Before you get started it is best to have an idea in mind about what you want to keep in your aquarium. What first caught your eye and inspired you to start your own? Knowing what you want to keep will help you decided which equipment you need before you make any purchases.
Most people just want to set up a nice looking aquarium with a good mix of fish and corals. This is called a community reef tank. Others may have a certain fish or coral in mind that they wish to keep. You may even want to keep an aquarium just for fish and skip the corals.
Whatever it may be you will want to do a bit of research before purchasing any equipment as different tanks have.
different care requirements. . I see you are researching various tanks. Buy as big as you can afford.
Choosing the perfect tank size is the second most important decision, after choosing what to keep. Tank size is determined by your budget, your livestock choices, and how much space you have to keep your new aquarium.
One of the secrets of reef keeping,
bigger is always better.
Saltwater aquariums aren’t cheap, but there is always an affordable way to start keeping your own. Buying the biggest aquarium you can afford will pay off in the end by giving you a higher rate of success and more real estate to store your growing coral collection.
It is important to select a place to keep your aquarium. You want to make sure to have enough room to work around the tank. You should keep your aquarium away from door or windows which have a cold draft and avoid placing your tank somewhere that receives direct sunlight. All-in-one aquariums are a quick and easy way to get started in reef keeping. Build your own requires you purchase each piece of equipment separately and then learn to put it all together. Both get you where you’re going, and it just depends on how much you want to be involved in the process.
- Lighting
The type of lighting you choose will be based on the type of system you have planned to set up, as well as what kind of livestock you will be keeping in it.
- Skimmers, Filters & Filtration Equipment
Once again, what type of system you are going to set up will help you determine which kind of filters and filtration system to choose.
- Powerhead
Depending on the size of your aquarium, the use of one or several powerheads is an excellent way to provide good water circulation throughout the system.
- Live Rock & Substrate
Here you need to decide on what type of material you want on the bottom of the tank, as well as whether you want to start with a live or non-living medium. Live Rock plays an important role in a marine tank. Many marine animals, fish in particular, can be quite territorial. It is important to provide ample shelter or places where the animals can hide, sleep, and avoid potential problems with aggression from other tankmates in the confined space of an aquarium.
- Sea Salt Mix/Saltwater & Hydrometer
Sea salts are what make an aquarium a saltwater or marine aquarium. Also referred to as a salinity tester, this item measures the specific gravity or salt content of the water.
- Heater & Thermometer
For smaller aquariums one heater works well, but for larger systems the use of multiple units is advised. With stick-on, floating, multi-function remote digital sensor, and many other types of units to pick from, the material a thermometer is made of is an important factor when choosing one as well.
- Air Pump & Air Stones
Only needed if you are going to run a piece of equipment that requires these items, Or for quarantining/medicating fish
- Test Kits, Additives & Supplements
For live rock and reef tank systems, calcium (a.k.a. limewater/kalkwasser) needs to be added. Other supplemental vitamins or additives that are beneficial to the health of certain marine inhabitants you may be keeping, such a iodine for crustaceans, are important as well.
- Maintenance Tools & Supplies
This category includes having items on hand such as a various sized plastic buckets or containers, tank cleaning tools such as a siphon tube/hose, an algae scraper or magnet, as well as nets of different sizes, spare equipment replacements parts, and so on. A good way to keep track of what maintenance tasks you have preformed and when is to keep a log book or record of everything you do.
