Marine Aquariums

A marine aquarium is usually associated as the next step up from the tropical aquarium, but in reality there are only a few more things you need to be aware of. The marine aquarium section will look at all the aspects involved at setting up a marine aquarium from start to finish.

Marine Aquarium Planning

Marine Aquarium tanks are made in virtually any size and shape. There is a marine aquarium that will fit nearly any area in the home or office, as well as any budget. You can find marine tanks constructed out of heavy glass to light weight acrylics. Most glass marine tanks are square or rectangular in shape such as the AquaOne Reef 200, but you can now get the bow fronted tanks that project a feeling of 3D to the tank environment, for example the Orca Jumbo. Once you have decided which marine aquarium you are going to get you have to plan where to put it and ensure it and the pipework will fit.

Marine Aquarium Installation

The following points are a basic guideline to the installation of an aquarium.

Step One...
If necessary build your marine aquarium cabinet and place the sump into the bottom before you put the top on. Place your aquarium stand in the appropriate area and make sure that it is level, out of direct sunshine and drafts. Direct sunshine will help promote algae growth and possibly over heat your tank during the summer months. Next place your tank on the stand. Wash the inside of the tank out with hot water to remove all dust particles and any toxins that may have come into contact with the aquarium while it has been in storage or transit. If you want a background on the back of the tank, tape it on before you set the tank on the stand using JBL Fixol

Step Two...
Set up the overflow box or external filtration such as the Eheim 2028 professional or the Aquamedic Reef 500 and make sure the pipe work is set into place.
If you have undergravel filter (UGF) such as those made by interpet place it in the bottom of the tank. Insert the riser tubes in the riser fittings on the UGF. Add the substrate to the tank covering the UGF to a depth of 2" or so. Be sure to wash the substrate before putting it in the tank. A kitchen colander works well for washing gravel in the kitchen sink.

Step Three...
Set each of the Powerheads to you desired watert flow. It is often common to have one on the bottom and one on the top. Good power heads are the tunze nanostream and newjet powerheads. Gently press them down to seat them on the glass.Attach the aquarium heater to the inside of the marine tank or sump with its suction cups.

Step Four...
Place your live rock or decorations where you want them and fill the tank with Reverse Osmosis water You can fill the tank one bucket at a time or purchase a sink hose adapter fitting and fill the aquarium with a hose. Place a large bowl in the bottom of the tank to break the force of the water flow. As the tank is filling keep an eye out for leaks. Leaks are very rare... but it does happen. Leaks are easily repaired with aquarium silicone such as the Aquamedic or Deltec range of silicone's. Do not use household silicone. Add a sufficient amount of Sea chem. Prime to the water to remove chlorine if you use tap water, but it is highly advisable that you make RO water using a reverse osmosis wachine such as the aqua medic easyline. Test the marine aquariums water using a water test kit such as the JBL Ammonia test kit, JBL Nitrite test kit, JBL Phosphate test kit and JBL Ph test kit after a couple of days and keep re-testing until all levels have dropped to a harmless parameter.

Step Five...
Plug in the power heads, the mechanical filter, the tank heater, and the light to your power point.Next let the water in the tank stabilize for a few days. Make sure the tank heater is keeping the tank at the proper temperature for the fish you intend to keep.

Step Six...
If everything is working properly your ready to get a few plain shrimp to start the biological process, but we always recommend to leave this until a few weeks depending on the size of the aquarium.

Marine Aquarium Heaters

Marine Aquarium heaters such as internal Aqua One Heater Thermostat's are a long glass tube with a heating element that is immersed in the tank. External Hydor External Heaters with Thermostats can be used inline using tubing, but this type of heater normally goes hand in hand with external filters .At the top of the heater there is a thermostat for adjusting the temperature. All good heaters should have a light on them indicating if the heater is on. Your tank heater is a very important piece of equipment. As a general rule of thumb, you'll need 2 to 4 watts per gallon of water. You'll also need a thermometer to monitor tank temperatures. The floating thermometers work well, as well as the digital thermometers like the Online Aquarium Store Submersible Digital Thermometer which can sit inside/outside the tank. A selection of marine aquarium heaters can be found at: CLICK HERE for Marine Aquarium Heating

Marine Aquarium Filtration

Marine Aquarium filtration is needed in all aquariums to remove all the toxic and harmful substances produced within the aquarium from all the fish, and any left over uneaten food or rotting plant matter. There are two main types of filtration, the internal filtration and external filtration. The internal filters such as Eheim Internal filters are positioned within the aquarium itself and are used mainly on smaller set ups. External filtration such as the Eheim External Filters are outside the aquarium, normally positioned under the aquarium in a cabinet, and these are usually used on the much larger aquariums with a much greater capacity. Another Ideal item is the protein skimmer. These help remove a lot of the waste from the water and ensure a much cleaner environment. We highly recommend the V2 Skimmers

