Now you have read about how to your beginners guide to saltwater aquarium and your ready to venture into the realm of setting up your first saltwater aquarium.
Saltwater aquarium set up is never done in a day and will take you time but its an exciting and enjoyable adventure. It will take you upto 2 mo
nths before you can add your first fish safely into your saltwater Aquarium which can be sad for the notice out there, but patience is key to any successful aquarium and as prices of fish can be expensive we dont want see them die with hours or days.
Before we can move on we need to look in more detail about these areas to make an successful set up of your saltwater aquarium:
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These topics will be covered below in more detail below:
Your first step in setting up your aquarium is location, look for a location away from natural light. Avoid windows or anything that allows natural light to hit the saltwater aquarium.
Natural sunrays will produce algae growth whcih is normally a common problem for newbie aqauariumists. Look for a cool well ventilated room this will be the base of your aquarium set up. Enure the area is large enough and well supported as you dont want your aquarium collapsing when you add water later on. Ensure you have a power source nearby and enough room for the cables and access for maintenance and cleaning.
Choose a large enough location for your aquarium. Set up a level and well supported area for your aquarium and stand and is highly preferred. Make sure to leave enough space for electrical connections and other equipments as well as around the aquarium for aquarium care and maintenance.
For a more detailed information on selecting saltwater aquarium location click here.
Selecting the correct saltwater aquarium is the start to your success, aim to buy as big as you afford as the bigger the more stable the aquarium will be and the less chance of the mistae affecting the whole tank, but of course it must fit your location and your budget. Take note of the surface area as this is the point where oxygen is transffered in and carbon dioxide escapes so larger the surface the better.
Important is the shape of the aquarium, many years ago there was only rectangle shaped but nowadays you can have hexagon to octagon , bow fronted to name a few. These can all have there problems in difficult to light, hard to clean, difficult to view though and even fish hard to swim. So i personnally stick with a standard rectangle shaped saltwater aquarium.
Lastly dont forget the stand whch the aquarium will stand on, this must be sturdy to withstand the weight of the filled aquarium.
So upto now you have invested in the large aquarium and its in the prefect viewing location so your itching to add the fish corals and live rocks. But still you have tasks to complete, make sure the aquarium is cleaned with freshwater and a cloth but never use any chemicals.
Now your ready to add your sand or gravel, but wait how much should we add?
Determining how much substrate to buy for your new aquarium depends on the size and sahape of your tank, as well as the depth of the substrate bed you wish to achieve. The simplest rule of thumb to use is to plan 1 lb of substrate per gallon to achieve a 1" bed. Or 2 lbs per gallon for a 2" bed.
Now you can proceed to add the saltwater, which comes in premixed bags of saltwater or if you plan to use filtered water make sure you use sea sat mix according to manufactures label.
Next install all the other equipment such as your aquarium lighting, aquarium temperature device and filtration system and let them run for a day or two, while this happens check for leaks, adjust the heater to the required tempaerature and baance the salinity f the water if required, and generally test out all equipment to ensure it works fine.
Aquarium Aquascaping basically is decorating your aquarium. So he's where your artistic mind come into play so have fun and be creative. A good thing to add
live rock to your aquarium as its works as a biological filter to your saltwater aquarium and will provide proper water management which will improve your aquariums environment.
Another advantage of live rock is that it acts as a home for corals and other invertebrates and can be used by shy or frightened fish as their hiding place.
You can get a live rock that are already cured and can be added to your aquarium or you can buy uncured live rock which you will require to be cured properly to ensure healthly environement. click here to find out how to cure liverocks
Ammonia, will be released into your aquarium if not cured properly before adding, most liverocks take around 1 to 3 weeks to be cured correctly befoe being safe to add to your aquarium. Curing can be done inside a large container or like wise inside your aquarium tank.
Once you have aquascaped your saltwater aquarium, the next step in our saltwater aquarium set up guide would be allowing the aquarium to cycle, this is very critical and patience is required at this stage.
Biggest difference between a old and new aquarium is theres no bacteria in a new aquarium which helps your inhabitants to survive hence why we need cycle our aquariums.
Cycling or Nitrogen cycle, cycling, nitrification, biological cycle, startup cycle, break-in cycle – whatever you want to call it is the process of establishing and maturing the biological filtration which typically takes between 3 to 6 weeks.
Factors like
(1) The amount of ammonia being produced during the cycling period;
(2) The efficiency of the biological filtration and
(3) Whether liverocks or live plants are used in the process.
Will affect the time required.
Failure to carry out this step properly will inturn lead to fish loss at a later date so its very important to follow this step correctly.
First is to establish a source of ammonia to start off the system which normally means adding 2 or 3 hardy fish, their waste product is the intitial source of ammonia or an alternatve method would be to add a commercially available maturation fluids. Just follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
After adding the maturation compound to kick start nitrification. Ammonia level will rise and reach its peak then declines, while bacteria continues to multiply until they are undetectable during testing.
The by-product of ammonia is nitrite. Nitrite levels will rise until the number of bacteria has increased to the point at which they break down the nitrites faster than it is being produced. Measure the nitrite levels with a nitrite test kit after a period of time.
The end product of this process is nitrate. Nitrate is not toxic to the fish but high levels of it can produce problem to your aquarium. You can recognize the increase of nitrate when there is an algae outbreak to your saltwater aquarium. You can then control algae reproduction by constant water changes and chemical filtration. It will also help you in managing your cycle without losing any of your fish.
Testing your aquarium water parameters regularly during this time will prevent problems in your saltwater aquarium.
While you are doing your water change and tidying the tank up to get it ready for the first few new or additional pieces of fish nows the time to do any final adjustments to your aqauscaping before your tank is completed. When your done let your tank run for a day or two again to allow everthing to settle again and make any final adjustments to water temperature or salinty.
Now your itching to fill you tank with new fishes, but at this stage the biggest mistake is to add to many fish into your newly cycled saltwater aquarium. Its key to add your fish slowly to ensure not too overload your aquarium, so whether your buying fish,corals or any invertebrates is to buy 1 or 2 at a time to test out the nitrogen cycle.
After your brought your next addition to your aquarium and added to the tank, allow the aquariums nitrifying bacteria base to readjust to the additional bio-load. Over the following week monitior the ammonia and nitrite levels daily until zero reading show. Only now you are ready to add your next buy.
Your new saltwater aquarium is now the pride and joy of your house and you have spent much effort, time and energy into it and its important for you to establish a regular aquarium care maintenance routine.
Here are some handy products you should always have for your aquarium maintenance:
This is the simplest way to remove algae for simple aquarium maintenance. It keeps your hands dry while you scrub those algae away from the glass of your aquarium. Just drag the no-scratch, felt-lined handle.
While inside your aquarium, the scrubber follows and cleans as it goes. If the magnets get separated, the scrubber part of the magnet floats right back to the surface of your aquarium.
Here is another way to keep your hands dry during aquarium maintenance. It also helps you on protecting your aquarium from contamination, and preventing allergic reactions from chemicals.
You will never know when a leak appears and can be life saving, get the one that works both in and out of the water.
This is peice of equipment is used for water changing and use gravity to draw water out and is great for removing unwanted debris and uneaten food, how to siphon your saltwater aquarium correctly.
Keep a log or a journal of your aqaurium activities to monitor your maintenance and take note of water changing dates, water parameters and other important information.
Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide
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