Saltwater Aquarium Care for Beginners

Common Aquarium Care Mistakes Made by Beginners
A very common mistake made by beginners with saltwater, marine, or reef aquariums, is they are not patient enough. It is instinctive for us to want to get things done now and done quick. But with a reef aquarium you need to take your time. You must allow your tank to cycle completely before adding any livestock. If you rush this part of the process it will almost inevitably prove to be fatal. So, monitor you aquariums water and wait until all parameters are met.

An additional problem that results in poor saltwater aquarium care is many people just think it is easy to set up a reef aquarium. They don't do any sort of research and they just go out and purchase a tank, some filters because the LFS (local fish store) says that it is what they need, they buy some fish, and they take it all home, fill up the aquarium and dump in the fish. This goes right along with the first part that I mentioned. If a beginner adds his fish or livestock immediately the parameters of the aquarium will go crazy and death for the tank mates will happen. Proper saltwater aquarium care comes from doing a lot of homework so that you will be totally prepared to setup and maintain your aquarium.

Another mistake often made is overstocking. It is easy to think that you can add a lot of fish or other creatures into an aquarium. But the truth is, you can't. If you have too many fish for example, the waste will build up quickly and so will the ammonia levels. Your nitrate level will skyrocket and your fish will go crazy, either killing one another or just plain dying on their own. Make sure to add only a few fish and do this very gradually. You do not want your tank to become unstable and if you keep your fish count down you will maintain control of the aquarium environment.

To add to the topic of saltwater aquarium care for beginners, I need to add that you must also make sure that your fish and other creatures that you plan to add are all compatible with each other. I have seen people put together certain fish and corals and have watched the fish destroy the corals. I have seen fish eaten by other fish, simply because the owner failed to determine which ones go together and which ones should not.

Saltwater Care for Beginners
You must also learn how to mix saltwater correctly. This seems like it would be easy but it is amazing how fast you can ruin your saltwater aquarium environment simply because you have mixed the saltwater wrong. Some have added large amounts of nitrates into their tanks because they use tap water instead of pure water such as RO/DI water. Something as simple as mixing saltwater needs to be done correctly. Also, you need to monitor the salinity, or amount of salt in the water. The salinity will rise over time because of evaporation. Salt does not evaporate (however it does break down over time), but freshwater does. So as the freshwater dissipates out of the tank, the remaining salt begins to accumulate in the water and this will, if unchecked, harm your tank creatures.

Other Saltwater Aquarium Care Tips
I am going to be staying on this topic for a few more posts because saltwater aquarium care for beginners is extremely important to know. So check back from time to time to get the latest saltwater aquarium care updates.