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Saltwater Aquarium Heaters
There are a lot of saltwater aquarium heaters available in the market for your home saltwater aquariums.
A basic aquarium heater looks like a big test tube which has a wiring in it and electrical cord coming out of it.
The wiring is a heating coil in a glass tube that gets to go in your aquarium. This has to be turned on and off. You’ll be able to set the desired temperature using the thermostat.
Types of saltwater aquarium heaters:
Hanging Heater
They are usually called clamp-on, clip-on, or semi-submersible heaters. These are the old school style of heaters. They’ve been around since early 70’s.
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The name comes from a hanging heater because you simply hang it on the upper part of your aquarium. The extent to which part of the body goes under water will depend on the type of heater installed.
These are an inexpensive from of water heater but I don’t recommend this to be the best choice.
Here are some of disadvantages:
- The location on where you put it is not very efficient for heat exchange.
- The location is vulnerable to disturbance of either you or the inhabitant.
- There’s a high chance that it will be damage from where it is located.
- They tend to have less efficient thermostats for controlling their operation.
Since you’ve probably already invested a lot of money in setting up your aquarium, try not to jeopardize the success by saving a few dollars on a cheap heater!
Submersible Heater
This is the preferred choice for saltwater aquariums. It is also called as immersion heater. You can fully submerge it which ever location you want.
- You can put it all the way to the bottom where it will be out of the way of you when you do your routine cleaning.
- Out of the way of your inhabitants.
- Out of the view.
- In a more efficient location for heat dispersion.
- Even in the sump of your trickle filter keeping it completely out of the way!
Submersible saltwater aquarium heaters also have advanced thermostat controls, which make it easier to set the desired temperature.
To avoid hot spots…
Place the heater close to an area where there is a circulation of water to avoid any hotspots in the water which typically is near the filter system.
Recommended Heater Products from Saltwater Aquarium Guide
Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide
Right Temperature for your Saltwater Aquarium
Maintaining the right temperature in your saltwater aquarium is very important and any fluctuations on the temperature will cause great stress to your fish within your saltwater aquarium.
Saltwater fish normally experience a few changes in temperature in their natural habitat you its ideal if you can copy the natural enviornment in your saltwater aquarium.
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As most fish and invertebrates are cold-blooded animals which means their body temperatures are the same as the water in which they live. Their bodies function best at a specific water temperature.
All fishes have temperature preference depending where they came from so try asking your local pet dealer for information. Or better yet, try to read one of the many fish encyclopedias available for the specific temperature.
Also, try not to mix or house fishes that have a very different temperature preference. It will be easier to house the ones that require temperature that are in close range.
Recommended Heater Products from Saltwater Aquarium Guide
Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide
Saltwater Aquarium Temperature
The natural water temperature in the oceans reef range between 74°F to 82°F and this is the temperature we need to replicate too, as well as other water parameters .
Therefore any sudden changes in your saltwater aquarium temperature can cause stress to your fish and other inhabitants.
So any changes in our Saltwater aquarium temperature is very likely to cause…
- damage to the fish’s immune system
- fish stress
- diseases
- algae outbreaks
This is why stable aquarium temperatures are very important to the life of your fish.
The oceans i not made up of water of the same temperature, temperate fishes inhibit areas where the waters are slightly colder. These fishes are also well adapted to low light levels and shorter days.
In contrast, warmer waters are present in large areas around the world and the most common fishes in the saltwater aquarium are tropical coral reef species.
Tropical refers to the waters in their natural habitat where it is warm throughout the year.
So this means you MUST heat your aquarium water. This is the job of aquarium heaters. It will maintain your aquarium water at a constant temperature.
It is possible for your saltwater aquarium to become too warm, especially during hot summer days.
If you’re looking for a short term solution, try to fill a plastic bag with ice cubes, seal it and float it in the aquarium or in the filter sump which will help.
But a better solution is that you might need to add a chiller during summer when it gets too hot. And it might be necessary for you to turn off your aquarium heater.
But whatever it is that you need to do, another important thing to remember is “slowly change the temperature of your tank”.
You can reduce the high probability of causing stress to your fish if you follow that simple reminder!
Recommended Heater Products from Saltwater Aquarium Guide
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
Canister Filters
Canister filters are basically like a external power filter that instead of hanging from the aquarium side will now sit on the bottom and are versatile in they can be used for mechanical, chemical, and/or biological filtration in saltwater aquarium systems.
It draws water from the aquarium with an intake tube and returns it with an output tube which can be directed any where you like. Or even directed to another filtration system like the under gravel filter system.
The filter is built up with compartments with different kinds of filter media. Activated carbon, filter sponges, filter floss, and ceramic bodies are some of the filter media used.
Canister filters are made to filter large volume of water and are a great choice as they enhance preformance and convenience.
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Generally these filters cost moe than others but with the benefits the price can be worth it with the added effciency etc.
If you plan to house not only fish but invertebrates and all kinds of corals, I would recommend getting a canister filter.
It can act as a stand alone filter, or be used in combination with other types of filtration.
Here are some examples for each category.
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Mechanical Filtration
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For Chemical Filtration
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For Biological Filtration
If you have an undergravel filter you can add a hang-on-tank canister filter to remove free floating debris from the water.
If you continue running a canister filter on this type of set up, it will contribute in the improvement of your water quality.
If you have a semi-reef system with fish and some live rock in it, you can install a canister filter inline to act as a “prefilter” to remove unwanted waste from your saltwater aquarium water before it goes through the actual biological filter.
This can also be done on full reef tanks with live rock and corals in them, but the debate about continually running mechanical filtration in this type of system is that such a set up filters out beneficial plankton life in the water that many marine organisms feed on.
If you need help in clearing up the water quality, they can place activated carbon in one of the media layers to help eliminate odors, medications or other contaminates in the water.
You can also use other types of absorbing products that are designed to remove nitrates, phosphates, silicates and other unwanted chemical elements or compounds.
Many are designed for this use. Actually a lot of aquarists use them in this way. But I think this is not a good choice if you are to use it as your “main” source for biological filtration.
It’s ok for smaller systems, but most do not have a chamber big enough to hold a sufficient amount of bio-media in them for larger ones.
Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide
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