Saltwater Aquariums

How to Set up a Marine Reef Aquarium

Setting up a marine reef aquarium may seem like a daunting task, but is fairly easily achievable provided you follow a few steps. If your looking to use half freshwater and have saltwater for a Brackish Aquarium check our Brackish Aquarium page.

If building an aquarium set up from scratch is not for you then check out this great set up by "Red Sea". . But if you want to build it from scratch check out our page Build an Aquarium Set Up.

Steps

1. Select the area of the house where you want the tank to be. In front of a window is generally not the best place as the tank can quickly heat up and pest algae may proliferate.
2. Buy the largest aquarium that will fit in your space, or the largest aquarium your budget will allow. Larger aquariums provide a much more stable environment, because the water chemistry will be easier to maintain over time.
3. Choose between acrylic or glass. Acrylic will scratch easily but is easier to drill and is much lighter. You can buy a tank pre-drilled, or if you are handy do it yourself (using a diamond bit hole saw). Some fish shops and glass stores will also provide this service. A tank with an "internal overflow" is a big plus. These are often sold as "reef ready". It is better to choose a tank that is not too deep(e.g. 24 to 30") so you can reach the bottom easily; a tank that is wider will provide a better depth of view for a more natural look as well as have better light penetration. A second smaller tank (a sump) is placed under the reef ready aquarium and will hold all the equipment out of sight. A sump is not a need per se, but it is nice to be able to hide equipment in as well as increasing the overall water volume in your system.
4. Choose your lighting: Metal halide lamps provide the best lighting for most of the corals commonly kept, other forms of lighting are also obtainable and offer varying degrees of success. 250 watt's bulbs will suit most common aquariums except for the deeper ones where 400 w bulbs provide more light penetration. The color spectrum of the bulbs (expressed in color temperature in Kelvin's) is a matter of personal preference. Bulbs between 10,000 Kelvin and 20,000 Kelvin are the most popular, and the higher the Kelvin rating the 'bluer' the color. Some claim coral growth is affected by the color, but corals grow fast and successfully on either end of the 'spectrum'. One halide bulb for every 2-3 feet of tank length is usually recommended.
5. Other types of lights to consider are florescent lighting, specifically high intensity fluorescent's. Two popular kinds are Power Compact and T5, or T5HO (meaning T5 high output). These can be found in many of the same color ratings as metal halide bulbs, and are often cheaper and produce less heat than a metal halide. A popular choice is to use both p.c.'s and metal halide. When choosing a fluorescent T5 fixture is to make sure to buy one with individual reflectors. While the lights do put out a fair amount of light with regular parabolic reflectors, they become amazingly bright using individual reflectors. Many people choose to use a single color of metal halide, like 10000k, and will use a few blue (or Actinic) fluorescent's to make the color more pleasing.