how to set up and care for a salt water aquarium?
i would like to get a salt water aquarium but i need to find out more because i don’t have endless money or time and i’ve heard salt water aquariums take both. could anyone give me a short run through of what they require as in supplies ,time, effort, cost?
Honestly, if you properly setup your aquarium there will be minimal care. I have a 180 Gallon reef tank and I probably spend at most 10 mins a day maintaining it (wiping the glass, topping off with freshwater, checking temperature and salinity, cleaning out the skimmer.
For supplies you would need
Tank – honestly the bigger the better, i would suggest a 55G for beginners (easier to maintain stable water parameters IF AND ONLY IF you perform the proper maintenance (discussed below)) Cost: ~$100- sky’s the limit
Stand – I would stay away from the wrought iron stands as metal and saltwater are not a good combo. Stick with the oak or pine stands. Cost: $100-$200
Heater – Get yourself 2 heaters that are rated for half your tank size for redundancy and insurance if one happens to fail (trust me they almost always fail!) ie. if you have a 100 gallon tank, get yourself 2 heaters rated for 50 gallons Cost: $15-$25 each.
Lighting: depending on what type of tank you intend on keeping (fish only, fish with live rock, reef tank (low light) or reef tank (high light) the cost can be more than all your other equipment combined. If you only want a fish only tank, you can get away with a regular flourescent light. if you plan on keeping a reef tank you will have to get a more intricate system of either VHO lights, Metal Halides or Power Compacts. Costs anywhere from $50 for flourescents to $1500 for Metal halide/VHO combinations. Plus cost of bulbs ~$60 for halides and $25 for VHO.
Skimmer – Very necessary to help remove all the dissovlved organics in your water. Can run you anywhere from $100 – $1200
Salt – Cost ~$35 – $50
Hydrometer or Refractometer – $5.99 or $50
Powerheads – very necessary in a marine tank. depending on the brand and size of the pump you can pay anywhere from $25 – $100’s for each powerhead.
Test Kits – Ammonia, nitrite, nitrage, and pH are all necessary to monitor your water quality. Other test kits necessary if you intend on doing a reef tank, it Alkalinity, Magnesium etc. Cost $35-$50
Above is a list of all the basic components of a salwtater aqaurium. Don’t let the initial startup cost scare you. As once everything is all set up, the cost to maintain (supplies only, excluding electric bill) is fairly minimal. my 180 gallon reef tank costs me ~ $40 a month to maintain. This includes the cost of food, salt and any replacement bulbs.
The amount of effort you put into your aquarium will determine your success. But once you get into a routine and remember that this is supposed to be fun it becomes second nature. I’d like to recomment ‘The concientious marine aquariust’ by Robert M Fenner, This book has all the beginner information you’ll need to get started. Also sign up for some online forums specifically designed for saltwater hobbyists, there’s some really good ideas and advise out there. Check out Reef central to get started.
Best of luck to you! I hope this helps.
if you want a cheap saltwater, it will cost about 100 bucks for the tank and filters alone. probably more. its called a nano tank, and it is about 10-20 gallons. you can have small fish like cardinals, fire fish, and other small fish as well as a variety of inverts. like stars, shrimps, crabs, corals (mushrooms mostly which are cheap and AWESOME) and many small others like sponges and anemones. the last three inverts are pretty expensive though. hope this helps!
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:48 amReferences :
my own tank
honestly if you don’t have a liberal budget I’d skip saltwater and go with fresh water. Live planted aquariums look great (just keep the cheap trinkets out) and will be much cheaper to set up and maintain.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 amReferences :
years of aquarium experience
google saltwater aquarium help. too much info for me to type.
and it WILL cost more than 100 dollars. Nano reef aquaruims cost around 300 dollars. im not sure what the other person is talking about.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:31 amand mushroom corals are expensive.
References :
PETCO employee
40 gallon reef tank
Honestly, if you properly setup your aquarium there will be minimal care. I have a 180 Gallon reef tank and I probably spend at most 10 mins a day maintaining it (wiping the glass, topping off with freshwater, checking temperature and salinity, cleaning out the skimmer.
For supplies you would need
Tank – honestly the bigger the better, i would suggest a 55G for beginners (easier to maintain stable water parameters IF AND ONLY IF you perform the proper maintenance (discussed below)) Cost: ~$100- sky’s the limit
Stand – I would stay away from the wrought iron stands as metal and saltwater are not a good combo. Stick with the oak or pine stands. Cost: $100-$200
Heater – Get yourself 2 heaters that are rated for half your tank size for redundancy and insurance if one happens to fail (trust me they almost always fail!) ie. if you have a 100 gallon tank, get yourself 2 heaters rated for 50 gallons Cost: $15-$25 each.
Lighting: depending on what type of tank you intend on keeping (fish only, fish with live rock, reef tank (low light) or reef tank (high light) the cost can be more than all your other equipment combined. If you only want a fish only tank, you can get away with a regular flourescent light. if you plan on keeping a reef tank you will have to get a more intricate system of either VHO lights, Metal Halides or Power Compacts. Costs anywhere from $50 for flourescents to $1500 for Metal halide/VHO combinations. Plus cost of bulbs ~$60 for halides and $25 for VHO.
Skimmer – Very necessary to help remove all the dissovlved organics in your water. Can run you anywhere from $100 – $1200
Salt – Cost ~$35 – $50
Hydrometer or Refractometer – $5.99 or $50
Powerheads – very necessary in a marine tank. depending on the brand and size of the pump you can pay anywhere from $25 – $100’s for each powerhead.
Test Kits – Ammonia, nitrite, nitrage, and pH are all necessary to monitor your water quality. Other test kits necessary if you intend on doing a reef tank, it Alkalinity, Magnesium etc. Cost $35-$50
Above is a list of all the basic components of a salwtater aqaurium. Don’t let the initial startup cost scare you. As once everything is all set up, the cost to maintain (supplies only, excluding electric bill) is fairly minimal. my 180 gallon reef tank costs me ~ $40 a month to maintain. This includes the cost of food, salt and any replacement bulbs.
The amount of effort you put into your aquarium will determine your success. But once you get into a routine and remember that this is supposed to be fun it becomes second nature. I’d like to recomment ‘The concientious marine aquariust’ by Robert M Fenner, This book has all the beginner information you’ll need to get started. Also sign up for some online forums specifically designed for saltwater hobbyists, there’s some really good ideas and advise out there. Check out Reef central to get started.
Best of luck to you! I hope this helps.
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:56 amReferences :