Saltwater Fish Tanks: Making Your First Purchase!

The first thing that is obvious before starting your saltwater fish tanks, is the purchasing of the tank or aquarium itself.

Tropical saltwater fish tanks or aquariums can range in size from small sizes, which is usually as small as twenty gallons, to large sizes, which can hold up to one thousand gallons. When you first go to your favorite pet store to purchase the your saltwater fish tanks consider how much work and patience you have and you'll want to invest in your tropical saltwater aquarium once its up and running.

The bigger the tank you choose, the more time you will spend cleaning and maintaining your saltwater fish tanks. Another thing that should also be considered when purchasing a saltwater aquarium is whether you want the saltwater fish tank to have a background or not.

Many owners of tropical saltwater fish tanks or aquariums like to add to the ambiance of their saltwater aquariums by painting or purchasing a back ground on the tank, but please just use common sense... this must be done before filling the tank with water :).

Also, be sure that you purchase a filter that is large and powerful enough to filter your tank because the bigger the tank, the bigger your filters have to be.

You will also need to get a heater that is capable of warming the water in your tank, remember tropical fish and tropical coral

The next thing the potential saltwater fish tank enthusiast needs to do is to make a decision on what kind of aquarium substrate you would like to use to line the bottom of your saltwater tank or aquarium. You can line your saltwater fish tanks with a layer of crushed coral or a layer of live sand.

After you have decided on what substrate you are going to be using, you'll need to purchase a saltwater mix and a saltwater hydrometer. You should be able to purchase both of these items at a pet store that specializes in tropical saltwater fish tanks or you could always find them online.

While at the pet store it might be a good idea to also purchase additional spare filters and a replacement filter media. This media can be something like activated carbon and filter floss. Purchasing replacement filters and filter media right away can save you a lot of time and money if your original filter abruptly stops working. It also might not be a bad idea to purchase a spare heater for your saltwater fish tanks or aquarium as well. However, this is not a requirement.

One item that is a critical element that you will definitely need to purchase is a saltwater test kit. Saltwater test kits are kits that test the levels of ammonia, nitrate, Salinity/specific gravity, carbon dioxide, pH levels, alkalinity, Chlorine/chlorine, carbonate water hardness, phosphate, dissolved oxygen, and the amount of iron in your saltwater fish tanks water. It is advised that you should purchase several of these kits and use them often. One way you can save a little money on saltwater test kits is by purchasing a master test kit..

Other items every successful tropical saltwater aquarium owner keeps on hand are rubber gloves, an aquarium glass scrub brush, two large five gallon bucket, a power strip. and a fish net.

And just as a back-up, responsible tropical saltwater fish tank owners always have a spare quarantine tank where they can keep newly purchased fish or fish that appear to be getting sick so they can get them healthy away from the other fish to stop the spread of any diseases.