Marine Fish Tanks - Keeping Salt Water Fish

Marine is a word use to describe salt water habitats. Marine fish need different environments than tropical fish to live in, so you will need different equipment if you want to keep a marine fish tank than you would to keep a tropical fish tank.

The main difference between salt water and fresh water tanks is obviously the salt. Do not get this confused with table salt, what you actually need is marine salt.

Warm salt water evaporates at a rapid rate and a large tank can lose 23 litres a week or more, and as salt water fish don’t like big fluctuations in salt an automatic top-up device is recommended to regulate the salinity.

Such a device involves a float switch that is located in the main tank and connected to a pump in the top-up water. The swtich alerts the pump to top up the tank when the level drops.

You will need an important piece of equipment called a hydrometer to tell you how much salt is in the water in your tank. These are cheap to buy and simple to use, and must always be used for water changes, as well as sometimes to check levels in the tank. Some of them even have a built in thermometer.

The most important piece of equipment you will need to get is a protein skimmer, which will help to keep the water clean. You should use a protein skimmer with a conventional biolgical filter as well.

Another thing you will need to get for a marine aquarium is a chiller or a cooler unit. These are a kind of refrigeration unit that is connected to the tank and as water gets pumped through the unit it is cooled down and then returned to the tank. Because of all the equipment, such as high-powered lighting, being used in fish tanks these days more and more power is being used, which in turn produces heat, and marine tanks do not require that much heat.

You may need other equipment for your marine tank as well but these are the basic requirements. Do some thorough research about the type of fish you’d like to keep and take some expert advice before you buy any, and bear in mind that keeping a marine fish tank can be an expensive hobby, so make sure you are aware of all the costs before you start.