Saltwater Fish Aquariums

When I first started in this hobby, I knew it was expensive and I knew I didn't really have thousands of dollars to invest either. My journey through trial and error finally paid off and a working saltwater aquarium was born.

Let me first say that there are many ways to operate a saltwater aquarium. I'm not sure that there is one exact way that it should be done. Here are some ideas to help you save money when setting up a saltwater fish aquarium:

First,
To save money, go with glass. Glass tanks are far cheaper than an acrylic tank. The main disadvantage of the glass tank is that they usually are not drilled for a wet/dry filter. Which in this case doesn't matter because we won't be using a wet/dry filter. Glass tanks look good and are easy to clean. Did I mention that glass is 1/3 the cost of acrylic.
Total Investment $175

Second,
Filtration is always a big worry. Do you need a protein skimmer or a canister? Is there such thing as too much bio or not enough mechanical filtration?
Listen, you can do this hobby on a budget but the one thing that is absolutely critical to my setup is the protein skimmer. The protein skimmer alone does just about enough to handle an 80g tank. I recommend using a dual cpr bak-pak for any tank over 50g.
The stock pumps are a bit weak but you can always upgrade them when the go out (and they will).
For large particles in the water, you can use any off the shelf pad filter. They cost about $25 and you can rinse out the pad and reuse it over again.

The other critical factor to my setup is the 3-inch sand bed. There are a lot of arguments for and against deep sand beds, although I consider mine to be somewhere in the middle. 3-inches of sand and then lots of base rock. That's all the filtration you need. I've kept fish alive for years with nothing more than this. Total investment $250

Oh, and about that base rock. Live rock costs a fortune. You can buy dead base rock for pennies on the dollar and then purchase a minimal amount of live rock to cover the base rock. Eventually, the base rock will become live anyways.

Third,
Lighting, again there are lots of ways to handle lighting. I will say that it important not to try sensitive creatures such as corals unless you have experience. These creatures die easily and it's a shame to see them go to waste. Anyway, for a fish only tank, you can get by with far less lighting and still have a tank that looks good.

Visit your local hardware store and pick up two 4'-fluorescent light fixtures. Then purchase an icecap ballast from your pet supplier. remove the ballast from the light fixtures and replace it with the icecap. 2-fixtures $30, Ballast $150 Total Investment $180

Fourth,
The cabinet is always critical because you need something to hold the weight. For a simple solution if you are handy. Build your own stand or cabinet. There are plans available on the Internet to help you build one. I built my own oak faced cabinet and hood for around $100.

As you can see, this is an expensive hobby but it's well worth it. The ideas I've pointed out in this article work. I know because I've had happy fish for many years. Every tank takes a little experimenting but once you understand the routine maintenance, they become fun to take care of.