Marine Aquarium
 |
 Aquarium Fish Tank Sea Marine Reef Salt Water Hydrometer US $8.73 |
 Your Fish Marine Flakes Aquarium Fish Food 1 2 LB US $6.50 |
 Your Fish Marine Flakes Aquarium Fish Food ONE LB US $10.50 |
 40 lbs live rock Fiji Caribbean base for marine aquariums US $77.77 |
 NEW Sticker decal for aquarium fish tank marine cabinet US $1.07 |
 Marine Fresh Aquarium Tank Digital LCD Thermometer US $6.33 |
 6x Marine Aquarium Fish Tank Ornament Silicone Coral US $15.12 |
 Aquarium Glass Hydrometer with Thermometer Salt Marine US $3.30 |
 LCD Fresh Marine Aquarium Tank Digital Thermometer US $4.99 |
I want a marine aquarium but i'm worried about the salinity.?
I can handle heat and the filter but i don't have experience with salt. How do you control the salinity, is it hard. Also if i do get a marine aquarium what are some good beginner fish and corals. TY for helping!!
Salinity isn't hard if you use a hydrometer to test the water. Using volume (cups of salt per gallon( isn't a good method because salt absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and compacts over time. So if you were to use a cup to measure, your first cup from the salt would contain less slat than your last one, so the tank would get "saltier".
A hydrometer uses the idea that when you add a lot of salt to water, things in the water are more likely to float. One type of hydrometer is a sealed glass tube that's weighted on one end (http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/215123/product.web ), and as you add more salt, it floats higher out of the water. You just read the markings on the side of the tube to see what level is at the top of the water and either add more salt (to make the reading higher) or more water (to make it lower). The other type has a plastic needle inside that floats and points to the reading (http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/198151/product.web). Most of the newer hydrometers show a level of 1.020-1.023 for the salinity, and this is fine for fish, but if you're keeping corals or other invertebrates, you want it at 1.024-1.026. I think the way they're being made is misleading. But be sure to have a separate container for mixing the salt about a day ahead of a water change so you can get the salinity correct before you add the water to the tank. And always measure the salinity once the water is room temperature - the warmer the water, the more salt that's dissolved. You want to measure at about the same temperature as the water will be in your tank.
What's good as far as fish will depend largely on the size of your tank. Go for as large as you can afford to get and have room for, at least 29-55 gallons. This gives you more flexibility in the types and numbers of what you can get. Green chromis, clownfish, firefish, gobies, blennies, royal gramma, and chalk bass are some of the hardier fish for beginners that won't bother the corals. I also like longnose hawkfish if you don't plan to have small shrimp.
For corals, I would suggest mushrooms, zooanthids, clove polyps, or leathers for starters and see how these do. Since almost all corals have a photosynthetic algae living in their cells, they need to have specialized lighting in order to keep them alive, and this is one of your biggest costs. If the tank is 55 gallons or less, look into a compact fluorescent or T-5 system, but if larger, look into metal halides either by themselves or in combination with one of the above systems. The standard hood that you buy for freshwater (even doubled up on a tank) won't keep many corals alive for long. For corals you also need to be aware that high temperatures (above 84 for extended periods) is just as harmful as water temperature that's too low, and you'll get added heat from the lighting, especially the metal halides. You may need a chiller as well as a heater for the tank.
Also, invest in a good saltwater reference book. I liked The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 and The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5 when I was starting out.
And a good website: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
Marine Aquarium Advice (Corals)