An Introduction Into Saltwater Aquariums
Part 2 - Planning Your Saltwater Aquarium
Left: A simple FOWLR tank, full of interesting Marine animals. This simple set up is an exciting and easy type of tank, perfect for any Saltwater hobby noobies.
Video Credit: TheCanuck, via MonsterFishKeepers
2.0 Planning your Saltwater Aquarium
Keeping Saltwater fish, or any complex animals for that matter, should not be a responsibility that one accepts on a whim or without planning and research. the are endless possibilities and configurations when setting up your first tank, and it's best to enter knowing exactly what you want, and what to avoid. This article is a brief, highly-generalized overview of the first and most important decisions hobbyist should make before driving out to pick out fish.First, knowing what exactly you'd like to keep is always important. For example, someone who's goal it is to keep advanced corals will have very different plans than someone hoping to set up a tank.
To help you get past that first planning obstacle, I will provide a short overview of the three most common set ups seen in the hobby. Each of these setups have within them an entire spectrum of difficulty, which I will also try to address.
2.1 The Fish-Only-With-Live-Rock Tank (FOWLR)
Introduction
The FOWLR tank is a tank which has similar filtration, lighting and heating to a regular freshwater tank, but contains saltwater organisms and Live Rock.
Live Rock
Live Rock is a basic (high-PH) rock which is built from layers and layers of dead corals. the highest quality of rock is cured, premium rock taken from the ocean, and containing live bacteria, mollusks, algae and other critters. Often this rock will be one of the major purchases for any saltwater tank, as it usually ranges anywhere from 4-10 dollars per pound, depending on the source. There are several qualities of Live Rock, but for a beginner, the most important piece of information is that the rock is cured. Cured rock will not smell of sulfur and rotting plants and animals. Healthy, cured Live Rock will smell like a fresh sea. Premium rock will likely also be encrusted with many algaes, such as corraline algae, which is a beautiful beneficial purple algae which uses calcium to form. If the cost of premium cured Live Rock exceeds your budget (larger tanks), you can use base rock in conjunction with Live Rock, which will slowly be seeded. Often indistinguishable to premium Live Rock within a year (depending on tank conditions).
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| Dead or Base Rock. A good choice for large tanks. Will be seeded by the Live Rock you place in the tank with it. Photo Credit: MacroRocks.com, an excellent source for base rock. |
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| Premium Live Rock. Make sure the rock is cured with a simple smell test. Uncured rock can be disgusting and can prolong your cycle for months. Photo Credit: CarolinaLiveRock.com, a well respected dealer with great prices for American customers. |
Benefits of a FOWLR System
One of the reasons a FOWLR tank is a superior choice for beginners, is simply explained by Robert Fenner (2008), "Fishes, as a rule, are more forgiving than non-fish livestock". Fishes are often much less effected (check each species) by things such a photoperiod, Nitrates, algae or cyanobacteria outbreaks, or small salinity shifts.
FOWLR tanks also provide the hobbyist with a greater variety of options of fish. Many fish you see at the local petshop are likely not safe for reef, especially some of the predatory fish, the Angels and Butterflies. Here are some examples of fish which can only be kept in tanks without corals or motile invertabrates:
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| Queen Angelfish. The large Angelfish found in marine environments will often pick at coral. Photo Credit: Chris Huss, via National Geographic |
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| Copperband Butterflyfish. Great for FOWLR tanks, but will peck corals. Photo Credit: Luc Viatour, via Wikipedia |
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| Snowflake Eel. Common in FOWLR tanks. Safe for coral, but will eat shrimp or snails, or even small fish. Photo Credit: atv023, via TheReefTank.com |
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| Harlequin Tuskfish will eat motile invertabrates. Photo Credit: Terry Siegel, via AdvancedAquarist.com |
Some other benefits of a FOWLR tank include the possibility of a less expensive skimmer (although I recommend purchasing a skimmer that exceeds your needs - especially if you go with a heavy predator tank rather than a simple Clown/Community tank) and less expensive lighting. There are also some non-photosynthetic corals that you may keep in a FOWLR tank under bland lighting if there are no corallivores present. One popular species is the Sun Coral. The corals do, however, require clean water and in some cases, daily feeding. If you are interested in Sun Corals, I recommend you visit Melev's Reef page for more info and feeding instructions.
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| Sun Coral feeding on mysis shrimp. Photo Credit: Melev's Reef. |
Equipment in a FOWLR System
- Basic Lighting - 10,000k or 18,000k mixed with Actinic bulb recommended for colours.
- Heater + Thermometer
- Basic synthetic salt, such as Instant Ocean.
- Canister or Sump w Bioball filtration.
- Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrate, Alkalinity, pH test kits.
- Hydrometer
- 10x+ turnover via powerheads, filter returns and sump return
- Good Skimmer ($150-$300 range)
Hardscape
- 1-1.5lbs of Live Rock/Gallon
- Coarse aragonite or crushed coral for easy cleaning
Approximate Budget for a 75g FOWLR Tank
- $1,500 for low end tank w/o skimmer.
