Saltwater Marine Aquarium Keeping

Seeing
pictures of a healthy marine fish only or reef aquarium in books or on
the internet, or even better, in reality at a public aquarium will
cause just about anyone to appreciate the beauty and general
fascination of them. Some people will wonder if they could have one,
and the thought will shortly disappear. Others, however, will not
forget so easily and will want to delve further into the possibility of
having their own home aquarium.

If the potential aquarist knows a
friend who already has a healthy marine aquarium, then there is a
source of advice available already. The friend will already have been
through all the research and considerations. Often, however, the
potential aquarist will want to find out for him/herself. That is very
good, as the aquarium system will be understood thoroughly. Then there
may not be a known marine aquarist available, so what is the first
move? Dashing to the local shop and buying an aquarium and a few bits
of equipment that the shop says is needed is totally incorrect.

The
first move is to follow a planning scaffold. This scaffold will be the
foundation for all the decisions that need to be made in building the
system. There are quite a few decisions along the way and things can
get a little confusing, even to someone who is experienced in the
freshwater aquarium field. The scaffold will help.

The scaffold
has to prepare the budding marine aquarist so that indicative costing
on basic equipment provision can be made. Often marine aquarists have
equipment laying about. This could have been caused by upgrading
because the original equipment was not adequate and needed to be
replaced. Money expended that perhaps need not have been.

So, the
scaffold then. The following is a list of headings and basic notes. It
does not attempt and is not intended to open a comprehensive path from
zero to a fantastic fish only or reef tank. What it does do is give a
lead to follow on the way towards a successful aquarium. No doubt extra
considerations will arise on the way, and that’s as it should be, it
means the planning is working. Each stage of planning needs individual
consideration, and there will often be more than one decision to make.
On the way, research using books and/or the internet is useful or
necessary.

Where is it practical to site the aquarium?
Try
to choose a location away from direct sunlight, to assist with proper
lighting control. There should not be heavy and/or noisy household
traffic passing (reasonable traffic is acceptable). There needs to be a
reliable power supply available, ie. power outlets. Generally easy
access to the aquarium is required. If floors are suspended, consider
floor strength - aquariums full of seawater are heavy!

What size aquarium?
The
aquarium should not stand on ordinary furniture, but on a properly
designed stand. The aquarium may need a hood. These need to be taken
into account. Then the available space for the aquarium can be
considered.

What type of system?
The system can be fish only or reef. This decision affects other later decisions. Most will opt for a reef.

Sump or no sump?
A
sump is a small aquarium that is attached to the main one. It supplies
extra water capacity to the system, and allows heaters, sand beds and
protein skimmers to be kept away from the display aquarium. The sump
can be beside or underneath the display aquarium. A sump on any type
system is highly recommended. (If a sump is to be used, the main
aquarium will need to be drilled to allow plumbing to take water from
the aquarium to the sump. It is then pumped back again.) Note: if a DSB
(deep sand bed) or plenum (a raised DSB) is to be employed, the sand
bed area should be at least 2/3rds of the base area of the main
aquarium. The sand bed should be at least 4″ deep. Consider the cost
for the fine sand for the DSB. A DSB in the sump is highly recommended.
Leave enough room for a partitioned area for the seawater return pump.

Lighting?
Is the system to be fish only or a reef? If fish only, then two marine fluorescents are sufficient. If reef then:

Hard corals.
Best
lighting is halide, supplemented by actinic fluorescent tubes. T5
fluorescent tubes can be used (marine white and actinic equally mixed)
but they do not penetrate the seawater as deeply.

Soft corals.
It
is sufficient to use T5 fluorescent lighting (actinic and white mixed).
Halide lighting can be used, however, and will not be detrimental
(ensure corals exposed are light demanding varieties).

Net
seawater capacity of aquarium and sump (if used)? This is easily
calculated once the aquarium size and sump have been decided. This
gallonage will be excessive as, when rocks and sand are added, it will
decrease. Therefore, reduce the amount by 10%. This will still not be
correct, but does give a reasonable allowance for displacement.

