A Complete Guide to Marine Fish Keeping

"A Complete Guide to Marine Fish Keeping"," This, not only enhances the beauty of our room, but adds life to our room also.
 A 'Marine Aquarium' is a type which has to be decorated with marine plants and animals.
 An extensive knowledge is required regarding the composition of water, its chemical properties and the adaptability of the inhabitants of a marine aquarium.


Major Components of a Marine Aquarium

The very first thing required for the installation of a Marine Aquarium is a sound knowledge of all the major components of it.
 The major components of a Marine Aquarium are;An Aquarium, made of glass or acrylic Filtration Equipment Proper Lighting Aquarium Heater and Refrigeration Devices

The material of the aquarium should be preferably made of glass or acrylic.
 Also, glass has a remarkable feature of distributing the total pressure within the whole aquarium.
 In addition, it is scratch resistant and provides a much better electric insulation, although its price is a bit higher.
 The most commonly used filtration equipments are; Wet and Dry Filters and Protein Skimmers.
 Protein skimming is an important process of filtration as this is the only method of filtration where the organic compounds are removed physically before they are decomposed - thus improving the water property.
 A refugium is a small container, or more likely a small aquarium which is laid beneath the marine aquarium and is connected to it by a water pump.


Lights play a major role in marine aquariums, so proper lighting is very much essential in this case.
 For a typical 'Fish Only' type, intense light is not required.
 The most commonly used lights are; Fluorescent, VHO Fluorescent with very high intensity, Compact Fluorescent, LED and Metal Halide.
 The two most important factors that should be taken into consideration while selecting a lighting arrangement are; wattage and color temperature.
 Color temperature, on the other hand, is nothing but the color of light emitted by the lighting system.
 A 10,000K lighting system throws a bluish-white radiation which affects the colours in fishes and corals.


A Marine Aquarium temperature should be maintained at 24 to 28 degrees Celsius, which is similar to the natural environment of the marine inhabitants.
 On the other hand, if the temperature is greater than desired, a refrigeration device known as 'Chillers' is used to lower down the aquarium temperature.
 It is a lengthy process and might take 4 to 8 weeks before you can actually add any marine life into the set-up.
Adding marine fishes.


Aquarium size and location: The size of the aquarium varies with the type of marine fish you would like to keep.
 It is always better to avoid smaller tanks as this requires frequent water testing and greater maintenance.
 Last but not the least, the stand should be strong enough to hold the total weight of the aquarium.
 The first thing you need to decide is the type of filtration.
 Arrange the live rock, sand and a power strip.
 You can also use crushed coral as a best choice, but avoid using sandbox or playground sand as these are harmful for your marine life.
 Wash it up with water only and fill it up with fresh water for smoke and leakage testing, if any.
 It is advisable to paint the background as there are no chances of salt creep getting in between the background and glass.
 A black background is ideal for marine tanks as this enhances the color of the fishes.
 After the tank has been left for a day in order to allow the paint to dry off, install the heater, filter and protein skimmer.


Set-up the Marine Aquarium

Add pre-mixed saltwater: You can use most of the commonly available mixtures, unless you are setting a reef tank.
 Once you are sure that the whole salt mixture has dissolved completely, test it with a hydrometer or refractometer.
021 and 1.
 Make sure to allow the water to circulate for about a day or two by turning the aquarium on.
 This is only because live rock is considered to be the best form of biological filtration.
 After draining some water out of the aquarium, place the live rock in the middle of it with the powerheads aiming at the rocks.
 You may use new rubber kitchen gloves or brush with plastic bristles to scrub and remove the dead organisms in the rock.
 Do not forget to put a powerhead and a heater in the mixing container in order to mix uniformly and keep on testing regularly to ensure that the tank is cycling.
 The tank water should be free from ammonia and nitrite, so do not miss out to test it at regular intervals.
 For that, first of all drain out some water to make a space for the sand and then turn off the aquarium power.
 Add the sand in the pre-mixed saltwater and keep on stirring.
 Also drain out some saltwater from the mixing bucket and then with the help of a ladle or something like that add the clean sand to the aquarium slowly.
 So, finally the marine tank set-up process seems to have come to an end.
 For another few days, keep on monitoring the water parameters without disturbing the tank much.
 During this phase your most important task is to constantly monitor all the delicate parameters so as to ensure a perfect environment for the marine fishes.
 A little disbalance in any of these above parameters can be a threat to marine life.
 Any imbalance if noted, must be rectified and brought to normal level before the addition of marine fishes.

 Moreover, the pH reading of the aquarium water should be normal
 In other words, there must not be any trace of ammonia and nitrite in the aquarium water.
 The water we use daily is generally rich in phosphates, which must be taken care of.
 While even a small amount of copper in the aquarium could be a threat to snails, shrimps, starfishes and other invertebrates - though not harmful for fishes.
 A moving water is perfect for gaseous exchange so that it remains oxygenated and as a result good for the health of the fishes.
 Also, the pumps play an important role in driving out excess of carbon dioxide from the water, which may result in low pH otherwise.
 Allow a standing time to the aquarium water so that the water chemistry comes to a stabilized state which is very important.

 Marine species not only includes marine fishes, but also anemones and other marine invertebrates.
 This is because the marine fishes in general are physiologically different and are less adaptable compared to the freshwater species.
 Compared to freshwater aquariums, a saltwater or marine aquarium supports a wider range of extraordinarily beautiful fishes.
 Among a wide range of marine fishes certain species like Clownfish, Wrasses, Anthias and Marine Betta throws a vibrant color to your aquarium.
 Damsels, unlike other popular marine species are much more sturdy and also less expensive compared to others.
 For another six months keep your marine aquarium on some of the few hardy marine fishes and do not miss out to keep a close eye on the conditions of the aquarium water.
 Among the hardy invertebrates, you can start with adding of soft corals, algae's, shrimps, anemones, starfish and urchins.
 After the successful addition and maintenance of these invertebrates and after about one to two years, you can start considering the comparatively sensitive invertebrates such as stony corals, clams etc.
 So by now, you could well guess that a marine aquarium is capable of housing a much wider range of creatures than you could actually imagine in case of freshwater aquarium.
 In order to provide a healthy environment, never ever overstock your aquarium, which is a very common practice among beginners.
 It is always advisable to feed your marine fishes in small amounts so that it all gets eaten up, thus preventing the water from getting poor.
 Any signs of illness if noted, it is advised to check your water conditions, look for the symptoms of the disease and then consult your marine aquarium retailer or Internet books for advice.



LEARN SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING