Starting a Marine Aquarium Reef Tank
77What Do I Need for My Saltwater Tank?
This is a basic article written to help interested individuals who may thinking of starting a marine aquarium reef tank. I outline some steps in regards to saltwater aquarium setup. By means of this guide, you will get the basic information that one needs to get going. To have a successful tank you will need to be well informed and the more you know the better things will go for you and your marine world. You can use this guide to get your feet wet and expand upon what you will learn to become very informed about what it takes to setup and maintain a salt water reef tank.
Items Needed to Start Your Marine Tank
- An aquarium
- A stand for the tank to sit on
- An aquarium cover (optional)
- Lighting
- Filters
- Thermometer
- Salt mix
- A mixing bucket (used only for the fish tank)
- Hydrometer (measures salt levels)
- Sand
- Base rock (optional)
- Live rock
- Water (distilled, or R/O filtered)
Marine Reef Aquarium Lighting
Picking your aquarium is probably the biggest decision you will need to make. The first thing you will have to consider is your budget. How much are you willing to spend? Tanks vary in price due to size, shape, and materials used in building it. Aquariums range from 10 gallons to hundreds of gallons. They can come rectangle shaped or bowfront, for example. Plus, there are tanks made of glass and some that are made from acrylic.
To help you in determining the size of your tank, you really need to consider the space that you have available. If you have only a small area to place your aquarium then you will probably want to only have a smaller tank, whereas if you have a large area, you can consider a much larger tank. The best rule of thumb is to go with the biggest tank that you can get based upon your budget and the space you have. A larger tank will allow you room for error when it comes to slight water variations, overeating, or overheating, but if your tank is too small everything can become magnified and it can spell disaster for your marine aquarium reef life.
Aquarium Lighting
If you buy a standard fish tank, you will probably receive a fluorescent light with it. The wattage will vary depending on the size of the tank (usually about 20 watts) but usually this type of lighting is only sufficient for a fish only aquarium. This type of lighting is good for lighting the tank so you can see inside and to make the fish feel like it's daytime out. But when it comes to a saltwater marine reef aquarium you will need to get better lighting.
When it comes to a real reef in the ocean, the water is extremely clear and the sun is able to penetrate down to the tropical reef. Sea creatures such as sponges and coral are able to benefit from the light and they draw nutrients from water that are produced because of the suns penetration. In a marine reef aquarium it is important to simulate this effect very closely. Some lighting that is popular to use is VHO (very high output) bulbs. A VHO bulb is intense lighting and the wattage's range from 60 to 80 watts. Another type of lighting is a T5 lamp. It is a thinner bulb but has very intense lumins. These are very popular because they are safer to use and they use less wattage to end up with the same result. You may want to try a power compact bulb. It is a fluorescent bulb that has all the connector pins on one end instead of on both ends. These are also available with higher wattage.
A good rule of thumb is to have 3 to 5 watts of light per gallon. To accomplish this it is better to go with fewer bulbs but higher wattage. Such as the ones that I mentioned above.
You could also use metal halide lamps. These lights can range from 100 watts to 400 watts of power. These types of lights allow you to get a large amount of light into a small space.
When it comes to proper lighting please go to your local fish store and a qualified person can help you make the proper decisions as to what type of lighting would be appropriate for your saltwater tank.
Tank Cover (optional)
You can choose to have a cover for your saltwater aquarium or you can choose not to have one. That is a decision that is totally up to you. Some fish have a tendency to jump out of their tanks and if you end up with one you may want to get a cover. If you are worried about things falling into your marine reef aquarium then you may want to consider a cover. Some don't like to have a cover because it can block the light from getting deep into the tank. So, think about it and make a personal decision in regards to having or not having a tank cover.
Thermometer and Heater
You will need to have a heater in your aquarium to maintain the temperature. These are readily available at your local fish store. In order to have a successful saltwater marine reef aquarium you need to keep the water and the temperature stable. So, in addition to having a heater, you will also want to have a thermometer so you will be able to see immediately the temperature of your tank. Depending on the types of fish and/or corals that you put into your tank determines the temperature that you will need to maintain. This will require additional research on your part.
Saltwater Marine Reef Aquarium Filters
If you were only having a fish only saltwater tank, then you could get away with having a biological only filter. Common biological filters are wet/dry filters, canister filters, and hang on the back (HOB) filters, that use bio balls or ceramic beads as biological components. Good bacteria builds up on these components and they help remove toxic ammonia and nitrates from the water that can harm your fish. You can also use an under-the-gravel filter that uses the gravel as the biological component.
However, in this hub we are discussing having a marine reef aquarium. A biological filter is probably not a good idea to use. The reason why is because a biological filter breaks waste down into nutrients that can feed algae. Algae growth is highly amplified with light and with a reef tank you need a high output of light. High amount of light along with tons of nutrients for algae to feed on, you will end up with a high amount of algae growth in your tank. This is not necessarily bad, but it can make your tank look horrible and it can detract from the growth of your live corals. This is not good!
What is recommended for a marine reef tank is a protein skimmer. A protein skimmer pulls water out of your tank and mixes it with real fine bubbles. The waste particles, protein, and fat matter that is present in the aquarium end up sticking to these bubbles and are pushed up the canister and up over into a cup forming a sticky, stinky substance. You will have to clean this collection area about once a week. The reason this type of filter works well, is because this process is quick and it doesn't allow bacteria to break the waste down into nutrients that are conducive for algae growth.
Another useful filter is a UV sterilizer. Your tank water goes into a tube and it passes by an ultraviolet light. As the water passes around this light it sterilizes the water. Parasites that are present in the water that can harm your fish and corals are eliminated and/or kept under control. If you have live corals, putting in chemicals to kill parasites will harm them. So, using a UV sterilizer is highly recommended to prevent parasites from getting out of hand.
