Basic Maintenance of a Salt Water Fish Tank

Somehow, the ocean manages to keep itself clean enough to support sea plants and millions of fish. However, the salt water fish tanks in our homes, malls, zoos and aquaria are not so self regulating. There are a few important maintenance chores that need to be done with a salt water fish tank.

The First Drops

Unfortunately this does not involve a beach vacation to get a few gallons of sea water. Instead, you must get absolutely clean water, no chlorine, no chemicals. Think bottled water. As for the salts, some people just add plain sea salt from the grocery store into their water; others go for sea salt mixes from the aquarium store. Read up on the pros and cons of each salt. Is it more important to you that the minerals should be resilient, or will it be easy for you to replace the water and replenish the minerals regularly?

Read up on the nitrogen cycle too. The water in your salt water fish tank will take time, often as much as six weeks, to go through the nitrogen cycle and grow the bacteria that will change fish waste into harmless chemicals. During this initial period, the tank needs just one or two fish to start the process, and cannot handle any more.

Replacing the Water

Water will evaporate out of your salt water fish tank. It is fresh water that evaporates out, so every few days keep an eye on the water level and top it up with pure fresh water when necessary.

Even all your filters and good bacteria cannot keep the water as clean as it needs to be. Just like with a freshwater tank, a salt water fish tank needs to have about half of its water replaced every month. Scoop water from the tank and replace it with new water you have prepared to match the tank water's pH, temperature, salinity, and other indicators.

Cleaning the Filters

Start by cleaning or replacing your filters frequently. Then you can space out cleanings to an interval appropriate for your tank.

Troubleshooting

If your salt water fish tank gets cloudy, if the fish seem lethargic, if there is too much algae, it is time for further maintenance. Have a kit on hand to carefully monitor the nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, pH and other characteristics of your water. Don't let these indicators get too irregular. Be sure not to overfeed the fish, and every few months plan on vacuuming the aquarium floor.

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