Freshwater tropical aquariums are a great place to start in your fish keeping hobby. Colourful and natural, they provide an impressive visual whilst requiring a less demanding maintenance regime and lower operating costs.
However, if you were to go for a heavily planted freshwater aquarium for example, additional special lighting, fertilizers and carbon dioxide will be required and the costs can really add up fast. The livestock in freshwater aquaria are inhabitants from rivers, lakes and streams. The combination of the earthy colours and sleek lines of freshwater fish and fauna can look particularly striking in a luxurious interior. Freshwater inhabitants tend to be much hardier and generally less expensive than saltwater aquarium inhabitants.
If any problems ever were to occur in the maintenance of the aquarium environment, freshwater creatures are more forgiving and less fragile than saltwater. In the saltwater world, everything gets taken up a notch.
The costs, the maintenance, the tank size, and the fish all require some additional effort. Saltwater tanks are not cheap, but buy the biggest tank you can afford if possible. This is important because without the right size or salt level, your fish will be unable to thrive. Saltwater tanks also require more filtration. Filtration is the key to a healthy saltwater aquarium. There are three basic types of filtration: biological Live Rock , mechanical, and chemical. If you choose to use a live rock filtration system, you will need a protein skimmer to remove dissolved waste.
However, if this is your first saltwater tank, I recommend using a chemical or mechanical filtration system. A fish only environment will be the easiest to startup and the cheapest in comparison to reef tanks and fish with live rock environments. Even though saltwater tanks are more precarious to maintain and demand more responsibility, the rewards are much greater. Saltwater fish may be more expensive, but when you see the level of variety you can achieve your jaw just may drop.
Saltwater tanks offer much more color and beauty than freshwater tanks. All you need to do is drain your tank, rinse everything out and give it a good wipe. Make sure you use chlorine-free warm water when you rinse the tank down. You will also need to replace any filters and the substrate for new, and then you are good to start a new cycle. Remember you will also need new accessories with a saltwater tank such as a protein skimmer and a powerhead.
Converting a saltwater aquarium to a freshwater aquarium is slightly more difficulty, but nothing too strenuous. Again, drain your tank and make sure to wipe everything clean, using warm chlorine-free water.
You must ensure that the salt is completely removed from the tank and accessories, before cycling with freshwater. Breeding fish in captivity is definitely not something a beginner routinely undertakes, however it is a commonly held belief that breeding saltwater fish is as easy as breeding freshwater fish. Freshwater fish are known for breeding in captivity and in fact many beginners report success in breeding their own freshwater fish.
However, saltwater fish have very strict requirements for breeding. They tend to breed during seasonal changes and clearly when in captivity there are no seasonal changes. It is near impossible to create season changes in your aquarium.
This is why saltwater fish cost more than freshwater fish. Saltwater fish you buy are generally caught in the wild, whereas freshwater fish have been bred in captivity. In both a freshwater tank, and a saltwater tank, compounds such as ammonia and nitrate are created during the nitrogen cycle ; algae need these compounds to grow.
There is one key difference though with a freshwater and a saltwater environment: plants! In a freshwater aquarium, plants are abundant and they also require the same nutrients as algae to grow. This means that plants, not algae, will consume the nutrients. As a result algae are starved of nutrients and its growth is heavily restricted. Whereas in saltwater aquariums, plants are hard to come by. You can absolutely keep on top of algae and stop it spoiling your tank; you just need to be diligent with your maintenance.
You will need to perform regular water changes and tank cleans, in addition to running a protein skimmer. However, it is true that saltwater aquariums do tend to grow more algae than freshwater aquariums. Saltwater cannot hold the same amount of oxygen as freshwater. This is why people tend to accept that saltwater aquariums need to be bigger. I hope this article has helped debunk some of the myths that surround saltwater and freshwater aquariums.
They just require a few slight changes and your saltwater aquarium will be up and running.
0コメント