Setting Up A Marine Aquarium

Like most things these days, when you scour the internet for possibly hints and tips on setting things up, the end result is invariably American! I searched many sites for the best advice on setting up a Marine Aquaria and the only half decent one I could find was this one reprinted below. It will at least give you some ideas on what is before you. You are probably reading this after deciding that you wish to own a marine saltwater aquarium and are wondering which way to go about it. We have experts in the shop who can steer you, hopefully painlessly, along the road to success. Read this article and then come and see the glorious splendour of a reef tank setup, the magnificent species that can go into making up a marine tank, and the equipment that you will need at first hand, in operation. So here is the article. Its source will be positioned at the base for reference. All the images below were taken during the past few months in the shop. This article is for your guidance only, to give you a rough idea of what is involved. This page will be amended as and when I find the relevant information on the internet or the staff write new guidelines. The excellent article is from the following site and is reproduced with the owners permission:

Marine - Setting Up

Without proper research, a marine aquarium is bound to fail. I know, we're all anxious to get beautiful fish into the tank. But wait (as hard as it may be), and you will be well-rewarded.  Plan on spending *at least* 2 weeks (more is better) doing research before you even think about buying anything.  And then continue to do research for as long as you maintain a tank. As soon as I decided I wanted a marine tank (Dec '02) I began doing research.

1) The absolute best place is Reef Central (even if you plan on setting up a non-reef marine aquarium). The advice here comes from other hobbyists who do NOT have a vested interest in selling you a piece of expensive equipment (unlike an LFS ("local fish store"). Some of these aquarists have been keeping marine aquariums for years, and odds are that the LFS shopkeeper is limited in marine knowledge (in most, but not all cases).   I strongly urge you to visit Reef Central forums daily (weekly if you're not a fanatic yet), and bookmark the site. From there you will find links to other great sites (a list of links I used in doing research is here). Spend time doing research, reading, and asking questions on Reef Central's New to the Hobby forum. The more research you do now, the happier you and your fish will be.  An ounce of prevention is worth several gallons of seawater!

2) It's also wise to invest in a couple of books at this time. There are several that nearly indispensable ones.

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist: A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists  If you buy only ONE book on marine aquaria, this is the one to get. Covers everything from tanks, system design, fish-only setups, reef setups, and, of course, it has hundreds of pages on fish (pictures, recommendations for beginners, easy guide, etc.)

The Marine Aquarium Problem Solver: Practical & Expert Advice on Keeping Fish & Invertebrates This is a terrific, if underrated book. It offers solid advice, is easy to read and very well organized to provide information vital to the marine aquarist. There are practical and expert answers to over 500 questions on systems, fish species (lots of pictures and species).  I would purchase this book at the same time as the first one on the list.

Marine Fishes: 500+ Essential-To-Know Aquarium Species Quite simply this is one of the best marine photo books on the market.  It's relatively cheap and is packed with nearly every marine fish you could ever think of possibly keeping.

Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms If you are planning on a reef setup, this is a must-have.

Mollies

Some people like to break in a tank with mollies which have been acclimated to salt water. This gives you the benefit of starting with inexpensive fish and get used to maintaining salinity and pH on not-so-sensitive fish. Although safer, you don't achieve much marine experience this way. Mollies are captive raised and bred. If you buy mollies for your saltwater tank, you can acclimate them by dripping saltwater into the bag over a period of 6-8 hours, removing some water when the bag gets too full. Slowly increasing the salinity gives the mollies time to get used to their new environment. You can keep the mollies in the tank after it cycles, but any aggressive fish with continually harass the passive mollies.

Clownfish

Clownfish are related to damsels, and are fairly hardy. However, they are more difficult to acclimate to a new tank. Clowns, in general, are very territorial, but are not otherwise aggressive except to other clowns. They will do fine without an anemone, which is good since anemones are much more difficult to keep. Anemones require very clean water and high quality lighting. Also, each species of clown likes particular species of anemones, and none of them will regularly inhabit the inexpensive and easier to maintain Caribbean anemones. Some clowns are captive raised.

