How To Build and Maintain A Salt Water Aquarium

Hi! This is Jim Karanikas from Tropical Fish World, and I’m gonna go over a little bit about the basics of keeping a saltwater aquarium. The different clips we’re gonna be covering today are:

The basic water requirements for a saltwater aquarium, such as adding the salt and the additives and the foods.

We’re also gonna discuss lighting for the saltwater aquarium. The lighting for a fish-only aquarium is much different than that of a reef tank, so we’re gonna discuss the different options for lighting.

We’re also gonna cover the equipment that is needed for a saltwater aquarium.

I also want to show you all the interesting live animals, including fish, live rock, crabs, corals…

Probably the most important thing I’m gonna talk to you about is water quality, and troubleshooting some of the more common problems that you’re gonna have with a marine aquarium.

Some of the equipment and products we’re gonna need are:

De-chlorinating drops or liquids.
We’re gonna need some synthetic salt to put in the aquarium.
We’re gonna also need something to measure the amount of salt that’s added to the aquarium.
We’re also gonna need a filter system, and, along with a filter system, a heater.
And we’re also gonna have some safety concerns with the aquarium. We’re gonna have to make sure that we drip loop all of the cords that go into the outlets, because salt water is a very good conductor of electricity, and we want to make sure that we don’t get any of the salt water into any electrical outlets that might cause a safety hazard.

My name is Jim Karanikas. I have a degree in Marine Biology from the University of Maryland. I have run and owned Tropical Fish World since 1989, and before that, I worked at another aquarium store for about 13 years. So, say kind of, fish is my life! And I really enjoy the saltwater aquariums, and I want to make sure that you know how to do it right. I know you’re eager to get started, so let’s go ahead and see how to do it!