When I first started my saltwater aquarium journey in 2007 I prepared myself upfront for the initial cost of the tank, equipment and livestock. What I didn't prepare myself for financially was the ongoing costs of salt, necessary additives and buffers. Additives and chemicals are used in saltwater tanks for a number of purposes and purchasing products from your local or online pet store can quickly add up, especially for a large aquarium. In addition to writing on my saltwater blog I also write about personal finance topics on Gather Little by Little. I decided to apply some of my frugality tips to my saltwater hobby. If you're looking to save a little money in your own saltwater adventure, give the following frugal saltwater tips a try.

Buy used equipment

I'm a huge advocate of buying things used: from cars to computers to electronics and yes even aquariums and supplies. My current 75 gallon tank, stand and light fixture were purchased on Craig's List for $150.00. The tank has a few scratches, but since I was just starting out I didn't want to invest a great deal of money. My plan is to find a gently used 125 - 150 gallon soon and use my 75 gallon tank as a sump. What happens is that many people watch discovery channel or visit the local hobby shop and fall in love with saltwater and reef livestock. They in turn chunk down $500.00 or more to get started. After a few months they realize how difficult and time consuming the hobby can be and quickly give up. Trying to recoup some of their investment, they put the equipment up for sale or sometimes even give it away! Another reason used equipment is prevalent is due to hobbyists constantly upgrading their equipment. We get larger tanks or the new whiz-bang skimmer and then sell or giveaway our prior equipment that still works just fine.

Low cost water additives and supplements

One of the more expensive ongoing maintenance items are supplements. Reef aquariums require two main supplements: Calcium and Magnesium.

Calcium

Calcium is required for a number of the "critters" in your tank, snails, hermit crabs, shrimp, and most importantly corals. Maintaining a Calcium level of 450 - 500 is critical for proper water conditions and coral growth. The least expensive way to add Calcium to your tank is to use Calcium Chloride. If you know anyone in the concrete business, they generally will be able to get it for you. I got mine from a fellow reefer on the 3reef.com forums. If you are unable to find someone that can get it for you, you can purchase it from Bulk Reef Supply online. Calcium Chloride is dirt cheap and very pure thus only requiring a small amount to significantly increase your calcium levels.

Magnesium

Magnesium should be in the range of 1200 - 1300 ppm. It is important to maintain a level similar to this range because magnesium helps maintain higher levels of alkalinity and calcium. When Magnesium levels drop below this, so will your Calcium and alkalinity. Common Epsom salt found at your local drug or grocery store can be used to raise magnesium levels in your tank. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfide and hobbyists have been using to successfully raise magnesium levels in their tanks for years. Mix the Epsom salt in a small bowl with some RO/DI water and stir until fully dissolved, then poor it into a high flow area of your tank. A small box of Epsom salts shouldn't cost you more than a few dollars and depending on your tank size will last for a few months.

Low cost PH and dKH buffers

Many different commercial products are available to increase and buffer PH in your saltwater system. As with the supplements we discussed earlier, these products can become fairly expensive. A really excellent and inexpensive alternative is to take Arm and Hammer baking soda and mix it with 20 mule team laundry booster. The mix ratio should be 4 parts baking soda to 1 parts laundry booster. This mix will raise your PH without having a significant impact of your dKH (Carbonate Hardness). Another option is to use Arm and Hammer washing soda to increase your PH. This is also a good solution, but tends to raise your dKH more than using the 4:1 mixture of baking soda and 20 mule laundry booster. Many hobbyists use just baking soda. While this will raise the PH, it will also raise your dKH at the same time. Pure baking soda should only be used in emergencies.

Corals

I love my corals almost as much as my fish, but corals can be really expensive depending on the type. An often free or very low cost alternative is to join a local aquarium club where they have club frag swaps. Frags are small portions of larger corals that have been properly "cut-off" from the main coral. Frag swaps are where the various club members bring frags of their various corals and exchange them or sell them for small amounts. Not only does this give you a chance to cut back those corals that are overtaking your tank, but it gives you a chance to exchange them for some new corals.

 How about you? What tips and/or suggestions do you have for homemade additives, ways to find discount or low-cost equipment, or any other part of the hobby. Share your money saving tip by adding a comment!

