Saltwater Aquarium

Why a Saltwater Aquarium?

There’s nothing more spectacular than the diversity of the ocean. A Saltwater aquarium setup allows you bring a little sample of that spectacle into your own living room, containing beautiful saltwater fish, live corals, and more. Compared to plain freshwater tanks (which commonly contain goldfish and other lake-bred fish varieties), there are so many more options for you if you’re planning to choose a saltwater aquarium setup. The fish and other ocean creatures you’ll be able to host range from beautiful to fascinating to downright weird, some displaying flashy colors while others exude a quiet grace.

Types of Saltwater Aquariums?

There are several different setups for a saltwater aquarium, ranging from the simplest to the most complex: a fish only tank, a FOWLR (fish only with live rock) tank, and a reef tank. While containing only fish in your tank is the cheapest and easiest to maintain out of the three options, it can be quite exciting to watch coral formations grow and develop over the course of your saltwater tank’s life. The choice comes down to one of investment.

The most popular choice and my personal favourite is a reef tank. This is the pinnacle of saltwater aquarium setup and will allow you to host a number of fish, corals and invertebrates in your new saltwater aquarium. It takes the most effort to set up and maintain however if you are going to make the effort initially you might as well go all out. Seeing a reef develop before your very eyes in your saltwater aquarium is mesmerizing and worth the time and money invested.

Saltwater Aquarium Setup Overview

Saltwater aquarium setup is more involved and complicated than it would be with a freshwater tank, but the results are stunning when done correctly. While you can do much of the planning and decision-making (about which fish and corals and invertebrates to feature), it often pays off to call in an expert for the more technical components of saltwater aquarium setup.

You’ll need to ensure that your tank is leak-proof and level. A filled aquarium can weigh as much as 10 pounds per gallon, meaning that placement and careful setup is critical to ensure that you don’t have hundreds of pounds of water crashing down on your living room. Water needs to be de-chlorinated (or treated via reverse osmosis), before being treated with a salt mix. Checking the pH balance (as well as the balance of nitrite and nitrate) is critical to ensuring that your fish will survive in the water. Before being adding to the tank, and fish need to be quarantined and acclimatized to the water content that they’ll be added to. This is a lot to manage when first setting up the tank, however, the results are that you’ll have a stunning and well-maintained attraction in your home.

This is a just a brief overview of what is involved when deciding to establish a saltwater aquarium. MySaltwaterAquarium.com is designed to help you navigate all the decisions you need to make in considering a saltwater aquarium setup – which fish to get, how big a tank, how to set it up, and how to treat the water before introducing the fish into it.