If you are looking to start a saltwater tank, just doing a search on the internet will show you that there is an impressive amount of information on them!

I'm hoping that this article will help shed some light on some different techniques and equipment used in saltwater tanks.

Before purchasing your tank or any equipment, be sure to research the type of fish you would like to keep, as well as what kind of TANK you want to keep.

If any of you have ever kept a freshwater tank, you know that theres not too much to it with most species. You just need a good solid filter, heater, and decent lighting, and with the occassional water change, the fish will pretty much take care of themselves. With a saltwater tank, however, most of the fish are very delicate, and considerations must be taken to provide the right environment, food, and swimming room for each fish.

Tank Types

There are three major types of saltwater tanks that you can have, each with increasing difficulty.

• FO - Fish Only
• FOWLR - Fish Only With Live Rock
• Reef

A Fish Only aquarium is pretty self explanitory. It just includes the fish that you put in there. This type of setup is fairly easy. The only thing you really have to make sure of is that you have a good filter and the salinity is correct. These fish come from the ocean, where the salinity pretty much stays the same. They are not used to rapid flucuations that can occur in the aquarium, and if they do happen, this can really stress out your fish.

A FOWLR aquarium takes a different approach to aquarium filtration. A saltwater tank is the only one that can go through the entire nitrogen cycle. In a freshwater aquarium, nothing in the tank can take care of the nitrates that can accumulate, so you must do a water change to get rid of them.

To create a FOWLR system, you must have a good supply of base and or live rock and/or live sand. The term 'live' refers to living organisms that live on the rock or in the sand that ACTUALLY filter your aquarium water. It's good to have a solid amount of live rock, at least 1 and a half to 2 pounds per gallon. Live rock can get fairly expensive, so there are some tricks to save some money. Live rock generally
runs about 5 to 6 dollars per pound. So, to avoid having to spend a ludicrous amount of money, you can buy a large amount of base rock, and then 'seed' the rock by placing a few pieces of live rock in there. By doing this, organisms from the live rock will start migrating onto the base rock and make it 'live rock'.

Again, if you would rather use sand in your aquarium, you can always repeat the process above, but instead of using rock, just use sand.

You can get away with just having live rock or sand do your filtration if you have a moderate bioload, or in other words, a reasonable amount of fish. If you are going with this type of setup, its very important that you keep in mind that 'less is more' and do not overstock.

By overstocking, you can have excessive ammonia or nitrites which can kill your live rock and send your aquarium into a downward spiral, which, when you have expensive fish and live rock, is NOT a good thing.

A Reef aquarium incorporates live rock or sand AS WELL as reef dwelling inhabitants such as soft corals, hard corals, anemones and urchins. This is the hardest and most challenging type of saltwater tank to keep. It is also, however, one of the most rewarding. There is nothing like seeing a few reef dwelling fish swimming among a sea of beautiful corals. In a reef tank however, the main stars are not your fish, but your corals.

As well as live rock, reef aquariums must be reasonably stocked with fish. Keep in mind that your live rock is doing your filtration, and it's important not to have fluctuations in the water quality. If you do, you could lose some valuable corals.

Equipment - What do I need?

While some fish stores will try and sell you more than you ever need, most of it you will never have use for. The following paragraphs will give you an example of the equipment you will need for the appropriate setup.

FO System -

Lighting - Not really too important, just enough so that you can see your fish. There are no corals or live rock, so nothing is really benefiting from it.

Filtration - With no live rock doing your filtration, be sure to invest in a good, solid filter you know will not fail. Saltwater fish are expensive and harder to care for, so be sure to spend as much as you can getting quality equipment.

Heater - Standard 5 watts per gallon apply here just like freshwater.


FOWLR System -

Lighting - It's good to have about 3 to 4 watts per gallon for your live rock to thrive. You need your live rock to be very healthy because it is what is keeping your fish alive and aquarium nice and sparkling. The best way to achieve 3 to 4 watts per gallon is to invest in a good PC or Power Compact lighting system. It puts more power in a single bulb, which is important if you don't want 10 bulbs spanning the top of your aquarium. Most also include lunar lighting, which is a 1 to 2 watt blue LED. This is important for corals and live rock, as they do the same, if not more growing during the nightime as they do during the day.

Filtration - In a moderately stocked system, the live rock should be doing all of your filtration. If you want to add more fish, be sure to add a good filter just like you would a FO system.

Heater - Standard 5 watts per gallon apply here just like freshwater.

Reef System -

This is one of the most expensive saltwater systems that you can have, but again, the time and effort spent is well worth it because the rewards of a beautiful freshwater system will pay off a hundred times over in the long run.

Lighting - Depending on the types of corals you are keeping, you will want to go with anywhere fro 5 to 8 watts per gallon. PC lighting will usually supply enough, but to get more watts per gallon you can go with MH or Metal Halide lighting. This is arguably the best type of lighting that you can purchase for your aquarium. This will supply your aquarium with 8+ watts per gallon. Your corals will really begin to thrive when you have this type of lighting.

Heater - Standard 5 watts per gallon apply here just like freshwater.


It's important to remember though that your beautiful live rock and corals are living creatures too, so be sure to supply them with an adequate amount of food. There are several products on the market that will help you with corals, but live rock thrives on ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. So by just having a few fish in your aquarium, your live rock will flourish.

Also, almost important as food, is having enough calcium in your tank for your corals to be strong and healthy. Your corals use calcium to survive and grow. There are many expensive pieces of equipment out there, however, if you are looking to save money, there are several products that come in liquid form that will get the job done.

Protein Skimmers

In a FOWLR or Reef system, these can be very important, however you can get by without one. They skim waste off of the surface before it can become ammonia. This will really make the work your filtration system has to do a lot easier.

I have heard of larger stores that actually take a paper towel and place it on top of the water, and then pull it off a few seconds later to pull the extra film, or waste, off of the water. This is essentially the same thing your skimmer is trying to do, but is much cheaper. However, you must be consistent and make sure you do it often, or you could see ammonia and nitrite spikes in your aquarium.

I hope this article helps you when deciding to start a saltwater tank. There will be more articles in the near future to cover other aspects of keeping a saltwater tank. Be sure to keep your eyes open for future updates!