How to Set Up a Saltwater Fish Tank
When planning on having an aquarium, keep in mind that in order for your fish to survive, you have to keep the properties of their natural living environment. Here are some steps on how to set up a saltwater fish tank.
Things You’ll Need:
An aquarium
Thermometer
Salt water solution
Heater
Pump
Plants, rocks and other materials for your aquarium theme
Sponge or cloth
Prepare the Tank
Clean the tank with sponge and water.
Place the aquarium on a stand, making sure that it’s leveled. Don’t forget to use an under pad to cushion the tank.
Install the pump and other equipment you need.
System Wet Test
This test ensures that all equipment are working properly.
Fill the tank with the saltwater solution. If you want to make the solution by yourself, you may do so. Mix the solution inside the tank and remove the residue at the bottom.
Turn on your equipment and let it run for a day.
Adjust the heater to the desired water temperature
Check and fix any leaks.
Prepare your Live Rocks
Clean the rocks before putting them in the tank.
Make sure that debris and any dead matters are removed to avoid the water from getting affected by the decomposition of dead organisms.
Set up your aquarium
Turn off and remove the equipment in the tank.
Take out half of the saltwater from the tank. Put it in a big container. Doing this would make it easier to place your accessories in the tank when it’s just half filled. This way, you’ll also be able to know how much more water you need to add when the accessories are in the tank already.
Place substrate, rocks and other accessories in the tank.
Return the water you took out earlier.
Mark the water level outside the tank so you’ll know how much water to add next time.
Cycling the Tank
There are 3 phases for cycling a tank. They are the following:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
Make sure that you don’t add anything that may alter the water properties or place products that might interfere with ammonia during cycling, otherwise, the cycling process might take longer than you’d like it to be.
When there is a live rock in the aquarium, you may gently remove the accumulated waste matters without changing the water properties.
Get the Tank Ready for Your Fish
When the nitrite and ammonia readings drops to zero, replace about 20% of the water.
saltwater fishtank
Get rid of accumulated waste matters in the tank.
Clean the filtering devices in the aquarium.
Set the water temperature as desired.
Put your fish in the tank. Add only 1 type of fish at a time. Avoid overpopulating your tank with various types of species.
Let the water adjust to the species you’ve added. Test the level of ammonia for an entire week. When the readings drops to zero, you can safely add another type of fish.
Make sure to regularly clean your tank and monitor the temperature, water and ammonia levels.
Be a responsible aquarium owner. Let your tank be as close to your fish’s natural living environment as possible.