There are lots of other great marine books, but the ones mentioned (in my opinion) are must-have reference books for your bookshelf.

One final note about aquaria books. Although some of the authors are well-known, I found some of the books (although published recently) to be a bit out-dated.  Suggestions for an under gravel filter are a bit dated when you consider Deep Sand Bed article. (A must-read piece of marine knowledge that will answer lots of questions about sand beds. Just read it even if you do not understand all the details right now.) A must-read for anyone considering any sort of marine tank (fish-only or reef). See these sites below for more specialised information on individual aspects of a marine tank setup; they, in turn, lead to others.

I highly recommend an American based forum that deals specifically with Marine Aquaria at:  - http://reefcentral.com

It is easy to make mistakes when setting up your first saltwater tank. Both for the sake of the fish and your wallet, start with only a few hardy inexpensive fish. Most marine fish are collected in the wild rather than captive raised, so your mistakes impact the world's oceans!

Damsels

The best beginner fish for a marine tank are damsels. These fish are very hardy, being able to withstand worse water conditions than most other marine fish, they are not picky eaters, and they are fairly inexpensive. The down-side is that they are fairly aggressive. One or two will co-exist in a tank. There will be a lot of fighting if you put more in. Dealers get away with a lot in their tanks by keeping the tanks so crowded that none of the fish can establish a territory. This is not acceptable for long periods of time. It is best to use damsels to break in a new tank. If you are then going to add other aggressive fish, you can keep the damsels. If you want to keep shy or delicate fish, you should take the damsels back to the pet store once you and your tank are ready for more fish. Some damsels, such as the blue damsel and yellow tailed damsels, are not as aggressive as others, such as the three striped and domino damsels. In any case, damsels are certainly the best fish to start with.

Blennies/Gobies

These small fish are somewhat hardy and are unlikely to cause trouble for the other fish in your tank. Some of them show a lot of personality, though they will get lost in a large tank. Many of these fish are excellent additions to a tank to help control algae. However, some feed by sifting through the substrate and will be very hard to keep fed in a fish-only tank (e.g., the mandarin fish).

Tangs (Surgeonfish)

Tangs are fairly hardy, though they are very susceptible to marine ich. Being algae eaters, they are useful to introduce when your tank starts growing algae. They must be fed leafy greens if there is no suitable algae growing in the tank (green algae). Many different tangs are commonly seen for reasonable prices.

Triggerfish/Lionfish

If you are setting up a tank for large aggressive fish, you can start with triggers and/or lionfish, as they are hardy. However, mistakes with them can be very costly, so you may want to practice on less expensive and easier fish. Also, carnivorous fish such as triggers and lions should be fed plenty of shell fish and other marine life. Specifically, many people feed lions feeder goldfish. This is really a bad practice because goldfish are freshwater fish and do not provide the same nutrition that a saltwater fish would. Specifically, feeding saltwater fish freshwater food can cause premature liver failure and the early demise of your fish.

Angels and Butterflies

These are fish that must be ignored initially while in the pet store - all are both delicate and difficult fish to keep. Many butterflies have specialized diets which make them hard to maintain in captivity. Batfish are also other fish that should be avoided.

Others

Other saltwater fish which can be attempted once you get good at controlling the fish's environment are hawkfishes, grammas, dottybacks, basslets, and wrasses. Some are more difficult to keep than others, but not nearly as difficult as angles and butterflies.

Fishes to Stay Away From in the beginning

All angelfish, all butterfly fish, Pipefish, Seahorses, Long-nosed Filefish, Blue Ribbon Eels, Stonefish, and Moorish Idols. Mandarin fish should also be avoided in non-reef tanks (they are hard to feed).

Beginner Invertebrates

Many people believe that invertebrates are only for mini or micro-reef tanks. Not so. There are quite a few invertebrates that do well in non-reef tanks. However, not a lot of invertebrates should be attempted by inexperienced saltwater fish keepers. Below is a brief summary of the more hardy invertebrates available to aquarists.

