more frequent water testing and maintenance.

You will want to place your aquarium in an area where the light and temperature of the tank won't be affected by external sources such as windows and heater vents. You will also want to place your aquarium on a stand that will be able to hold its total weight. A good rule of thumb for determining the total weight of a full aquarium is 10 pounds per gallon of water. For example, a 55-gallon tank will weigh approximately 550 pounds when filled with water only! You also have to account for the total amount of live rock, sand and equipment.



Buy your aquarium and equipment
Now is the time to decide on the type of filtration you will want to use when you setup your saltwater aquarium and the type of protein skimmer. We do not recommend using an undergravel filter. An undergravel filter is not needed and will only cause you headaches down the road. Since we will be using live rock as our biological filter, you really only need a modest filter for the mechanical and chemical filtration. Don't skimp on the skimmer. After the live rock, the protein skimmer is probably the next most important piece of equipment. When it comes to protein skimmers you really do get what you pay for. We have posted a few protein skimmer reviews and there are many more out there. Listed below are skimmers that we have reviewed:

AquaC Remora Protein Skimmer
Fission Nano Protein Skimmer
Red Sea Prizm Protein Skimmer
Fission Nano Protein Skimmer
Visi-Jet-PS Protein Skimmer
You will also need to purchase a heater capable of heating the aquarium size you have.

Get the live rock, sand and a power strip. Try to get 1 to 2 pounds of live rock per aquarium gallon. One rule of thumb for the amount of sand that you will need is about 1/2 to 1 pound of sand per gallon of water. Don't use sandbox or playground sand because it can have various unknown particles that may be harmful to your fish. Get either live sand or an aragonite based sand (from caribsea) or crushed coral.

Set up your aquarium, stand and equipment
Wash out your tank with water only! Do not use soap or detergents. Soap residue left behind will be harmful for your saltwater fish. Smoke test your aquarium by filling it with fresh water and check for leaks. If it passes the leak test, drain the fresh water from the aquarium.

Affix your background at this time. Be sure to use tape all across the top back of the background to prevent any salt creep from getting in between the background and tank glass. Alternatively, you can also paint the back tank glass (paint the outside back, not the inside). Painting the back glass can be better than using a background because you won't have to worry about salt creep making its way in between your aquarium background and the back glass. For marine tanks, a black background can help the fish colors stand out more. Deep blue is another popular color choice and it can help create the illusion of depth. After painting, let the tank sit for a day or so to allow the paint to dry.

Install your heater, hook up your filter, protein skimmer and any other equipment you have and be sure to use a drip loop on all of the power cords. For more safety tips, read the aquarium electrical safety article. Don't plug in anything yet!

Add pre-mixed saltwater to the aquarium
All of the marine salt mixes out there are made slightly differently. There is much debate as to which salt mix is the best. Here is a comparison on some of the available saltwater mixes. Unless you're considering a reef tank, most of the commonly available mixes should serve you fine. You'll soon develop a salt mix preference after you've worked with them for a while.

Use a clean 5-gallon bucket to mix the saltwater. First fill the bucket and then remove the chlorine and chloramine. Use something like Tetra AquaSafe for Aquariums. Read the directions on the salt mix package carefully and then add the salt mix slowly to room temperature water. Stir it well and test it with your hydrometer. Once you get a specific gravity reading between 1.021 and 1.024 you can add the saltwater to your aquarium. Repeat this process until you have filled your tank. If you have a large aquarium you can mix the salt in the tank. Mixing in the tank can be more difficult and messy, so just be sure that you have thoroughly dissolved all of the salt mix before using the hydrometer.

Turn on the aquarium and let the water circulate for a day or two.

Cure the live rock



Live rock is probably going to be the greatest expense with the initial setup of a saltwater aquarium. For a reef tank setup it may be the aquarium lighting. For this reason, you are probably going to treat your live rock like gold once you get it. However, even though it can cost a lot of money, it will probably end up saving you money (in fish) because it is the best form of biological filtration. The curing process can last anywhere from 1 week to 2 months or more depending on the shape the rock is in when you get it.

