| Here are few steps to start out with a saltwater | | | | 4. Check out the requirements of lighting. |
| aquarium and to ensure that your aquarium becomes | | | | A basic rule is to have 4 watts of lighting per gallon |
| a successful life support system for its inhabitants: | | | | of water in your tank. There are different kinds of |
| 1. Select the right tank. | | | | lights available, like the metal halide lights and the |
| Your first decision will definitely be to select the right | | | | fluorescent lights. When you are starting out, the |
| kind of tank to house your saltwater inhabitants. It is | | | | fluorescent lights are better because they will be able |
| always good to have a large tank with saltwater | | | | to spread light out into the aquarium in a much better |
| occupants, because of their big-size requirements. | | | | way. |
| Keep at least a ten-gallon tank at the outset. | | | | If you have corals in your tank, then your lighting |
| 2. Set up the tank in the right place. | | | | requirements will increase. Corals are light sensitive, |
| Saltwater fish and other occupants do not like direct | | | | and they grow healthier if light falls on them. Hence, |
| sunlight, unless they are continental shelf inhabitants | | | | you will have to take good quality lighting for your |
| by nature. However, you must make sure not to | | | | tank. The same applies if you have plants in your |
| place your tank in direct sunlight. There should be | | | | tank. But, for beginners, a planted aquarium could be |
| adequate light where the tank is placed, but no direct | | | | quite tough to maintain. A better way is to begin |
| sunrays. | | | | with a tank that has only fish in it, and then graduate |
| 3. Set up the aquarium bed. | | | | on to keeping plants and corals in the tank when |
| When you set up the saltwater aquarium bed, you | | | | they get enough practice with keeping fish in it. |
| have to make sure that the bed contains live matter. | | | | 5. Choosing the fish. |
| If you buy aquarium gravel then this problem is | | | | Yes, choosing the fish is the last step when building |
| solved. Aquarium gravel contains biological media such | | | | up a saltwater aquarium and not the first. You will |
| as bacteria that will help to maintain the necessary | | | | have to select fish that are non aggressive with each |
| cycles in the tank for the proper health of the fish | | | | other. One good idea is to select one fish first, let it |
| living in it. You will also need to clean out this biological | | | | live alone for about a week and then get another. |
| media if the water gets too cloudy. Other things you | | | | When you do this, you allow the biological system to |
| will need on the bed are a live rock, which is much | | | | set in inside the tank before the second occupant is |
| the same in function as aquarium gravel, but is | | | | introduced. This also helps the biological media to get |
| shaped like a rock, and air stones that will help to | | | | adjusted better. |
| circulate bubbles of air within your saltwater tank. | | | | |