Marine Aquarium Powerheads

Powerheads are the work horses of the aquarium. They draw water and pump it out the powerhead. This creates water movement in the aquarium as well as delivering oxygen to the fish and the beneficial bacteria that lives in the substrate. Most powerheads have a port for attaching a surface air tube. Powerheads are driven by small electro magnetic motors. Powerheads seem to last forever. If a powerhead stops working just take it apart, clean it, and most likely it will start working again. Good Marine powerheads are the tunze nanostreams or the New-jets

Marine Aquarium Lighting

The lighting in any aquarium has a major effect on the visual effect of a aquarium, yet many people do not apply any thought into this aspect of fish keeping. Conventional fluorescent light systems can be achieved using Arcadia Light Units and Arcadia Marine Lamps from 9" to 48". To improve light output you could use an Arcadia Enhancer lighting Reflector. Marine aquarium lighting is very important for the coral, live rock and fish. The easiest choice is getting a combination lighting unit which has metal halide and fluorescent tubes. Agood verion of marine lighting is the aquamedic NG range

Marine Aquarium Maintenance

Below is a basic schedule of maintenance that is required, but it is not set in stone, remember that over time your knowledge will increase and you will find your own routine in the way of maintaining and looking after your aquarium.

Daily:
1. Check, are their any signs of disease or parasites on your fish? Are their any fish being bullied? Observation is the key here.
2. Check, during feeding, are all the fish getting some food? Are you over-feeding the fish at all? Is their any waste left over after feeding? Do not be afraid to stop feeding your fish for a day or two, fish are resilient and will not starve!
3. Is all the equipment running smoothly? Is the filter still giving a good flow in the aquarium? Is the temperature stable or does it fluctuate?
4. Are their any dead or dying fish or plants? If so treat or remove as needed.

Weekly:
1. Clean the glass inside to remove any algae deposits. You could consider using a Magntic floating Algae Claener, API Algae pad or API Heavy Duty Algae Cleaner. For really stubborn algae a Tetratec GC45 Algae Cleaner would make a good choice. If you wanted to reduce the amount of algae in your aquarium you could apply an absorbative resin bag such as the Cleanwater sachet A150.
2. Every week or so check the water conditions within the aquarium using a JBL nitrate, Phosphate and ammonia test kit. Feed live or frozen food once a week as an additional supplement to their main diet, as this will give your fish a nutritional boost.
3. Add a marine buffer and trace elements as per the manufacturer instructions
4. Clean the protein skimmer cup

Monthly:
1. Clean the filter elements and impellor in accordance to the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
2. Remove dead plant leaves, Cut back or replace any plants.
3. Clean the substrate on the aquarium bottom, the easiest method is to use a device such as a gravel cleaner. Every 3-4 weeks you should perform a water change of 15-20% this is best done in conjunction with gravel cleaning so that the heavily soiled water can be discarded. It is vitally important that you do not forget to condition this water before placing into the aquarium.

Periodically:
1. Change the filter floss and/or sponges if required.
2. Change/clean all ornaments in the aquarium.
3. Replace the air stones if they are getting clogged up with algae.
4. Replace all light bulbs annually, and clean off any residue lime scale from the lid area.
5. Clean off the heater if there is a limescale build up on the outer edge of it. Be sure to turn it off when cleaning as it can easily smash if overheated outside of the water.

Marine Aquarium Accessories

Below is a small selection of accessories that are commonly used within a tropical aquarium set up. This is a basic list as there is a wide variety of accessories out on the market.
1. Plants- whether it is live plants, plastic plants, or silk plants that you are after, you will never be lost for choice. There is no right or wrong for selection choice, just personal preference. The Tetra Co2 system or Tetra Plantamin liquid plant food will improve the growth of your natural plants.
2. Rocks/bog wood- these are used to provide shelter, places to hide, and spawning areas for the fish. They are also used to divide the aquarium up into sections and to add colour and structure.
3. Test kits- a vital accessory that is used to check and monitor the water condition within the aquarium.
4. Fish Catching Net- a handy item to have around the aquarium as it comes in useful for removing dead plant leaves from the aquarium.
5. Buckets- always good to have around the aquarium when it comes to the up keep and maintenance.
6. Glass cleaners- whether they are magnetic cleaners or hand held cleaners, they are always handy to have as they aid the cleaning of the aquarium.
7. Inline valve/flow directional valve- used in conjunction with an air pump, it is placed on the air line to allow air to flow through in one direction only. This prevents the water from flowing back down the air line and short circuiting the pump in the event of a power cut or pump failure.

