Saltwater Aquarium

Definition of Marine Aquarium

A Marine Aquarium can be considered as a representation of the habitat of aquatic fish in the ocean . As stated in pet-yard .com , the aquarium is considered as a vessel for maintaining taking care of marine organisms The aquarium can have different species and this would depend on the owner or designer of the aquarium . There are three types of aquarium the fish only , fish only with live rock and the reef aquarium (fishlore .com , 2007 ) From the names of the first two types the meaning is self explanatory

. The Reef Aquarium is a combination of the fish invertebrate , substrate , corals and live rock . A 100 gallon reef aquarium would be developed in this

Areas for Consideration

Before going into the process of designing an aquarium , the owner must understand the different considerations and systems that happen inside it . Water is a vital requirement for the reef aquarium because this would be the life source of the organisms . The aquarist must check the following water qualities to ensure a balanced ecosystem : pH level (once per week , Ammonia /Nitrite /Nitrate (set-up , new fish are added and 24-48 hours after cleaning the filter , Carbonate Hardness (once a week after set-up and monthly , General Hardness (weekly if breeding , Phosphate (once a week , and Calcium (Once a week . When water evaporates , it is important that the owner replenishes the water with fresh water because water quality changes as water evaporates ( HYPERLINK "http /www .petaquarium .com .au " www .petaquarium .com .au , 2007 . It is best to purify the water that would be used as replenishment , the water must be subjected to reverse osmosis and deionization to remove unnecessary chemicals and metals that could be harmful for the fish (Sprung 1996 ) Since water is recirculating only in closed systems a water change cycle must be adapted to remove toxins and other chemical build up . Recommended water change is no more than 25 of the water and it is better to change the water at least daily to remove the presence of toxins (Peteducation .com , 2007 . Appendix B shows the ideal parameters for a reef aquarium

Salinity is also another measure to consider in water quality . This must be checked at least once a week . Salinity can be defined as the measure of amount of salt in seawater . Unit of measurement is in part per thousand (ppt . Ideal level of salinity is shown in Appendix B . It is important to have a proper level of salinity in the tank because the osmoregulation of fishes depend on the salinity of the water (seaworld .org , 2007 ) Osmoregulation is the management of water levels and mineral salts in the body (purchon .com , 2007

The aquarist must consider the Nitrogen Cycle in the tank . It is important because the nitrogen cycle is maintains the water 's toxic level to a minimum from the respiration of the livestock and also maintains the decay of the litter and leftover food . The Nitrogen Cycle starts from the waste products...