Latest Poll
Loading ...
Saltwater Aquarium Care and Maintenance
We have gone though the beginners guide to saltwater aquarium and we have learnt how to set up your saltwater aquarium, next comes the critical maintenance and care of your saltwater aquarium.
First we need to set up a strict maintenance schedule for our saltwater fish and other inhabitants to thrive in your aquarium. By applying simple maintenance techinques our inhabitants will stay healthier and your saltwater aquarium’s physical environment will look cleaner.
A Proper and routine cleaning schedule is the key to success and is long term beneficial, to avoid loss of saltwater fish and of course loss of money and time invested.
You may be asking right now, how often do i need clean my saltwater aquarium? or how often does maintenance take place?
Well it all depends on the following questions:
- What is your aquarium size?
- What kind of saltwater aquarium filters do you use?
- What types and numbers of inhabitants/fishes do you have?
- lastly, how often do you feed them?
When you can answer these questions you can decide on how often your saltwater aquarium needs cleaning.
Here is a suggestion or recommendation on how often your saltwater aquarium should be checked and what should be checked and/or be monitored.
Daily
|
|
- Make sure all equipments are running properly and smoothly.
- Salinity
- Temperature (twice a day – in the morning and at night)
- Check your fish to make sure they are actingnormally. Checking this daily will help you find out the first signs of disease and treat it early.
Weekly and/or Bi-Weekly
- Partial water change of about 15-20% of your saltwater aquarium.
- Vacuum gravel or sand.
- Check water parameters – pH, Hardness, Nitrite, Nitrate
- Rinse your filter. Tip: Rinse it out with your old aquarium water that you are changing. Using chlorinated water will cause temperature change and can kill the bacteria that accumulated.
Monthly
- Replace your saltwater aquarium filter media if necessary.
- Check expiration dated on the boxes and bottles of your aquarium supplies that you use.
When required
- Algae clean up on aquarium glass and decorations.
Good water quality ensures health for your saltwater fish and other inhabitants.
Here are some more guidelines on routine care and maintenance for your saltwater aquarium:
- Testing your saltwater aquarium water
- Changing your saltwater aquarium water
- Maintaning the amount of algae
- Feeding saltwater fish
Complete guide to maintenance and care of your saltwater aquarium
Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide
Saltwater Aquarium Lighting
Light is lifes major energy source and thats no different for saltwater aquariums too, there is mant types of lighting fixtures when setting up your aquarium so selecting the correct one is key and will depend what kind of fishes and other things.
If your choosing to house fish and only live rocks then maybe a standard fluorescent aquarium light will be adequate, but if your looking at more things like coral and photosynthetic animals then i would suggest a greater intensity of lighting like a metal halide.
So which one is the right lighting system for your saltwater aquarium?
Let’s look at your options below. This will give you an idea of each light’s benefit, its quality, expense, amount of electricity it consumes and the life of the bulb itself.
Natural Light
Natural sunlight is inexpensive, provides the entire spectrum of wavelengths, called full-spectrum light. It is an ideal source of light for your aquarium, but is very difficult to control the right amount of it. It is also unpredictable so I don’t think this would be an acceptable source of aquarium light.
Tungsten
These type of saltwater aquarium lighting were used as a source of light for freshwater aquariums long time ago. It was the incandescent light on those aquariums. Your typical light bulb at home gives out tungsten light.
- Quality:
- Durability:
- Expense:
- Recommendation:
It burns hot and do not provide full spectrum lighting. They also promote algae bloom in aquariums.
It doesn’t last long and would require frequent changing.
Low cost but consume a lot of electricity.
Do not use this for your saltwater aquarium.
Fluorescent
Most of the fluorescent lamps that are out in the market are used typically for freshwater aquariums but is alsio popular in saltwater aquariums. Typically they come built in with a full hood but can come as trip lights too.
- Quality:
- Durability:
- Expense:
Fluorescent light gives cool and bright light and spreads evenly from the light into the aquarium. They come in variety of choices and power output nowadays. Full spectrum lighting is ideal for reef aquarium.
It is known to last from several months to two years, dpending on the bulb.
It is less expensive than other aquarium lighting. They are very efficient and consume low amounts of electricity.
Power compact Fluorescent
They are sold as strip lights or can be purchased as retrofit kit for a standard hood and are look like a u-shape instaed of the usual straight fluorescent tubes, but there output id much higher tahn the standard tubes.
- Quality:
- Durability:
Does the same as the standard fluorescent lights. The only difference is that this type produces higher intensity lighting. Full spectrum and specialty lighting are available and work very well for deeper reef aquariums.
- It also last from several months to two years depending on the bulb.
- Expense:
- Recommendation:
It is more expensive than the standard fluorescent lights but is more efficient and consumes less electricity.
This is excellent for reef aquariums.
Mercury Vapor
This saltwater aquarium lighting uses mercury vapor to produce light from spotlights such as above the aquarium.
- Quality:
- Durability:
- Expense:
- Recommendation:
- high intensity light for photosynthetic invertebrates and
- soft fluorescent lighting for pleasant viewing
Gives intense, deep-penetrating, full-spectrum light which is ideal for invertebrate aquariums. There are bulbs that have more blue on the spectrum and are available for special reef lighting.
They run hot so the light needs to be suspended and ventilated. Be extra careful when you use this as they may produce ultraviolet light that can damage your eyesight.
You would need to replace this every eight to twelve months to maintain its maximum efficiency.
This lighting is expensive to purchase and operate.
It is ideal for reef and invertebrate aquariums.
Combination
They are expensive and offer the best of both:
Combinations of saltwater aquarium lighting are now offered for your saltwater aquarium. The common types are the ones that sit above the aquarium. One is metal halide fluorescent fixture that includes multiple light sources.
Halides are typically used for photosynthetic corals and invertebrates. They produce high heat and may require a chiller. Shallow water corals will benefit from this intense lighting.
Recommended Lighting from Saltwater Aquarium Guide
-
Order your Aquarium Guide Here
