Salt Water Aquarium Preparation

Decide on the size of your aquarium. The larger the aquarium, the easier it will be to keep water quality and temperature constant. Also,be sure the tank is large enough to support the fish you wish to house. Some marine fish will be small in the fish store, but they can grow quite large quickly and outgrow the tank.

Place the aquarium away from direct sunlight or heat sources. Keep the tank away from windows and heaters that may cause tank temperature issues. Factor the weight of the tank when filled with water when choosing a stand. A 55-gallon tank will weigh 550 lbs. when filled with water and even more once equipment, substrate, rocks and fish are added.

Choose a filter and protein skimmer appropriate to the size of the tank. Live rock will serve as a biological filter so you only need a mechanical filter large enough to serve chemical filtration needs of whatever size tank you purchased. Choosing a high quality protein skimmer is important in a marine tank.

Choose live rock and substrate. You will need 1 to 2 lbs. of live rock for each gallon of water the tank will hold. Substrate should be live sand, aragonite-based sand or live crushed coral. You need between a 1/2 lb. to 1 lb. of substrate per aquarium gallon.

Wash out the tank with clean water only. Never use soap or detergent in a fish tank. Fill the tank with water to check for leaks. Once tank is clean and leak-proof, drain the water.

Install heater, protein skimmer, filter, powerheads and other equipment according to manufacturer's directions.

Mix the saltwater in a 5-gallon bucket. Fill bucket with de-chlorinated water and add saltwater mix according to instructions. Test the water with a hydrometer to reach a specific gravity reading of between 1.021 and 1.024. Water is now ready to add to the tank. Repeat the process until you mix enough water to fill the tank.

Turn on the filter, heater, protein skimmer, powerheads and lights and let run for two days.

Drain some water from the tank and add your live rock in the middle of the tank. Point the powerheads at the rock to blow off any debris.

Perform live rock maintenance every couple days. Turn off the tank equipment, put on rubber gloves and scrub the live rock with a stiff-bristled plastic brush to remove dead and dying organisms. Live rock will need to be cleaned regularly and will need to cure for up to two months before fish can be added to the tank.

Use a water test kit to determine when live rock is cured and the tank is properly cycled. Check to be sure specific gravity level is between 1.020 and 1.024, pH reads between 8.0 and 8.4, ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is 20ppm or less and carbonate hardness level is between 7 and 10 dKH.

Add substrate to the tank. Drain water from the tank to allow for the substrate. Mix about 2 gallons of saltwater in a 5-gallon bucket. Add substrate and stir. Siphon off debris that rises before adding substrate to the tank.

Allow the tank to settle for a couple days. Check water levels again and make corrections as necessary.

Slowly add saltwater fish. Only add one or two fish at a time to reduce the biological load on the tank. Empty the bag containing the fish into a 5-gallon bucket. Add 1 cup of aquarium water to the bucket every 10 minutes. Continue this process for an hour before introducing the fish to the aquarium.