Saul is a saltwater aquarium hobbyist and writes about his personal saltwater adventure on Saltwater Blogger.net. If you enjoyed this articles, please head over there. You can also live out his adventures by following him on Twitter.

I am delighted to share my knowledge and behind the scenes of the aquarium trade.  As hobbyists, the activites of how fish and coral end up in our LFS is a bit of a mystery.  We all know that wholesalers sell to retailers, but how does it get to the wholesalers?  I currently work in Indonesia as a high end coral exporter.  I also run my own blog to share my adventures as I island hop for the high end livestock for my customers.  Through my blog you will be able to follow me as I get corals from suppliers, sometimes directly from fishermen, and eventually pack and export.  

For today’s topic, I would like to take you on a quick journey of aquacultured coral hunting in Northern Bali.  This is a compressed version of this trip and soon I will be posting a full version with three times more photos on my blog.  But before getting started, let’s have a quick look at my background in this very difficult and sometimes frustrating industry.  You can read more in detail of how I ended up in Indonesia on my blog.   Just click under “about me” under favorites on my blog page.

My background includes 10 years in the aquarium service business.  One of the highlights of running the largest custom design and maintenance company in the San Francisco area, was working with Pixar animation studios in making “Finding Nemo”.

I opened up Tropical Paradise Aquarium, the largest high-end reef shop around.  I also sold corals online.  In LA, I opened up a tranship/wholesale station to distribute my Tonga products.  I owned and operated a Tonga station (eventually got screwed and lost it after tons of money and time invested).  So now I’m in Indonesia working with one of my former employees (he is Indonesian) exporting high end corals.  I no longer have any of my operations in the US.  I learned to keep to one thing and focus, as I couldn’t rely on anyone running my operations.  But when the timing is right and I have the right people, I will reset back up my operations again.

I have been in Indonesia for a little over a year now and managed to make lots of enemies.  It is funny, that if you end up doing something right, there will be jealous competitors ready to bring you down.  I guess this is true with all businesses but is  especially true in this trade.  But hey it is not my fault, if  the other exporters only spoke more English and know what coral is what, then they would also have no problem in selling corals.  Of course if they get out of their lazy chairs and actually did physical work (like go pick good corals) from suppliers, it would also help.  But this is another matter and an another post.  Ok guys let’s get into today’s topic.


 
It is about a four hour car ride from Denpassar (the capital of  Bali) to Northern Bali.  Once we get to the aquacultured farmer’s place, it is a fifteen minute walk to the boats.  The tide happened to be out at the time and we trucked through mudflats to get to the boat.  Walking in front of me is my wife Anne and the fishermen/farmer.



And here we are ready to hop on.  It is not the Queen Mary but heck it does the job!

The adventures don't stop there! Want to find out where Eddie's coral escapades take him next? Well, you'll just have to wait and see! In the mean time, check out where his other trips at My Coral Adventures. 

Ocean acidification refers to the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's oceans.  Think the corals in your new reef tank have not been affected? Think again!  Miriam from The Oyster's Garter gives us the lowdown on how to preserve life in our oceans. Here's everything you wanted to know about ocean acidification (but were afraid to ask.)

For more on how to help, check out her blog.

Ocean acidification will make off with your children! It will come after you in the night! It's not safe until its head is mounted on my wall! KILL THE BEAST!

Ooops. Wrong movie. But ocean acidification has received a lot of high-profile attention lately, most notably with an editorial in the New York Times. The claims are flying every which way - ocean acidification will kill all the coral reefs, ocean acidification will make the oceans a barren wasteland of jellyfish, ocean acidification will even level the blood-thirsty Humboldt squid.

So here's your handy guide to ocean acidification, and how it might affect coral reefs in particular. I kept it short and semi-sweet, but if you'd like more details or citations just ask!

What is ocean acidification, and why is is happening?

Ocean acidification is a side effect of burning tons of CO2. As CO levels rise in the atmosphere, more and more CO2 gets dissolved in the ocean. Carbonate ions keep the oceans basic, but when there's lots of dissolved CO2 running about the CO2 binds with the carbonate. The carbonate gets taken out of action, and the ocean becomes more acidic. (Here's a more technical explanation for those interested.)

Now, the oceans are not actually becoming acidic - they are technically becoming less basic. Current ocean pH is around 8.1. If CO2 emissions continue as they, the pH in 2100 is predicted to fall to 7.8.

