Saltwater Aquarium Setup

Saltwater Aquarium Setup requires cool nerves and good organization. It is useless to rush, as you may end up spoiling the final results. Note that the aquarium will not be ready to receive fish as soon as it is put into operation. So, patience is called for!

The steps to be taken when setting up an aquarium have a logical order, and this must be respected. The principle is simple: water is not poured into the aquarium until the decor, bed, and the necessary technical equipment are in place. The step is as follows:

1. Cleaning The Tank.
Use a brand new sponge and warm water. It is best to avoid detergents.

2. Fitting The External Decor.
Make sure that this is put firmly in place, otherwise it will be difficult to fix later on.

3. Mounting The Aquarium on its Support.
Remember that the support must be absolutely horizontal and covered with a flexible material that will compensate for any possible unevenness. At this stage, make sure that you leave sufficient space behind the tank to allow you easily to open the gallery and the entrance that gives access to the pipes and cables. The aquarium will not be moved again after this point.

4. Fill The Tank, to Make Sure it is Watertight.
Leaks are rare occurrences; a slight seep age is more common, although this can only be detected about 24 hours after putting in the water. When you are sure your aquarium is watertight, siphon out the water.

5. If You Are Using an Under-Gravel Filter.
Pposition it so that the air-lift is in one of the tank's rear corners.

6. Installing The Accessories.
Place these directly into the tank or in the boxes of the box filter. The heating system must not come into direct contact with any plastic elements, and it must be near the diffuser. If you are using an external filter, do not forget the connecting pipes.

7. Install The Aerator and The UV Sterilization System.
Put the decor in place, then add the bed. The latter must all be washed before hand and then placed on a thin layer of sediment. After that, fill the aquarium with the freshest water possible; only switch on the aeration. Now is the time to dissolve the salts. Weigh the amount you require, on the basis of the real volume of the water, before putting them into the aquarium. Leave the salts to dissolve for 48 hours, check the density, and make the necessary adjustments. Then move to step 8, without switching on the aerator or UV system, before continuing to step 9.

8. Switching on The Equipment
First check that the heating element is totall submerged, then turn on the heating and regulate the temperature to 25°C. Plug the aeration and filtration systems into the mains. A quick glance will be enough to check that everything is working and after a few hours the water should have heated up and be clearer.

9. Wait For Another 24 hours, Then Rechecks That The Equipment is Working.
The water must now be clear, with a temperature around 25°C. It is sometimes necessary to make slight adjustments to the regulation of the thermostat to obtain the desired temperature.

Introducing Plants
• Source of Plants and Transportation
Plants can be obtained from aquarium stores and clubs, or they can be a present from a friend. Wherever they come from, do not forget that they are very fragile when handled outside water. The best way of transporting them without any deterioration is to put them into an airtight plastic bag, like those used for fish that has been inflated and sealed.

• Planting
Yet again, it is a question of satisfying both aesthetic and technical criteria. A small ground plan of the aquarium can be useful in achieving a successful layout, taking into account the species available. Generally speaking, plants of the same type should be grouped together, setting off any isolated specimens.

Handling the plants with great care, start at the back of the aquarium and, above all, do not let your desire for a lush setting lead you to pack the plants too tightly together; it is best to space them out, even if the resulting vegetation looks sparse.

There are three main reasons for this:
- the roots must have sufficient space in which to expand;
- you must also in bear in mind that the plants will grow and maybe spread out their leaves;
- finally, you must allow the light to penetrate to the base of the plants.

Do not cut the already existing roots, or bunch them together; on the contrary, spread them out as much as possible in the sediment. You should not bury clumps of plants very deep; only the roots and the lowest (often white) part of the stem should be covered by the sediment.

When planting cuttings, remove any damaged leaves at the base of the stem then bury them to a depth of 4 or 5 cm. This is easier if you dig a small hole first with your hand or an appropriate tool, and pile soil around the base of the plant at the end of the operation.

