How To Set Up a Saltwater Aquarium The Right Way! Part 1
Its back to basics for this blog post guys, and il tell you why. How many of you have made mistakes while setting up their first marine aquarium? If you are being honest I would say about 60% of you have.
When people are new to the hobby the most scary thing is making mistakes and having it come back to bite you, it can be enough to put you off the hobby for life. And thats whats happened to a couple of people who have contacted me through www.Saltwater-Aquarium-Advice.com recently.
So here is how to do things the right way, first time. This is pretty relevant for anyone regardless of experience, because at one time or another you are all going to have to set up a tank again.
The first step is to decide EXACTLY what you want: Fish only, FOWLR (fish only with live rock), Reef, Jellyfish whatever. Fish only is a good first timers option because you can later convert it to reef or add stuff. A reef aquarium (mostly corals, invertebrates and one or 2 fish can be pretty easy to set up but requires complex lighting for your corals and some organisation. So planning and research are the keys here, do as much detail as possible will help down the track.
Second step is to get some good quality guide books, and of course im going to recommend my top selling ebook “Ultimate Secrets To Saltwater Aquarium Fish and Invertebrates” which concentrates on the marine life (the most vital part of the equation!) and how to make it thrive.
Next up make a checklist of everything you need and go buy it! You dont have to have everything at once, it can be a slow but steady evolution, a masterpiece in the making if you will.
Now to get to the nitty gritty of setting up now that you are all researched, planned and purchased. The first steps of the actual set up are deciding upon: Location of the aquarium (out of sunlight and well ventilated!), decide on aquarium size (always buy the biggest one you can afford) and whether you want a stand, what substrate will you use ?, Temperature, lighting and filtration systems you want to use, what look you want (aquascaping and decor). Once you have done this its time to rock and roll.
First you need to get you aquarium ready; put the stand down, ensuring its level. Now clean the hell out of the aquarium with fresh clean water then apply a vinyl background or alternatively paint it. Next; if you are using a sump put it in now, it is the easiest time to do it. Now is the time to put the aquarium on its stand and ensure it is all level. Next up get all your equipment and install it to where it should be in the set up.
After all this its time to give the system a trial run and check all the components are working.
For the next steps in setting your marine aquarium up the right way…… Stay tuned for the next installment!
Tags: marine aquarium, marine fish, saltwater aquarium, saltwater aquarium set up, setting up marine aquarium