7.8 doesn't sound so bad.

Well, it's not going to burn up half your face, turning you into an enemy of all that is right and good in Gotham City. But the trouble is that many of the critters with calcium carbonate parts have evolved to live in an ocean where there is a carbonate ion in every pot. They're not used to having to work for their carbonate. Not having enough carbonate ions around is stressful, and that's where the trouble starts.

Trouble...like dissolving-in-acid kind of trouble?

Depends on the species. Some species seem to tolerate more acidic conditions just fine, while others die or have sad deformed little shells. Acidic water is especially hard on larvae. For example, when researchers grew larval oysters in pH 7.4 seawater, most of the baby oysters had incomplete or missing shells.

Corals actually do seem to dissolve in low-pH water. Researchers grew two species of hard coral in pH 7.3-7.6 seawater for a year. The corals' skeletons completely vanished, leaving the polyps living as strange naked anemone-creatures. (They were able to regenerate once back in normal seawater.)

But both of these experiments were relatively short-term, single species lab experiments. These can't account for changes in species interactions, like predation.

So what will the effects of ocean acidification be on reefs as an ecosystem?

The best prediction right now comes from researchers in Hawaii. They grew coral in giant tubs at today's CO2 levels and at the CO2 levels predicted for the year 2100. Their results had a little bit of good news and a lot of bad news.

The good news was that corals were still able to reproduce and grow in acidified water (albeit more slowly). But the bad news was that there was an 86% loss of crustose coralline algae. Crustose coralline algae is basically crunchy seaweed that grows a calcium carbonate shell. It's a critical part of the reef - it cements the reef together and provides a safe place for coral babies to grow.

So because most of the coralline algae disappeared in the "Year 2100" coral reef, it's time to worry. While coral species themselves might survive in a more acid ocean, the disappearance of crustose coralline algae would severely damage the coral reef ecosystem as a whole.

All your doom and gloom makes me grumpy. I like coral reefs and diving and poking at mantis shrimp!

Hey, poking at mantis shrimp is a hazardous occupation, but since I cut my diving eyeteeth digging around in holes for Maine lobster, I'm not one to judge. And did you know that mantis shrimp can see polarized light?

Seriously, as an coral reef lover, what can I do about ocean acidification?

Here's one hard way and two relatively easy ways. I'll give you the boring hard way first. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more acidic the ocean will get. And of course other climate-related coral problems, like bleaching, will get worse. So - like you've heard 1,000,000,000,000 times before - support efforts to control emissions, and try to reduce your own emissions as much as possible.

But there's an easier action you can take to help keep coral reefs as healthy as possible. Make sure you're buying your critters and live rock from a reputable supplier! An overfished, cyanide-poisoned and dynamited reef will not have very much resistance to acidification (or bleaching or anything else, for that matter.) The Marine Aquarium Council certifies aquarium retailers and individual ornamental species as sustainable. 

Another easy way to help coral reefs is to help local people make money off saving reefs, not destroying them. If you have some spare cash that you'd like to donate, I recommend the Coral Reef Alliance. They work with local communities and tour operators to develop sustainable businesses around protected, healthy reefs.

Expect to hear more about ocean acidification in the coming  years. Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Obama's newly appointed head of NOAA, has identified ocean acidification as "the most insidious and pervasive threat to life in the oceans everywhere."

Let us take a journey with blogger Tsun-Thai Chai, who constantly discovers the world of marine life in his own backyard of Perth Australia, then tells the world of his findings on Chai's Marine Life Blog.  

If I had to tell you one thing that I have discovered in the past twelve months or so that has brought so much fun into my life, that would be the joy of observing marine life.

I live in Perth, which enjoys more days of full sunshine than any other Australian capital cities. There are a few really nice beaches around Perth. But the one that is very special to me is the Cottesloe Beach. My visits to this beach have got me interested in marine life!  Who wouldn’t – when you just keep bumping into something interesting on the shore and underwater!

Such exciting moments on the shore and underwater are what got me started in my marine life blog, my investing in camera gear to document what I find, and my spending money on snorkeling vacations, references and guidebooks. And soon, I also found myself start talking to marine biologists and other naturalists.

