Steps in Starting A New Salt Water (marine) Aquarium

Basic things you will need in setting up a marine aquariumby chonglai » Tue Jun 21, 2005 9:14 am

i had this posted on ppf before. pero baka makatulong din sa mga baguhan. eto po yung

way ko kung pano ko nasetup yung marine aquarium ko. 

I am not an expert in marine aquariums but i would like to help those who want to setup

their own marine tank by putting here the steps and gears i used for setting up my own

marine tank. If there are things that i missed post it here so we can help people in trying out

marine tanks. So let's get to it! 

okay there are 3 types of marine aquariums that you need to chose from and base 

your setup from. 

1. Fish only setup 

this setup as the name implies will just need fish. You don't need to fuzz about liverocks and

get worried about nitrates and lights. 

2. Fish only with liverocks(FOWLR) setup 

this setup uses Liverocks and fish. This setup is more ideal than the fish only setup since

liverocks can be beneficial to your fish and system. Not only does liverocks help in

maintaining your system it also serves as a home for your fishes when agression between

fishes ensues. also this is a great setup if you want ti venture into reefkeeping in the future

since it already has the components for a basic reef. 

3.Reef setup 

The ultimate setup in marine aquarium. If you wish to keep corals then this system is for

you. You'll need a bigger budget here and a lot of patience as this systems requires a lot.

From lights to additives to chillers for your system to maintain ideal water parameters. But

once you are successful with this system your tank will be absolutely gorgeous! 

Here are the things you will need to setup a basic marine tank: 

1. Aquarium and stand 

The principle here is the bigger the better! It'll be easier to maintain a bigger tank because

water parameters will not fluctuate easily unlike in small aquariums where you always check

the stability of your tank. I'd say around 50 gallons is the minimum. Others get away with

just 35 gallons but you'll stock it with much less fish. 

also another thing you need to keep in mind is your budget when it comes to bigger

aquariums. With bigger aquariums comes bigger expenses due to the fact that you will need

stronger pumps to circulate the water volume you have, bigger and powerful skimmers, also

powerful lighting and a bit more dosing. Also with all those equipments comes your monthly

electric bill which will shoot up depending on the wattages of your equipment in the tank. I

was surprised before when my electric bill shot up to almost 5k because of the equipments i

had in my tank. good thing today is that there are pumps and other lighting alternatives that

require low wattage but high gph/lph output. 

You will also need a stand that will be able to handle your aquarium when it is fully stocked

with rocks sand and water. be sure to pick a stand that can support the weight of your

system. remember water is heavy especially when rocks and sand are added to it. 

2. Live rocks 

Liverocks will serve as home for your fish as well as "filter" for your system. They will be

home to beneficial bacteria and beneficial organisms. The rule i used to calculate how many

liverocks i need is 1.5 pounds per gallon of your system. So if you have a 50 gallon system

you'll need 75 pounds of liverocks. To get the number of killos simply divide it by 2.2. so for

a 50 gallon system you'll need 34 kilos of liverocks. 

here is the formula again : 

number of gallons of your system x 1.5(to get the number of pounds needed) / 2.2(to get the

number of kilos) = number of kilos needed for your system 

3. Sand 

It's your choice if you want to put sand or not. pero it adds beauty to your setup and plus it

becomes home to critters and worms that comes with your liverocks which in time will have

detrivores that will eat uneaten foods. it also serves as a nitrate reducer in time. 

for my setup i used 4 inches of sand so that it will have natural nitrate 

reduction. It's up to you if you want to put as much sand as i have done. So the question

here is how do i determine the number of kilos for a specific thickness in inches for my

system? here is the formula i used : 

Length of the aquarium x width of the aquarium x the desired thickness of sand in inches /

20 = number of pounds of sand to get desired thickness 

to get it in kilos: 

answer to the previous formula /2.2 = number of kilos of sand needed to get the desired

thickness 

the vinegar test: 

this test is used on sand to know whether they are suitable for your tank or not. here are the

steps: 

a. bring a small film container with vinegar when you are about to buy sand for your marine

aquarium. 

b. once you are at the place where you will buy your sand, place a small amount of sand on

the fil container with vinegar. if the sand you put there bubbles up that means it's ok for

your aquarium. 

when the sand bubbles up on vinegar that means it will buffer your aquarium since it

contains calcium carbonate. 

