Best Lab Equipment

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Setting Up A Saltwater Aquarium - A General Overview

Setting up a saltwater aquarium takes some time, but it's well worth the effort. As long as you prepare for each step of the process, you shouldn't run into any significant problems along the way.

The first step is to purchase an aquarium and the equipment you'll need to set everything up. You have a choice when it comes to filtration equipment, but it's recommended to stay away from undergravel filters, which are unnecessary and can cause a lot of problems. Live rock is a more efficient biological filter perfect for use in saltwater tanks. For mechanical and chemical filtration, a simple filter works best.

The protein skimmer is the next big part of the installation, and an integral part of the whole aquarium. Spend the extra money and invest in a high quality protein skimmer that will do the job right. Next, look for a heater that can handle the size of aquarium you plan on creating.

Once these key pieces of equipment are on hand, you can move on to other aspects of the aquarium setup, such as adding the live rock, sand, and a power strip. Typically, a saltwater tank can take about 1-2 pounds of live rock per aquarium gallon and ½ pound to 1 pound of sand per gallon of water. Avoid sandbox sand because you don't know what other material may be present in the sand that could harm your fish. Aquariums require live sand, an aragonite based sand, or crushed coral.

Setting it all up

Now that you have the equipment ready to go, it's time to set everything up. Rinse the tank with water but don't use any soap, as the residue that gets left behind is often harmful to fish.

Add your chosen background to the tank or paint it an appropriate color. If you choose to paint the aquarium, allow the paint to dry for a couple of days.

Once this is accomplished, install the heater, filter, protein skimmer and anything else you have decided to add to the aquarium. Use a drip loop on all the power cords for safety reasons.

Before you plug anything in, go ahead and add pre-mixed saltwater to the aquarium. There are many mixes available on the market, so the one you choose depends on your own personal preferences. This step is very easy - just follow the instructions on the package. Make sure to test the saltwater with a hydrometer or refractometer before adding it to your tank.

Once this is done you can turn on the aquarium - let it circulate for a few days before adding anything else to the tank.

If you've decided to use live rocks, they will have to be cured before you add the fish to the aquarium. This can take a long time, but it's worth it for the filtration benefits derived from live rocks. Once the rocks are ready, you can move on.

Add the substrate (make sure you turn the power off first) and then wait a few days for the tank to settle down. Test the water and make sure all the readings are where they should be.

After the tank has cycled, add the saltwater fish from a quarantine tank. Add only a few at a time so that the filtration system has time to adjust.

About the Author

best protein skimmer
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saltwater tanks

I'm about to start a salt water aquarium? Is this all I need?

So far I have;

Your list isn't bad.

I HIGHLY recommend a pre-drilled reef ready tank. Your incidence of flooding will be drastically reduced. You won't even know to thank me for this suggestion because you won't have experienced the overflow box flooding I'm talking about.

The skimmer you want for an 80g tank needs to be considerably more than a manufacturer rated 100g skimmer. I would recommend the Bermuda Aquatics BPS-3C (linked below).

20g sump is fine. Just make sure you don't use the entire volume with operating water. You need to leave enough 'vacant' volume to accommodate water flowing out of the display above during a power outage.

Heater - use two for redundancy. This is the #1 piece of equipment to fail in our hobby. Use two 150w heaters. Technically all you need is one single 300w heater, but the above statement WILL effect you at some time in the future. If the heater fails in the 'on' position, it will cook your tank. If it fails in the 'off' position, it will get drastically cold. Two smaller heaters (even two 200w heaters is fine), will not be sufficient to cook or freeze your tank individually. Together they are more than adequate to run your system. Also consider a Ranco temperature controller in the future.

Powerhead - You can spend a lot or a little. You can get some that are capable of creating wave patterns or some that just move water. I would recommend at least two in your tank. The Koralia 3 or Koralia 4 would be cool and very affordable.

Salt - the biggest debate in reefing on the planet. Instant Ocean is widely accepted.....but not totally recommended by me. Pick one that you can find locally. Buy the bucket for whichever you decide on. It will contain enough to mix from 150g to 200g of saltwater. You'll need it for regular water changes.

Refractometer- Don't cheap out here by buying a hydrometer. This is one of the most important measurements you'll need to monitor. A refractometer is infinitely more reliable.

Test kits - Salifert makes the best, affordable and efficient test kits for the hobby. You'll need ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, calcium, alkalinity/hardness, magnesium. Any more than this is not really necessary but available if you want them.

RO/DI water filter - Your tap water contains loads of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) that are prime for causing algae outbreaks. If you get a TDS meter you'll be able to test your tap water. Mine comes out of the tap at 105 ppm. We want zero. 'Nuff said.

Lighting - I could write an entire book on reef lighting. Depends upon what animals you want to keep. Metal halide, T5, Powercompact (PC), LED, combination of MH & T5 or MH & PC is a great combination.

Thermometer - The Pinpoint Wireless thermometer is very reliable.

Return pump - Depending upon the amount of vertical height you're pumping your return water will determine the size pump you need. Remember, as water is pushed up vertically, as well as the friction of the pipe it is flowing through as well as the # of fittings (elbows, unions, ball valves, etc) will reduce the flow you get through the discharge in the tank. A 1" pvc pipe overflow can handle NO MORE THAN 600 gph. Therefore, you might need a 1000 gph pump to compensate for vertical height plus backpressure from the fittings used.
Marineland Utility Pumps are fantastic.

I can list more things you can use, fluidized media chamber for carbon or phosban, controllers for lights & heaters, monitors for ORP, pH, nitrates, phosphates, and lots more.

Do yourself a favor and do not under any circumstance use a wet/dry filter.

Hope this helped,
swimmer

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