- $2,500 for high end tank w/skimmer, sump, upgraded lighting and strong flow
2.2 The Soft Coral Tank
Introduction
As we saw in Part 1 of this series, "Myths in the Saltwater Hobby", not all corals are difficult to keep. In fact, there is a rather large selection of beautiful soft coral readily available in the hobby which are easier to keep than some freshwater plants. These corals are often inexpensive, hardy, and aquacultured locally, which means that you are not harvesting from the ocean.
Benefits of a Soft Coral Tank
A soft coral tank is, in almost every case, the gateway into the more advanced sessile invertabrates in the hobby. Soft coral tanks provide hobbyists with an introduction into coral tank husbandry, in a low-pressure setting, where a mistake likely won't mean disaster. LPS (Large Polyp Stony) corals and other "softies" are often very undemanding and hardy, although there are some exceptions. We will dive deeper into what corals are and are not suitable for a beginner in a later article of this collection. For now, here are some of the most common and easy to keep soft corals:
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| Button Polyp Corals. Photo Credit: jessp, via ReefCentral.com |
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| Xenia Corals. Photo Credit: Haplochromis, via Wikipedia |
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| Green Star Polyp Coral. Photo Credit: Unknown |
Equipment in a Soft Coral System
- High Output Lighting, such as T5HO, VHO T8s, Metal Halide or LED.
- Basic synthetic salt.
- Canister or (recommended) sump system. Refugium recommmened.
- Very good skimmer ($200-$400)
- Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Alkalinity, pH, Calcium and Magnesium test kits. Titration/Pro series recommended.
- Hydrometer or refractometer.
- Strong flow of 10-15x+ tank turnover from powerheads, filters and sump returns.
- 1-2lbs of Live Rock/Gallon
- 1lb of coarse or medium-fine aragonite or crushed coral. Perhaps a deep sand bed (DSB) in tank or a RDSB (Remote DSB) in sump for added filtration and food creation.
Approximate Budget for a 75g Soft Coral Tank
- $2,000 w/o skimmer, w/ low end lighting.
- $3,000 w/ powerful skimmer and strong lighting for more advanced corals.
2.3 The Reef Tank
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| Regal Angelfish swims happily through an SPS coral garden. Photo Credit: T35l.com |
Introduction
The reef tank both a work of art and a model of scientific achievement. The culmination of years of experience with simpler systems, a healthy budget, a boatload of patience and hours of research are the means for these beautiful slices of ocean. I do not recommend a new hobbyist dive into this type of tank. For this reason, I will try to stay brief in it's description and explanation. For those truly looking to dive deep into this section of the hobby, please only do so after you've mastered LPS husbandry. Research every aspect of the tank to save heartache and money in the long run. I recommend Robert Fenner's book The Conscientious Marine Aquarist (2008) or the great library of information found in the articles at Reefkeeping Magazine's website.
For the purpose of this article, "reef tank" refers to tanks capable of housing and growing SPS (Small Polyp Stony) corals.
Benefits of keeping a Reef Tank
An SPS dominated tank truly is a window in some of the great reefs of the world, like the Great Barrier Reef. SPS corals and LPS corals found in reef tanks are often gorgeous, thanks to the high activity of plankton found within the tissue of the coral, which grows because of the strong lighting on the tank. Successfully running a tank full of SPS frags and watching them grow is one of the most rewarding experiences in the entire aquarium hobby. Your advanced equipment allows you to keep just about any sessile invertabrate happy and colourful.
An excellent example of the beauty of an SPS tank is Iwan Lasser's SPS dominated reef below. I recommend everyone clicks the link below to see what is truly possible when a dedicated and passionate hobbyist hones his/her skills and builds something spectacular.
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| SPS dominated tank. Photo Credit: Iwan Lasser, via ReefCentral.com |
Equipment in a Reef Tank
- Very high output lighting, such as Metal Halides or LEDs.
- Sump with integrated refugium, RDSB, extra Live Rock, macroalgae farm, ATS (Algae Turf Scrubber, or Mangroves.
- R/O unit.
- High grade skimmer ($300-1000+)
- Refractometer
- Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Alkalinity, TDS, Calcium, Magnesium, Phosphate, Strontium test kits (titration or pro series) or recommended electronic monitors.
- 20x+ tank turnover.
- Calcium Reactor
- Other recommended: Redox monitor, automatic dosing pump, auto top off unit, ozonizer.
Thank you for reading this article, I hope you have gained some useful information. Stay tuned for Part 3: Livestock.
Fenner, Robert M., (2008). The Concientus Marine Aquarist. New Jersey: T.F.H Publications, Inc.
Photo References
http://carolinaliverock.com/buy-live-rock/live-rock/
http://www.marcorocks.com/25poundboxkeylargorockprecuredandfreeshippinginthecontinentalus.aspx
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?449900-The-Canuck-s-Update
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Chelmon_rostratus_Luc_Viatour.jpg
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/3/fish
http://www.melevsreef.com/suncoral.html
http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=69092&d=1244330230
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1021526
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Xenia_coral.jpg
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11235791
http://www.t35l.com/
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