Drain some of the aquarium water and then place your live rock in the tank. Try to place it in the middle of the tank and aim the powerheads (you should have 2 or 3) at the live rock. Placing the live rock in the middle of the tank will allow you to siphon up the debris that the powerheads will be blowing off.

Every few days turn off the power to the tank so you can perform live rock maintenance. Use some new rubber kitchen type gloves while doing this to protect your hands and the rock. You will need to scrub the live rock with a brush that has plastic bristles (old tooth brush) to remove any obviously dead or dying organisms. You can do this directly in the tank. Siphon up the debris and then refill with pre-mixed saltwater. The day before you perform the live rock maintenance get your saltwater ready. If you have a smaller tank you can use a couple of 5-gallon buckets for this purpose. If you have a larger tank you may want to invest in a large rubber trash can for pre-mixing your saltwater. Whatever you use, you will need to place a powerhead and a heater in the pre-mix container so that the mix dissolves correctly. Test your water throughout the curing process to determine if the tank is cycling.

During the curing process your tank may smell pretty bad and a good indication that your live rock is cured is when it no longer smells bad but more like the ocean. Use your test kits to verify that the tank has indeed cycled. You should have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and some sort of reading on the nitrates.

Add your substrate
First, drain some of the saltwater in your aquarium to allow for the sand you're about to add and turn off the power to the tank. We'll use the 5-gallon bucket to clean the sand. Use the 5-gallon bucket to pre-mix about 2 gallons of saltwater. Add your sand to the bucket and then stir. This will allow some of the dust and dirt to rise so you can then siphon it off. Drain some of the saltwater from the bucket before adding your substrate. Use a plastic cup, ladle or something similar to add the freshly cleaned substrate to your aquarium. Use one of your powerheads to blow off any sand that gets on your live rock during this process.

Allow the tank to settle for a few days
Monitor your water parameters closely during this time. Check the salinity or specific gravity, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and carbonate hardness levels and correct as necessary. Ideally, you want the following readings for your saltwater tests before you start adding fish to your saltwater aquarium setup:

temperature: 75°F - 80°F (24°C - 27°C)
specific gravity: 1.020 - 1.024
pH: 8.0 - 8.4
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20 ppm or less (especially for invertebrates)
carbonate hardness: 7-10 dKH
Slowly add saltwater fish after the tank has cycled
I can't stress enough the need to use a quarantine tank for any new marine fish. You are playing a game that you will eventually lose by adding fish directly into the main tank. For more information on using a quarantine tank, please read How To Setup A Quarantine Tank.
Only add one or two saltwater fish at a time. Only adding a couple saltwater fish at a time gives your filtration system the time needed to take on the increased biological load that the new fish introduce. When bringing home new saltwater fish, the acclimation process is a little more involved. Dump the bag contents (fish and water) into a clean 5-gallon bucket and then add about 1 cup of aquarium water to the 5 gallon bucket every 10 minutes. Continue to add 1 cup of aquarium water to the 5-gallon bucket every 10 minutes. After an hour or so your marine fish or invertebrate should be ready to add to the aquarium (qt tank). Following this more involved acclimation process will help reduce the amount of stress imposed on the saltwater fish. Stressed fish often leads to dead fish! Don't feed your saltwater fish on the first day. They probably wouldn't eat any food on the first day anyway. Let them get acquainted with their new home.

Perform Regular Aquarium Maintenance.
Be prepared to spend some time every day to monitor the temperature and salinity levels on your newly setup marine aquarium. You will also need to spend some time once a month to clean your tank and change out some of the saltwater. Try to change 20% of the saltwater in a given month. This could work out to doing small 5% water changes once a week. Performing regular small water changes will reduce the nitrate levels, replenish elements that have been used up and skimmed off and keep your saltwater fish happy and healthy. Remember to never add freshly mixed saltwater to your aquarium because it is fairly caustic freshly mixed. Mix it up the day before you will be doing maintenance.