Marine Aquarium Fish selection

Before any livestock can be selected, there are many key points to consider. The following are basic guidelines.

Community Tank or Species tank?
First you must decide if you want a Community tank or a Species tank. A Community tank is a mixture of docile fish such as Tetras, Barbs, Dainos, Clown Fish, Corydoras and many more. A Species tank in one that might contain aggressive fish like most Cichlids, or fish that need to be kept by themselves like Discus.

Know how many Marine Aquarium fish your tank can hold...
The stocking capacity of an aquarium is different for each size of tank. The general rule for any freshwater tropical aquarium is 1" of fish per gallon of water.

Learn about the Marine Aquarium Fish you want...
Once you've decided on what type of aquarium you want to have... it's time to start researching fish. You'll need to learn what they eat, at what level in the water they prefer to stay at, school density, what temperature they prefer, and most importantly, how big will the fish get. The last thing you want to do is buy a cute little 2" fish that grows into a 14" monster.

Selecting your Marine Aquarium Fish...
Once you have decided what type of aquarium your going to have... its time to go select the fish of your choice.
If you've never bought fish before... ask the fish keeper at your local shop to help you pick a good fish. You'll want to avoid fish with deformed bodies, damaged fins or eyes, protruding scales, visible sores, abnormally large bellies, fish that hide in the corner, or fish that suspend in the water in an abnormal position.
Acclimatising your new additions to your aquarium:

Firstly, turn off the light over your aquarium to reduce the fishes stress levels.
Place the bag of fish on the surface water of your aquarium and float it for 10 to 15 minutes. This will equalise the temperature of the water in the bag to the temperature of the water in the aquarium. Add a small amount of aquarium water into the bag and leave it for an additional 5 minutes. This will acclimatise the fish to your water conditions slowly. Using a small net, you need to catch the fish out of the bag. Transfer the fish into your aquarium and discard both the bag and the water. The water should not be tipped into the aquarium as poisons may have built up in the bag during transit. Adding Stress Coat® to either the bag water or tank water greatly reduces shock and stresses experienced by tropical fish when introduced to their new home. It also instantly removes chlorine and chloramines from tap water making it safe for topical fish. Keep a close eye on the fish for the first 24 hours, as this is the most crucial period of acclimatisation. If all is ok after the initial 24 hours, then you can probably start to relax, sit back, and enjoy the aquarium in all its glory.

Marine Aquarium Coral Selection

Marine Aquarium Food choice

All fish will fall into the following three classifications, carnivores (meat eaters), herbivores (plant eaters and algae eaters), and omnivores (who need a range or both meat and vegetable/algae). The following food sections can cover all three, so be careful when purchasing the food, and make sure that you read the package carefully.

1. Flake food- these generally tend to float on the surface until water is absorbed, causing them to sink slowly. Flake food such as Tetra Fin Flaked Food is recommended for surface feeders and open water feeders.
2. Pellets- these can come in both floating and sinking varieties as well as in a range of sizes. These are best fed to fish that are slightly larger. Tetra Exotic mini pellet food is specially formulated for the needs of fancy coldwater fish.
3. Tablets & Wafers- Tetra Algae Wafers are sinking food types that are used to feed the bottom dwelling fish or algae eaters which are otherwise overlooked in the aquarium.
4. Freeze dried foods- Interpet Freeze Dried Daphnia, Brineshrimp and Bloodworm have been freeze dried to remove all the moisture and water content. Due to this process they have all the high nutrients and minerals that fresh foods have, yet without the relatively limited shelf life of many fresh foods.
5. Frozen foods- RUTO frozen Daphnia, Brineshrimp and Bloodworm are supplied in ice cube style packs that can be stored in the freezer indefinitely without the worry of them going off or losing their nutritional value. They are accepted by all fish as a natural food source and are highly nutritious.
6. Live foods- these should be added to the aquarium at least once a week as an addition to the basic food requirements of the fish. Live foods are a boost to the fish's nutritional intake as well as allowing the fish to display their natural instinct in chasing and finding natural food items within their environment. Live foods are also very good for new born fish fry as this may be the only food source that they will instinctively feed off.

Marine Aquarium Diseases

The health problems in coldwater fish tend to be easily recognisable and can be treated with great efficiency if caught at an early stage. White spot could be treated successfully with Interpet Whitespot No6 medication or Waterlife Protozin. Bacterial and Fungal infections should be treated with Interpet Fungus & Finrot No8 medication, Waterlife Myxazin or API Melafix. Coldater fish can sometimes suffer from stubborn internal infections such as swim bladder infections and Dropsy. In this instance theat with Interpet Swim bladder Infection No13 medication and Waterlife Octozin.

For all disease situations you should satisfy yourself of accurate diagnosis and treatment suitability. Information in these pages are intended as a generel guide only.