Saltwater Aquariums: Starting A Home Marine Mixed Reef Aquarium

Buying a saltwater aquarium should depend on several key factors. One key factor relies heavily on how well you can maintain the aquarium without going over budget and how well you can keep up with the tank's water chemistry and maintenance. The other key factor depends on what inhabitants you really want to keep in the aquarium. If you choose to keep fish in a saltwater aquarium you should research the fish that you want to keep before buying an aquarium to house them in.

Reef aquariums containing an assortment of live coral and saltwater fish are becoming more popular today more then ever before. It used to be that these aquariums were reserved for only the most experienced aquarists with the deepest pockets, but today many in the hobby are enjoying affordable successful reef aquariums.

No reef tank is complete without invertebrates. Invertebrates provide numerous benefits to the marine aquarium, the same way they do in nature. Algae and fish waste removal are two of the main benefits, however there are countless others.

The first thing to consider about lighting up reef tanks is how much light you will be needing. The amount of light depends in a major way on the types of corals you are using in the tank. If your corals are photosensitive, then you will certainly need more light. Photosensitive corals can even die in the absence of proper lighting. Reef lighting must be ideally 4 to 6 watts per gallon if the tank houses mostly low light sensitivity coral, but it must be up to 10 watts per gallon if the coral is highly light sensitive. At the same time, the depth of the tank is also to be taken into account. Since all kinds of aquarium reef lighting are placed on top of the tank, their intensity will decrease as the light travels downwards. That is why taller reef tanks must have more intense lights than the squat ones.

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Reported by Gaurav


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