- How do I start a saltwater aquarium?
Setting up a simple saltwater aquarium
is easier than it has ever been.
If your goal is to have a pair of clown fish in your home,
and you're just as happy using faux coral decorations,
then it's going to be no more difficult
than setting up a freshwater aquarium.
If you do want to keep corals, anemones,
and maybe other types of reef fish as well,
I'm going to touch on that in just a little bit.
Today, I'll go over the list of what you'll need
to get a saltwater tank started
and the basic steps of putting it all together.
So you can get a really good idea of how simple this can be.
First, you'll need a glass or acrylic tank,
some basic filtration, like a hang on power filter,
a heater to keep the tank warm,
some aragonite or crushed coral substrate for the bottom,
some live or dry calcium carbonate reef rock
for creating your aqua scape.
And a basic led aquarium light to illuminate
your little slice of the ocean.
Since it is a saltwater aquarium,
you'll also need some synthetic sea salt
and a refractometer or glass hydrometer
to measure how much salt is in the water.
For that pair of common clown fish,
a 20 gallon aquarium is a great size
that gives them enough room to grow
while also being a very manageable size
in terms of maintenance.
Next, pick a place in your home for that aquarium
that gets a lot of traffic.
There's no sense in sticking it in a room that nobody uses.
You're going to want to put it somewhere
that people generally hang out in your home
so that everybody can appreciate it.
Also, do your best to avoid direct sunlight from windows.
Since sunlight has a bad habit of fueling algae growth,
and while it isn't usually harmful,
it can get pretty unsightly.
If the perfect spot in your home
happens to be near a window,
a set of blinds or curtains work really well
to keep that sunlight off the tank.
Once the tank is in place,
use a level to make sure the tank is perfectly level
front to back and side to side.
If it isn't, you can use some simple shims
underneath the stand to level it.
Having a level tank is a must.
Water weighs a whole lot.
And if the tank isn't level,
the pressure on the glass will be uneven,
which can affect the longevity of the aquarium itself.
You can then place your filter and heater inside of the tank
and then the substrate, and then the rock.
If you did find yourself some nice faux coral decorations
that you can add those in too.
Next, you can mix up your saltwater using filtered,
reverse osmosis water that you make at home
or buy from a local water Depot.
A five gallon pail works really well for this.
A small pump and a spare heater in the bucket
is going to help mix it up thoroughly
while also bringing the water to the correct temperature,
which is right around 76 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit.
Follow the directions on the salt packaging
for how much to add and after the recommended mixing time,
check the salinity of the water
using a refractometer or a glass hydrometer.
You can then adjust the salinity if you need to
using more reverse osmosis water if the salinity's too high
or by adding more salt if it's too low.
You can then slowly add that saltwater to the aquarium.
Usually pouring it over the rocks is best nice,
nice and slow.
If you pour it directly into the substrate,
it's going to blow it all around
which can make the tank a little bit cloudy
and just kind of make a mess in there.
So be patient, do it nice and slow and fill that tank up.
Once the tank's full, you can plug in your filter
and your heater to get them running.
You can then add in some beneficial bacteria
as well to help start that nitrogen cycle,
which will help prepare the tank for your first fish.
Now, if your goal is to also have some live corals
or an anemone, along with other interesting inverts,
like ornamental shrimp, or crabs and clams,
there is a bit more to it.
And you'll definitely want to check out
our five minute guide series on setting up
your first salt water reef aquarium by clicking right here.
We go through everything.
From what tanks you should start with, to the equipment,
to the types of corals and fish that are best for beginners,
as well as all of the things you're going to need to do
to keep them alive and happy and healthy,
in five minute chunks, so it's easy to absorb.
you're not going to feel like you're in a lecture.
It's not like that, it's tons of fun.
Have a watch.