Have you ever watched a television show on Saltwater fish? How about the great barrier reef? Have you gone scuba diving in the caribbean and wished there was a way you could experience that all the time? So many different colors. Such a peaceful environment. From my own personal experience, observing the fish on a daily basis for over a decade, they have their own uniqueness other than color or patterns. It is absolutely an amazing hobby and a rewarding one at that.
Some people may look at a Saltwater aquarium and think, Wow that's beautiful, but I could never have that. That is so not true. The aquarium industry has made it relatively easy for the average person to obtain this hobby in your home. As long as you have a couple of hours per week and the finances to support this hobby. So in this article I am going to make you aware of the equipment and livestock you will need to get your hobby started successfully and what you can expect to happen within the first few months of your aquarium being set-up.
First of all you will need to purchase the following:
* An aquarium of adequate size. Anything over 33 gallons is recommended. Anything smaller will make your aquarium a lot more work.
* A proper stand for your aquarium, has to be able to hold the weight of your aquarium when it is full.
* Adequate lighting, this is required for optimal coral growth and to bring out the vibrant colors of your fish.
* A good quality filter, this is required so your water stays clean and healthy for your livestock.
* A protein skimmer, this gets rid of the excess toxins in your aquarium produced by fish and coral waste.
* A good quality heater so it can maintain a constant temperature in your environment. If there are any fluctuations this could result in fish or coral death.
* A hydrometer which measures the salt content in your aquarium.
* A test kit so you will be able to monitor your water chemistry.
* Power heads so you can create water movement in the aquarium, for this is how a lot of corals feed and it helps keeps diseases off of your fish.
Now the fun part. Setting up your aquarium. You will need to purchase live sand for the substrate and live rock for your reef base. The live sand is beneficial because it has live marine bacteria in it so your tank will stabilize faster, the live rock also contains the same bacteria if it is cured live rock, which is a bit more expensive but a lot less work. You will need to purchase a good quality marine salt. The mixture for this is half a cup per gallon. Your salt content should be between 1.023 and 1.025 and this can be measured with your hydrometer. Stack your rock so it is nice and secure usually away from any of the sides or front of your aquarium. Now that you have all this set up, you can go and get some fish.
Patience here is important. Do not go into the pet store and purchase every fish and coral you want. If you do this you will end up with problems. Building your reef takes time and patience. I recommend starting off with chromis, they are a peaceful and hardy fish. Excellent for beginners. Take those fish home and slowly acclimatize them to your tank. Now you wait. Your tank is now beginning to stabilize itself. This process can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks. You get to open your test kit and start testing and monitoring your ammonia and nitrite levels. You will experience ammonia spikes and nitrite spikes in this period, so don't get worried. You will also experience different types of algae growing, brown, green and red, in that order. No worries, once again its just your tank cycling.
Once your tank is testing minimal traces of nitrite and ammonia and you are seeing nitrates present, you are ready to slowly start adding new fish and some beginner corals.
So basic maintenance: 10% water change weekly, feed your fish twice daily (small amounts, they won't starve all fish are grazers), test your water weekly this makes you aware if any unwanted toxins are present and allows you to remove them as soon as they happen. Most importantly, have FUN!
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