Keeping marine fish and inverts

“How hard is it to keep marines” this is a question I hear several times a day. The answer is that they are fairly easy to keep as long as you follow a few basic guidelines. The positives of keeping marines far outweigh the negatives and with the abundance of beautifully coloured marine fish, who can resist the temptation of re-creating a piece of the ocean in their home?

Setting up a marine aquarium

Aquarium choices and location

Purchase the biggest aquarium your home and wallet will allow. The greater the volume of water the more stable the water parameters will be. A 3 ft aquarium would be fine for a beginner.

Think about where you will be locating the aquarium, keep it out of direct sunlight to stop algae growth ,keep away from drafty openings, slamming doors and radiators, all these are potential problems and, if avoided, will stop fish becoming stressed out which can lead to them developing diseases in the long term. Try to keep the aquarium at a height out of the reach of small children, we recently had a customer whose child fed the fish some ice cream which resulted in a complete wipe out - so be warned. Also check that the floor in the location of the aquarium is suitable and level. Remember to put on the aquarium background before filling up with water - for obvious reasons.

Filtration.

Do not let some shops baffle you with technology as the basic principles of filtration are all the same. Both internal filters and external canister filters will do the job and provide you with 3 stage filtration, (mechanical, biological and chemical), it really depends on how many fish you intend to keep and how much you can afford. We would advise you not to skimp on the filtration as this will be the heart of your marine system and if it fails, so will the health of your fish.

Brief description of a 3 stage filter.
Mechanical filtration is the removal of suspended waste in the water; waste is generally trapped in the fine floss and this is replaced on a regular basis.
Biological filtration is the use of living organism to break down waste such as ammonia and nitrite and turn these into a less harmful substance known as nitrate; this can be controlled through the use of small regular water changes.
Chemical filtration is the use of carbons and resins to remove dissolved organic wastes and phosphates from the water which will keep algae under control.polyfilters can also be used in the removal of contaminants such as copper based treatments,nitrate,phosphate and to help control algal growth. Suited to the smaller tank that does not have a protein skimmer. Can be costly if used in the long term.

We would recommend the use of an external canister filter as you can incorporate all 3 stages of filtration.

Protein skimmers

These are devices used for the removal of dissolved organic waste in a saltwater aquarium by the use of foam fractionation. The waste will be collected in a small container on the skimmer which can be emptied on a regular basis. On a new tank this will take several weeks to get up to speed as there will not be much waste in the system, so be patient. We would recommend a Prizm skimmer that hangs on the back of you aquarium, internal skimmers are also available in store.

Heating

 

The volume of water in your aquarium will determine the wattage of your heater. You may need to use 2 heaters on a larger aquarium.

We would recommend a heater with a built in thermostat. Heaters range from 25 watts up to 300 watts. The ideal water temperatures would be between 25 -27 degrees Celsius.
 

Lighting

The lighting on your marine aquarium can make all the difference. On a basic marine aquarium marine white and marine blue actinics are fine. Over tank luminars or light units that hang above the aquarium such as halides (for reef aquariums) seem to be becoming more popular . If you are a beginner then stick to normal marine tubes to start off with, you can always upgrade at a later date. Normally the tube will be fixed to the underneath of the aquarium lid which will be fine; you may want to use reflectors to increase the brightness of the light.

Filling your aquarium.

When first filling up your marine aquarium you should use r/o water (reverse osmosis) which is basically water that has been passed through a filtration unit (r/o unit) to remove unwanted chemicals and metals from your tap water such as chloramines and heavy metals. 2.5 and 5.5 gallon containers are available at The Fish Lodge.

Adding the salt.

We would recommend TMC salt as it is economical and good quality, do not buy salt because it’s in a pretty looking packet. Try and buy roughly the right amount for the volume of your aquarium.

At the start of any new marine aquarium the salt can be poured straight in, the power heads and filter will help to mix it properly. A hydrometer will help you to measure the salinity level. Make sure that you only test the salinity when the water has reached the required temperature, otherwise you may get a false reading. If the reading is a little low, add a little more salt and leave for 30 minutes, then check again with the hydrometer. The desired salinity level should be between 1.020 to 1.024 sg.