Seawater circulation?
The
seawater in the display aquarium will need to be circulated for the
health of the inhabitants whatever they are, but particularly in a reef
system. It is recommended that a minimum of two powerheads are used to
achieve this. The turnover of seawater in a reef needs to be around ten
to twenty times the net capacity of the display aquarium (exclude the
sump) per hour, depending on coral occupants.. In fish only systems, it
can be less.

Protein skimmer?
A
protein skimmer is essential for most systems(*), in particular where
there is inexperience. The device is very useful as it helps
significantly towards high water quality. The protein skimmer should be
sized for around twice the net seawater capacity of the aquarium plus
sump (if used). Now that the use of a sump (or not) has been decided,
consider whether to use a hang-on or stand alone skimmer.
(* some mud based system designs do not require a skimmer.)

Heating?
The
net gallonage of the system is known, so the heating need can be
considered. (Note: it is best to purchase two heaters as this is a good
safety feature for the aquarium inhabitants. Each heater should be one
half of the total heating requirement.) In warm areas where
temperatures are always above 80 deg F, the use of a seawater cooler
(chiller) will replace heaters.

Return pump?
This
only applies if using a sump. Seawater, once it has flowed to the sump,
needs to be returned to the main aquarium. A pump is required for this.
As a guide, the flow through the sump should be two or three times the
net capacity of the system per hour. When considering the pump,
remember to factor in the lift, that is the height from the pump level
to the highest point that the returning seawater reaches before it
enters the main aquarium.

‘Live’ rock.
This
is used for filtration purposes (it is excellent for this) and for the
construction of the reef. It can also be used in a fish only system.
Allow 1½ lbs for each gallon that is in the entire system. There are
other filtration methods, but ‘live’ rock coupled with a DSB in a sump
is highly recommended.

Reverse osmosis (R/O) unit?
The
R/O unit is a tap water filtration device that removes nearly all
(around 95 to 98%) unwanted contaminants. Therefore the seawater mix is
at its best from the start. It is highly recommended that R/O water is
always used, including the first fill of the aquarium. R/O units come
in different gallons per day outputs. Remember that usually the
aquarium is filled completely only once. The normal routine water
change amount is 10% of the net system gallonage weekly.

Dry salt mix?
There
are several makes on the market. If keeping a reef system, obtain one
that is ‘designed’ for reefs, as additional attention has been given to
calcium content etc. Fish only systems can use ’standard’ mixes or as
described above.

Make a list.
As each item is gone through, find out and write down the likely cost. If it is electrical, also write down the wattage (W).

The
evidence. When all items are priced, add them up. This represents a
general guideline to the cost of setting up. If electrical, add up the
wattage. Divide the total wattage by 1000, this will give kilowatts.
The cost of electricity per kilowatt will be known. Multiply the number
of kilowatts, including any fraction, by the cost per kilowatt, this is
the approximate electrical running cost of the system per day. To get
weekly, multiply by seven. Monthly, multiply by four. Etc. (Note:
lights can be considered as being on 50% of the day. Heaters/coolers
will not be on all the time, but it is difficult to determine a
guideline percentage.)

OK. The list is there and it indicates the
guideline aquarium equipment cost and electrical running cost of the
system. These will not be completely accurate but near enough to either
dissuade the desire to have an aquarium or to go ahead. There are other
costs, of course. For example, no account has been taken of the fish
and/or corals that are to inhabit the aquarium. Then additional
equipment, often considered later, might be obtained, such as a calcium
reactor, a de-nitrator, or a canister filter etc. Maybe coarse coral
sand up to 1″ deep, will be used as a decoration in the display
aquarium.

Nevertheless, the scaffold will have achieved its
purpose, which is to generally guide the new aquarist down a path that
cuts its way through what can be a confusing beginning.

This article was written by a father and son team with 35 years experience in the hobby. 

Visit the ‘Salt Water Aquarium’
website if you are interested in learning more about the saltwater aquarium hobby. Keep checking this blog for more in the series.