4. saltmix 

This is up to you as to what brand of saltwater mix you prefer. Me i use biomix from

bioresearch. it's cheap around 120 pesos compared to the ones being sold in cartimar the

marina mix which costs around 175 pesos. 

Most users here prefer natural saltwater since it is cheaper alternative to local saltmixes

plus it can easily make reef creatures thrive as it is already a balanced mix. 

Although imported brands like sera, corallife and tropic marin can also make reef creatures

thrive(these brands are also available here). 

5. Ro/di water or deep well water or tap water 

For those who have high budgets the ideal water to be used in mixing with your saltwater

mix is RO/DI water or reverse osmosis water. they can be bought on water stations or you

can make it yourselfs jsut buy the ro di filter. 

me i use deep well water. because it's a lot cheaper and that's waht my budget permits.

nawasa water needs to be stocked for 3 days to remove chlorine that is put in it by putting a

powerhead to aerate it. 

5, Hydrometer 

hydrometers are used to measure specific gravity of the mixed water. hydrometers have

these green markings that indicate correct SG. 

To use the hydrometer, simply put it in your water and look if the water level is on the green

marker. if it is, it's ok for use. if the green marker on the hydrometer is above water level

just add ro di water to dilute the mix. if the green marker is below the water level you have

to add saltmix to raise the specific gravity. 

6.Powerheads/pumps 

Powerheads are used for circulation of water on your marine tank. it is important to have

circulation so that detritus and uneaten food doesn't stay on the bottom or get trapped on

yur rocks instead they will be picked up by your protein skimmer. 

they can also be used as return pumps for your sump. 

try to get a powerhead that has a high liters per hour or gallon per hour rating. 

7. Protein skimmer 

Protein skimmers export the dirt and waste on your aquarium by use of bubbles. I use a

venturi type skimmer. this type of skimmer utilizes a powerhead to deliver water on it's

column. get a skimmer that is rated at two times or three times your system volume. Be

sure to pair it with a powerhead that has a high head rating and volume 

8. Test kits 

this are important so that you will be able to determine if your water parameters are ok or

not. 

test kits you need are ammonia nitrate and ph. buy tetra test kits as they are more

accurate. 

when you test your water the results should be the following: 

ammonia = 0 

nitrates = for fish only it's ok to have 20mg or less but strive for 10mg or less 

ph = should be 8 to 8.5 

chonglai

A.Curing the liverocks

1. put water in your aquarium as well as your saltmix. then put your powerhead to aerate water. let the powerhead mix the water for 2 to 3 days. 

2. after the second or third day. use your hydrometer to measure the specific gravity. if the water level is on the grren mark. you can now add liverocks and sand. if the water level is below the green mark you need to add more freshwater because there is more salt on the water mixed. if the water level is above the green mark, you must add more saltmix because there is not enough salt mixed with the water. 

3. buy your liverocks and sand according to the computations given earlier. i buy my liverocks from mang jun at the back of cartimar. he has the best liverocks. his liverocks contain a lot of hitchhickers that includes worms and other stuff you want in your aquarium. i use a sugar fine sand for natural nitrate reduction. use coral sand. don't use silicate sand because it'll promote algae growth. 

4. put your liverocks first on the aquarium. aquascape your tank now. make sure that you when you stack your liverocks they are firmly placed and not loose as they will fall if not put correctly and could cause aquarium breakage. 

The reason for putting liverocks before sand first is to make the base rock secure so that if the sand gets thin your base rock won't move and the upper rocks won't fall down. 

5. after putting your liverocks it's time for the sand. Before putting the sand, check the bottom of the aquarium and see if there are dirt and dead organisms. If you spot those; siphon them out because if you put the sand over those it will cause problems later for your setup since they will contribute more nitrates and hydrogen sulfide gases. Once all the decaying organisms are siphoned out, put the sand in your aquarium. 

6. turn on your powerheads to promote circulation on your tank. this is also the time to put your protein skimmer into action so that wastes will be removed from the die off of organisms on your liverocks. 

7. your tank is now ready for cycling. Don't put anything on your tank at this stage. don't put any fish or cut shrimps to promote bacteria growth. the die off on the rocks is enough for that. 

8. Let your tank cycle for 6 to 8 weeks. then test water for ammonia and 

nitrates.if ammonia is 0 and nitrates is less than 20mg execute a 20% water change(use aged saltwater that has been mixed for three days and has the same SG as your previous

water) 

After all that hardwork and patience you can now put fish. Remember don't overstock your system! put a new fish every month so that your system can adjust.