What You Need to Know – Keeping Marine Fish Tanks
Marine is a terminus used to discover salt water surrounds. Marine fish need different environments than tropical fish to live in, so you will need different gear if you want to keep a marine fish tank than you would to keep a tropical fish tank.
The biggest difference between fresh and salt water tanks is the salt. This isn’t like table salt, it’s actual marine salt.Warm salt water evaporates quickly and a large tank can lose up to 25 litres a week. Marine fish don’t like big changes in salt levels so an automatic top-up device is a good idea to regulate the levels.
A device like this is a floating switch that’s in the main tank but connected to a pump in the top-up water tank. When the level drops down the switch alerts the pump to top up the level.
To point how much salt is the water in your tank you’ll need a vital piece of equipment called a hydrometer. These are cheap and easy to use, and should always be used when making up water for a water change, and occasionally to check the levels in the main tank. Some even come with a built-in thermometer.
Another all important bit of kit that you should have is a protein skimmer, as this will help you keep the water clean. A protein skimmer should be used in conjunction with a biological or a natural filter system in your tank.
Some other equipment that you should have to keep a successful marine tank includes a cooler, or a chiller. This is essentially a refrigeration unit that is connected to the main tank and as water gets pumped through it, it is chilled and then goes back into the tank. Chillers are necessary because of all the electrical equipment that gets used in fish tanks nowadays, as it all uses power that produces heat and marine do not require that amount of heat.
You might need some other pieces of equipment too for a marine tank but the ones mentioned are the basic requisites. Be sure to do some enquiry about the kind of fish you’d like to keep and get some advice from an expert before you buy any fish. Remember that keeping a marine tank can be expensive so make sure you look at all the costs before you start.
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