Saltwater Setup Comments, Tips and Questions

From: Marc M. - Lowering salinity, specific gravity
If my Hydrometer is higher than the normal range its suppose to be in, what do I do?
If your reading is higher than you want it to be, the easiest way to lower the salt levels in the water is to perform a small partial water change with de-chlorinated freshwater only. Over time you'll get better at measuring the amount to use when pre-mixing the saltwater, it just takes practice. Also, it's good to point out here that whenever you need to replace evaporated tank water you should use de-chlorinated freshwater. Monitor the specific gravity on a weekly basis or at least once every two weeks.

From: Cori - Is a Reverse Osmosis Filter necessary?
Do you need to invest in a reverse osmosis filtration system to ensure that the chlorine and chloramines are taken out of the water? Would a sink mounted sytem like Pur or Brita work?
I know that the Pur ultimate will remove chlorine and chloramine but not sure on the Brita. The only way to be sure is to test the filtered water for chlorine and chloramine. If you plan on having a fish only setup, then a reverse osmosis system may not be necessary. If you are wanting a reef type system with corals and anemones then you may need to invest in a RO unit. It really depends on your tap water quality and the amount of impurities in it.


From: Oscar - Filter Followup
In response to Cori, if you intend to use a sink mounted system please bear in mind that they are designed to work at mains pressure. I adapted one of these filters for cleaning large aquariums but there was no way of providing the necessary pressure to work an ionisation filter.


From: Gordie - Is a sump or refugium necessary?
I've been researching on several sites, all of which suggest using a sump/refugium. Is this necessary, or can I save a few bucks by just using the aquarium and quarantine tank?
A sump or refugium is not mandatory for a fish only tank or a fish only with live rock (fowlr). However, they are definitely positive additions if you can afford them because they can be used to hide equipment, help in nutrient export and for the culturing of live foods for your marine animals. They also help promote more stable water parameters because sumps can increase the amount of total water in a salwater tank setup. You often will see marine setups that seem to be way overstocked but you can almost guarantee that there is a sump equalling the size of the display tank hidden somewhere.


From: Paul - Live Rock Die Off
I have just set up a new tank 2 weeks ago. I have live rock, it has crabs and other living things (go figure) I have been told that these will die as part of the cycling process, is this true? Can I keep them alive?
It all depends on the shape the live rock is in when you start the aquarium cycle. If it's in good shape and was kept relatively wet or even semi-cured before you got it, then many of the living organisms may make it. If it's in bad shape from the get go and you are essentially curing it right now, then many of the life forms won't make it through the cycling process. However, marine invertebrates seem to handle ammonia and nitrite buildups better than saltwater fish and you may get lucky and have a few survive the cycling process.


From: Brett - Cloudy Water and is a UV sterilizer necessary?
I just set up a 55 Gallon tank recently. Started the filtration, added the substrate and salt water. However it is still pretty cloudy. Is there anything I can do to change that? Also, I was told my cycle starts now even though I don't have my protein skimmer in. I also heard something about a UV sterilizer. Mine is a fish only system. Is this necessary?
The water will usually be cloudy for a day, maybe 2 or 3 days at most. This is most likely dust from the sand that should settle or get filtered by your mechanical filter (i.e. power filter or canister filter, if you have one). If you had live rock (assuming you don't, since you say "fish only") in the tank already then the cycle may be started, finished or at some stage in between. It really depends on the shape the rock is in when you get it. If it's in bad shape you may have some serious ammonia spikes for the next week or so followed by nitrite spikes. We really encourage the use of live rock because it can be a great biological filter for your saltwater aquarium.
If you're not using live rock or live sand, then you have to add either fish or some other source of ammonia to the tank in order to get the aquarium cycle started. Please read the article on the aquarium nitrogen cycle for more information and tips. The protein skimmer has nothing to do with starting the cycle. The protein skimmer helps by removing the organic substances from the tank water before they get converted to ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, etc. They also help by increasing the amount of dissolved oxygen in the tank water.

In a fish only aquarium setup, the UV sterilizer is not really needed in our opinion. If you practice proper fish quarantine and fish acclimation procedures and keep your water parameters within acceptable ranges should never really need one of these devices. However, if you're keeping more expensive or delicate or hard to keep fish species it may be worth looking into. These units can be very expensive.