About Salt Water Fish Tank Kits

Quietly observing fish in an aquarium can reduce stress and potentially even help lower blood pressure. A saltwater tank offers a wide variety of unique and colorful fish, plants, and coral. For beginners, there are a variety of starter kits available for a new salt water tank. Selecting the right kit is important. You will also need to ensure that your kit includes all of the necessary supplies for this new venture.

  1. Features

    • For a basic salt water aquarium, you will need several important supplies to get you started. There may be starter kits with some or all of these. However, you should keep this list in mind to ensure that you are getting everything you need. Along with the tank, you will need a stand. Next you should have sand or crushed coral for the bottom, live rock, and saltwater mix. An aquarium filter is necessary for keeping the water clean and healthy. You will need at least one powerhead to keep the water circulating, as well as a heater and thermometer to regulate water temperature.

    Function

    • After putting together the basics for a saltwater aquarium set up, you will also need the every day supplies for regular maintenance. This includes a saltwater test kit, saltwater fish food, a fish net, rubber cleaning gloves, an aquarium scrubber, and a brush with soft plastic bristles, such as a toothbrush. When filling your tank, the ideal supplies are two new five gallon buckets. Lastly, you will need to select your coral, plants and fish.

    Size

    • Many of your supplies are specific to the size of your aquarium. If you purchase a starter kit separate from the tank, be sure that it is designed for your size tank. Filters are designed to circulate a certain amount of water each hour. Yours should be able to clean four to five times the volume of your tank each hour. For larger tanks you may need as many as three powerheads to keep the water circulating. The heater is another factor that relies on size. A small heater may not keep the whole tank warm, while a large heater in a smaller tank could heat the water to dangerous levels. For large tanks it is also especially important to have a stand designed to withstand the weight of the aquarium.

    Considerations

    • If it's not included, you should purchase additional filter media for your tank filter. You will need to replace the filter at least once a month and it's best to find the right type of replacement media upfront while you still have the packaging from the original filter. As you are setting up your tank, you may also want to add some decorative extras that may not be in your kit. If your tank doesn't have a backdrop, but will be placed against a wall, consider painting the back of the tank, or selecting an attractive backdrop for it.

    Time Frame

    • You should recognize that even though you may be able to acquire all of your supplies in a day, the new saltwater aquarium will take a lot of time to set up. The first step is mixing the water and allowing it to cycle. Next, live rock should be cured and added. Substrate will take time to settle, and the entire tank, sans fish, will need significant time to cycle. Fish should be added one or two at a time. A quarantine tank for new fish can help lessen the shock both to the fish and the aquarium. Though a new aquarium is an exciting prospect, it requires patience and care.