Evaporation loss should only be topped up with r/o water with a buffer added to it. Never top up with saltwater unless you intend to increase the salinity level. Also check the p.h which should be around 8-8.3.

Water flow.

Water flow is very important in a marine aquarium as it will stop the accumulation of waste in the nooks and crannies of your rock work and on the coral sand floor. It will also replicate the natural home of the fish on the reefs.

We would recommend the use of a power head with a rotating water deflector fitted, which will create a variable water flow pattern.

Live rock.

Live rock will not only look nice but it will also help to filter your water. Live rock will contain many beneficial bacteria that will help in the breakdown of waste from the fish.

It is expensive so you can use a base of ocean rock which will keep costs down. Fiji Live rock is available at The Fish Lodge in single pieces from our display tank or in 10 – 20 kg box for home curing, which is possible when starting a new aquarium. You do not need live rock but by not using it you will have to use some cycle to get the nitrogen cycle up and running quickly.

The nitrogen cycle.

Before adding livestock it is important to let the nitrogen cycle get up and running. When this is complete your nitrite level will be at zero, so by adding fish your nitrate levels will start to rise and this is controlled by regular water changes.

You will need to check for ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,alkalinity and p.h . We would advise you to use Test kits. You shoul make all these tests, before and after, adding any livestock and then on a regular basis so that you will be certain that the levels are correct at all times. See below for ideal water parameters.

Buying your fish.

Start off with a couple of hardy fish such as damsels, blennies or green chromis.add a couple of fish every other week and build up slowly to your desired stocking level. Do not buy big fish as this will place too much pressure on your filter. Ask us for advice and we will guide you in you fish selection. We will be happy to order a particular fish for you if we do not have it in stock.

 

Feeding your fish.

A variety of food is very important for your marine fish. Frozen food, marine flake food and live food are all available at The Fish Lodge. The most popular marine foods are frozen artemia, frozen mysis, aquarian marine flake, green sea veggies and live brine shrimp.

Do not overfeed your fish, feed small amounts 2-3 times a day. Overfeeding is the most common mistake made by all new fish keepers.

Essential maintenance items.

You will need a magnet cleaner to clean the glass, a net and a thermometer. A gravel cleaner is also a good investment. A container for mixing salt water and a spare thermometer and a small pump to mix the salt into the water . A book and an automatic feeder for when you go on holiday. A spare water bottle for evaporation top up water.

It may seem to be a lot of information to take in but the staff at The Fish Lodge will help you and guide you through the setup of your marine aquarium. Please check out the photos of some of our customer’s tanks and see what you could achieve.

Ideal water parameters.

Salinity-1.020-1.024 sg
Temperature – 25-27 degrees Celsius
p.h -8-8.3
alkalinity dhk -8 dhk
nitrite -0 ppm
nitrate -20 ppm
phosphate -0 ppm       
calcium -425 ppm
magnesium 1450 ppm

Recommended marine products.

Juwel aquariums.
Eheim  and super fish canister filters.
Red sea prizm skimmers
Visitherm heaters
Arcadia marine light tubes,luminars and halides.
TMC salt
Red sea hydrometer
Maxi jet power heads
Hydor rotating water deflectors
Polyfilter
Tetra test kits
Aquarian marine flake
Sea veggies
Mag float
Marine q&as book
Daily double auto feeder

The reef aquarium.

Basically the conditions for a reef aquarium are the same as a fish only aquarium with just a few adjustments made to the set up and water conditions.

If you intend to keep mainly corals then the lighting will play an important role in the health of the corals. We would advise the use of 150 watt halide lighting, and blue actinics which would be fine for a beginner. These lights will need to be kept on timers.

Although most corals get a proportion of their food from the lighting you provide, they will appreciate the addition of some liquid coral food. Helping to replace the naturally available particles of food that often fall, snow like, in the water column.

Water flow will need to be increased with the use of several power heads. The use of a calcium reactor is very beneficial and will make the job of keeping calcium levels high a lot easier than using liquid calcium additives and it will work out a lot cheaper in the long term. The calcium is very important if you intend to keep hard corals.

 

The temperature of the water will need to be monitored closely as corals will not tolerate high temperatures. Phosphate levels must be kept as low as possible, algae will also be kept under control with the use of a phosphate remover such as elimiphos from TMC.