Shrimps

There are many different shrimps available on the market, with most of them being perfectly suitable for a lightly loaded saltwater tank. In fact, some shrimps are more suitable for fish and invertebrate tanks than for a reef tank since they like to eat corals.

Some of the more popular shrimps are Cleaner shrimp Lysmata amboinensis, Blood shrimp Lysmata debelius, Candycane or Peppermint shrimp Periclimenes brevcarpalis, and Coral Banded shrimp Stenopus hispidus. The cleaner shrimp is denoted by a white on red stripe down the middle of its back. They are fairly inexpensive and easy to keep. They should, however, be kept in small groups (3-4), as this makes them more social and more likely to come out often. The Blood shrimp is intensely red with some white spots. It is a very striking animal, but usually commands a high price. The Coral Banded shrimp is very popular with reef keepers, but must be watched around small fish. This shrimp has been known to eat small fish without thinking twice.

Most shrimps are scavengers and don't necessarily need to be fed overtly (they usually eat food dropped by fish). If your fish your fish consume most of the food before it makes it to the bottom of the tank, then some extra food should be given to the shrimps after the fishes have been fed, or at night (most shrimps are nocturnal). Shrimps readily accept most frozen foods and dried foods (brine shrimp, flake food, etc.).

Stay away from Harlequin shrimps Hymenocera sp. as starfish are their only source of food.

Crabs

There are many different type of crabs, but the most commonly seen varieties are anemone crabs Neopetrolisthes ohshimia, arrow crabs Stenorhynchus seticornis, and hermit crabs Dardanus megistos. Anemone crabs live in anemones, as do clownfish (e.g., Sebae), and vary greatly in color and shape. They are usually acquired indirectly by buying an anemone, but are some times sold separately. These crabs should have a host anemone to feel comfortable. Arrow crabs are very interesting animals which should be kept one to a tank, as they will continually fight. Also, Arrow crabs should not be kept with Coral Banded Shrimps as they will fight as well. Hermit crabs are also interesting, and vary in colour and size. Most are passive, but some will eat corals and other invertebrates.

Crabs are generally omnivorous and readily accept the same foods as your fish. Like shrimp, crabs can only eat food which has made it to the bottom of the tank. Thus, ensure some food is in reach of your crabs.

Sea Urchins and Starfishes

Most sea urchins and Starfishes are suitable for beginners who have a few months experience. Once again they vary greatly in size, shape, and colour. Beware, some sea urchins are poisonous. Most sea urchins and starfish feed on detritus and algae, and small particles of food that have fallen within their reach.

Anemones

Simply put, anemones should not be kept by beginners (sorry folks). They all require very strong lighting and excellent water conditions. Do not believe a fish store guy that tells you otherwise. Unless you are willing to invest a lot of money in proper lighting, do not try to keep an anemone.

Some Notes on Invertebrates

Invertebrates are very sensitive to water quality. Signs of stress due to poor water quality will usually be exhibited first by invertebrates. Therefore, shrimps, anemones and other invertebrates should never be used to cycle a tank. Moreover, you should never add an invertebrate to a diseased tank or a tank which does not have stable water quality parameters (e.g., pH, temperature, etc.).

Other points to note. Shrimps need iodine to properly moult, as well as calcium . If you do not change water regularly (which you should), or if you do not feed live or frozen food frequently, then you may need to supplement your water with iodine. Without proper levels of iodine, shrimps will not moult properly and will most likely die. Also, copper kills invertebrates at much lower concentrations than fish. If you have ever used copper in your tank, DO NOT put invertebrates into the tank. You will never be able to adequately remove all the copper such that you can keep invertebrates alive and happy. Finally, crabs usually outgrow their shell sooner or later. Therefore, you will need to provide a new larger shell (they usually try a few out before sticking with one, so you will probably need at least a couple).