Am I Taking Good Care Of My Saltwater Aquarium?

Do you check water salinity daily?

Do you change the water in your new aquarium weekly?

Do you maintain filtration weekly?

Do you scrub algae from aquarium sides weekly?

Do you check water quality regularly?

Do you feed your fish daily?

Do you check your fish and invertebrates daily?

Heated saltwater tanks, even with a tight-fitting lid, will lose water to evaporation. When this happens, salinity starts to increase. This is because when the water leaves your tank, the salt stays behind, becoming more concentrated. To correct this, you will need to add heated FRESHWATER regularly. Make sure your salinity stays in range using a hydrometer or refractometer.

For the first few months of your saltwater aquarium, you will need to keep a strict water change schedule. Regular water changes are important for balancing between the new fish in the aquarium, any invertebrates, such as corals or shrimp, and biological filtration. This is especially true if you plan to keep adding live elements, such as fish or live rock, and are still finessing your equipment setup.

Part of your water change regimen should be inspecting your filter media. Filter media should allow water to flow freely and not collect lots of debris. After you have collected your wastewater from your water change, use that water to rinse your filtration. Never rinse your filter media in freshwater. Once you have removed the larger debris, be sure to wipe out the container and replace the media.

Scrubbing aquarium sides with an appropriate scrubber regularly will keep the algae numbers low. If you have a severe algae problem, check your water quality. Lots of phosphate and nitrate will cause algae blooms.

Maintaining good water quality is essential to all aquariums, both fresh and saltwater. When you are first starting and your tank is still cycling, you will need to check your water chemistry daily. Once you have made it past the initial cycling period, you can scale back to checking your water chemistry weekly, but only if you are not in the process of adding more fish, invertebrates, or equipment. The only parameter you must always test daily is temperature.

Most tropical marine fish will require twice-daily feeding. Many saltwater tanks will have a variety of fish and invertebrate species who may have different dietary requirements. You may need to target feed any fish with specific diets, such as obligate carnivores or herbivores who are not interested in the general diet.

Good job! You are taking good care of your saltwater aquarium.

To make sure your fish are all healthy, you must watch your tank carefully every day. Feeding time is a great time to evaluate your fishes’ appearance and behavior. Marine invertebrates, corals included, should also be evaluated every day. If you have an animal of concern, contact your local aquatic veterinarian for more assistance.