Salt Water versus Fresh Water

When an opinion was sought about which type of aquarium to keep, the intention wasn’t to pit one against the other in some sort of competition. It was asking me for an opinion and I have to openly admit that I am hopelessly biased. I think the marine side of the hobby, be it with

a fish only aquarium or a reef aquarium, is unsurpassed.

Just consider it - a [tag-tec]fish only aquarium[/tag-tec] with numerous reef fish all in bright colours of the rainbow, yellows, blues, and mixtures. Think of the shape, not only torpedo shaped but differing according to their type. The behaviour from fish type to fish type differs too.

Then the [tag-ice]reef aquarium[/tag-ice]! A captive living coral reef. More restricted in fish but the same lovely colours, the fish acting more or less as they would on a wild reef. Soft corals in subtle pastel colours, waving gently in the currents. Hard corals of various colours growing as in the wild. A shrimp or two occupying their chosen rock, or foraging for a bit of food. Gorgeous calcareous algae adhering to the back glass. Tiny life forms scurrying about, mainly at night, on the reef or deep sand bed. Totally fascinating.

The fresh water aquarium cannot offer the colours and sheer overall diversity of a reef aquarium, or perhaps also the fish only aquarium. However, fresh water extends from the goldfish aquarium to some surprisingly lovely creations. I’ve seen fresh water aquariums which, if memory serves me correctly, are described as the Dutch planted type. They are constructed with special sand beds which contain plant nutrients. [tag-self]Aquarium lighting[/tag-self] is chosen carefully as it would be with a reef, except, as far as I know, halides are not used. Water currents are created but are more gentle. Carbon dioxide is carefully dosed to help with growing plants. These plants cover all sorts - broad leafed, narrow leafed, tall, short, and squat. Often the sand bed is low at the front and higher at the back, the back held in place by decorative stones or bog wood. The plants can be in groups, tall at the back. Specimen plants have pride of place in the front. Fish are often seen in shoals, and it has to be said this can look terrific. A shoal of neon or cardinal tetras, for example, small fish with lovely silvery and red livery, roam the aquarium.

A well maintained and successful fresh water aquarium can be something to behold. It is not the easiest of achievements, and the aquarist responsible must be congratulated. Swathes of well placed plants of varying shades of green and some other colours as a backdrop to a shoal of lovely fish. The aquascaping alone can be lovely.

With every respect to our fresh water colleagues, I believe that the marine aquarium is the pinnacle of beauty and interest for a home aquarist. There is one common theme though, and that is the love of aquatic life, for its challenge, interest and beauty.

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Tags: aquarium, freshwater-aquarium, home-aquarium, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium

How To Convert A Freshwater Aquarium To A Saltwater Aquarium

This is not an attempt to lay down railway lines for a converting aquarist to religiously follow, but hopefully a thought provoker that indicates some of what lies ahead.

Quite a number of freshwater aquarists are tempted to keep marines because they see a stunning aquarium somewhere, or they realize that keeping marines is not as difficult as they first thought, or they feel they have accumulated enough experience to make the change. Not all freshwater aquarists are the same of course. There are some really beautiful decorated freshwater aquariums about, and keeping one of these is as difficult as a [tag-tec]reef aquarium[/tag-tec].

Once the decision to change has been made, then the aquarist gets down to brass tacks. What next? What do I need? What can I use from the freshwater system?

The first owned item is, of course, the aquarium. The second the heater(s). The third, the canister filter.

The aquarium should be emptied and stripped. Once empty, it should be thoroughly rinsed in clean fresh water (tap water will do). Then it should be generally dried with clean cloths. There isn’t a need to use a sterilising agent as the aquarium is going to remain empty, dry and penetrated by air for a period, until the marine system is ready for assembly and use. If a sump has been in use this should receive the same treatment. If a sump has not been in use, then consideration should be given to having one. If it is decided to have one, have the aquarium drilled to receive the overflow plumbing.

The equipment needs to be obtained. A protein skimmer should be rated at around twice the net capacity of the aquarium system. The heaters are already available - if there is any doubt, or they have been in use for a long time, obtain new ones (two are best, rated at one half each of the required wattage). Circulation creation needs to be considered, by purchasing power heads, or an internal wave-maker, or both. A canister filter is already available, but it should be noted that this will be used for chemical and solids filtration only (bio-filtration is by other means).

Aquarium lighting needs some careful consideration. What does the aquarist intend to keep? It is likely that a fluorescent system is already owned, and this could be used on the marine system. However, the fluorescent tubes will need to be changed as the light spectrum will be incorrect. Actinic tubes combined with daylight types are required. Again, if the aquarist has a quite deep aquarium, and/or hard corals are to be kept, consideration should be given to metal halide lighting of the correct wattage and Kelvin rating.

It has already been stated that filtration will be other than a canister filter (it can be by canister filter(s) but these are not the modern recommended way). The filtration of choice is live rock. [tag-self]Live rock[/tag-self] can be obtained as ’base’ which is cheaper, and ’premium’ or surface which costs more. The amount of rock is generally1½ lbs for each gallon in the system. The rock can deal with ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (provided it is not abused, it has limits). Further enhancing filtration can be placed in the aquarium, such as a deep sand bed (DSB). This DSB can also be placed in the sump. A Plenum (a raised DSB) is another alternative, particularly in the sump. Algae (Caulerpa) filtration can also be put to use in the sump.

If a DSB is to be put in the sump, then decorative sand in a fairly thin layer can be placed in the aquarium.

If there is to be a high calcium demand (hard corals) consideration can be given to a calcium reactor. In the larger aquarium additives can prove expensive and impractical.

An automatic top-up system could be put to use, again a good addition to the larger system. A small aquarium can use these devices but they are more of a luxury.

Now what of the seawater. The first need is sufficient dry sea salt. The second, at least after the initial mix, is a saltwater safe container for routine water changes.

Actually considering fish and/or corals hasn’t been undertaken yet, apart from the lighting requirement for corals.

So the freshwater aquarist has some equipment. He/she also has the experience of keeping an aquarium, and has no doubt done research on it. On the change to saltwater it is evident that a lot more research is required, not because the saltwater hobby is particularly difficult, but because it is particularly different.

One thing the freshwater aquarist probably has is patience. This patience will prove to be of immense value.

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Tags: aquarium, freshwater-aquarium, home-aquarium, marine-aquarium, saltwater-aquarium