Plants like moss and ferns must be placed on the supports to which they are going to attach themselves. They will stay in place more easily if they are wedged or tied with a short length of nylon thread. Put floating plants on the surface of the water.

Do not be surprised if the plants look limp. They will quickly take on a normal appearance when the lighting is switched on, as the attraction of the light will make them straighten up.

Preparing The Welcome For Your Fish
The only thing your aquarium now lacks to be complete is the arrival of its residents... Summon up your patience one last time, because the aquarium has yet to acquire a perfect equilibrium: the plants must take root and bacteria must develop for the nitrogen cycle.

• A Gradual Introduction
The waiting period can sometimes be as long as 4 weeks. If you really cannot hold out that long, there are several ways of reducing this period. As we have already stated, the aim of this waiting period is to allow bacteria to develop and to avoid the presence of any toxic nitrogenous substances, so you can speed up this development artificially.

• Choice of Fish
The choice of residents depends on the type of tank (community, regional, or specialist), your tastes, and your budget. The number of species available on the market is more than sufficient for most fish keepers, especially novices. A quick inspection of a few stores will give you a broad overview and enable you to make a well-judged selection.

You can take advantage of all the different levels of the tank by combining free swimmers with bottom- and surface-dwellers that can live in harmony. There remains the problem of living space. The general rule, for small species, is 1 cm per 5 liters of saltwater. The table above presents some more precise calculations, but you must bear in mind the maximum length that each species can attain in an aquarium.

Acquisition and Transport
Obviously, a fish must have a clean bill of health when it is introduced into an aquarium, and there are certain signs that indicate this. There is still a risk of an unpleasant surprise, however, as some fish are carriers of diseases that only come into the open once they are put into an aquarium.

Whether a fish comes from a store, a club, or a friend, it must always be scrutinized carefully before acquiring it. This is why you must not be in too much of a rush and should get to know a storekeeper or join a club, to look and learn.

When you do finally introduce fish into the aquarium, you must adopt a particular strategy:
- It is best to populate the tank in one go, or at most in two, with a short interval between, rather than introduce the fish one by one. A newcomer, by definition, is perceived as an undesirable alien, which can give rise to conflicts that sometimes result in its death.
- If you are obliged to stagger the introduction of the fish over a period of time, it is best to start with smaller species and allows them to get accustomed to their environment; in this way, they will not be so alarmed by the subsequent arrival of bigger species.

Fish are quite easy to transport. Just put a small group into a closed plastic bag containing one third water and two thirds atmospheric air. In the case of species with spiny spokes, you can add a second plastic bag for protection.

This system is effective for a short trip, of one or two hours, depending on the external temperature. After that, heat starts to be lost, although this effect can be reduced by surrounding the plastic bag with material or paper and putting it in a polystyrene bag.

Transferring Your Fish Into an Aquarium
The fish will be stressed when it is introduced into its new home, on account of the transportation, the radical change of environment, and the difference in water quality. To alleviate this stress, you must never introduce a fish directly into a tank.

Proceed in stages, allowing a minimum of 1-2 hours for the whole operation. For the first 30 minutes, just let the bag containing the fish float in the aquarium to make sure that the temperature is the same in both cases. Then open the bag and put a little water from the aquarium inside. Repeat this operation several times at regular intervals until the bag is full.
You can then carefully transfer the fish into its new environment.

If there are already fish in the aquarium, you must take two extra precautions to increase the chances of the newcomers being accepted: distract the attention of the other occupants by giving them food, and introduce the new arrivals in the morning, before lighting up the tank. In any case, the new fish is likely to hide for a while, and this is a completely normal attitude. When it reemerges will depend on its nature, but it sometimes reappears after barely an hour. Some may take longer to acclimatize, however.

It will soon grow accustomed to its new environment and the feeding schedule, and will become completely integrated into the aquarium. If the fish is healthy and you take all the necessary precautions, mishaps are very rare and the ecology of the aquarium will not be upset.