The Cottesloe beach is within the Cottesloe Reef Fish Habitat Protection Area. There is a limestone reef ecosystem that extends about 4.5 km along the coast and extends seawards for about 1 km or so. The shore can be divided into the main beach, North Cottesloe beach and South Cottesloe beach – the one that I keep writing about in my blog.
I have been visiting the South Cottesloe beach for a year or so now. When the water conditions are good, I snorkel; when I can’t snorkel, I will be beachcombing. South Cottesloe is special to me because I still find marine creatures that I haven’t seen before even after so many visits. That’s what keeps me going back to South Cottesloe. And there’s also a sense of adventure and/or surprise in it as you will really not know what you will find every time you head down to South Cottesloe!
Well, enough said for now, below are some of my favorite beachcombing finds and underwater encounters at South Cottesloe:

Christmas may be over for now...but I've getting myself a belated holiday present.

Thanks to some help from a fellow aquarium blogger, Sarah from Northern Lights Aquatics, I've decided to go with clownfish for my new tank.  

As Sarah mentioned in her recent guest post on this blog, she and her husband have have one 55 gallon FOWLR tank which contains two percula clownfish and a couple of snails.  She suggested clownfish in her post because they're so well known now. They're also fun to watch and easy to maintain.

I then realized that Sarah wasn't the only blogger talking up the clownfish!  Melissa from That Fish Blog recently asserted that when people think of fish swimming in the ocean, they think of clownfish, which his absoluately true.  Those clownfish have that damsel in distress thing going on. And who could forget Nemo, the clownfish from the hit Disney movie! He's done something big for clownfish everywhere!

You'll find a gorgeous picture of a clownfish at The Right Blue, where deep sea divers Bobby and Jerry have snapped a beautiful shot of one in Sipadan Island, Malaysia. Take a look.

On the same day, Keith M. from Marine Depot Blog briefly mentioned his ocellaris clownfish which were fitting in nicely with the Orchid Dottyback and the African Flameback Angel in his 54-gallon tank. The plethora of colors created a beautiful mix.

When considering clownfish, John Cunningham of Aquarists Online fame told us to go for clownfish with your anemone or flowering plant that clownfish are known to occupy.  "When considering livestock for an anemone," John wrote, "clownfish of various types are probably the choice of most aquarists."

And so they will be my choice too! 

With a little research and education, Czarina from The Saltwater Aquarium Guide proves anyone can be successful in the saltwater tank keeping hobby.

When starting a new saltwater aquarium, there are a few fish that will be perfect for getting your feet wet.

Beginning a saltwater aquarium can be a daunting task.  There are a plethora of choices when it comes to setting up an aquarium. There are large aquariums, small aquariums, fish-only aquariums, reef aquarium, and the list goes on!    When it finally comes time to choose the fish, education is the key.  It is very important to begin your aquarium with an idea in mind, and not simply buy attractive fish at your local fish store.

There are many fish that will survive the initial tank setup.  It is important to think long-term when it comes with new additions.  Many of the inexpensive, brightly colored damsel fish will do absolutely wonderful in a new aquarium.  Unfortunately, they will soon become extremely territorial, and will greatly limit your choices for future additions.  The same can be said of the very hardy groupers.  They tend to handle the beginnings of an aquarium cycle very well, but will eat smaller fish and inverts once the time comes.  So, we need to look into fish that will be compatible enough for the future, but hardy enough for today.

The best choices tend to be clownfish, although beware of the maroons as they become very aggressive when they get larger.  When selecting clownfish, be sure to shop around for aquacultured specimens.  They are hardier than their wild-caught counterparts, and are generally less territorial.  PJ cardinals have a nice charm to them.  They may not be the most beautiful, but are very hardy and extremely compatible.  Yellow Tangs make a pretty good choice.  They tend to be hardy, as long as they are not too small, and can be very good tank mates.  In the end, there are many choices that you will be successful with.  Just be sure to know what you’re getting, both now, and in the future.

Sarah runs the Northern Lights Aquatics blog.  Here, she shares suggestions on what worked for her saltwater and freshwater aquariums.

My husband and I currently have one 55 gallon FOWLR tank which contains two percula clownfish and a couple of snails.

I also have 12 freshwater tanks running, so I'm much more familiar with freshwater fish.

We have more freshwater fish because it's easier to do water changes without mixing salt, and because it's a lot easier to buy freshwater fish in our area than it is to buy saltwater fish.

Freshwater fish also seem to be easier to acclimate to life in the aquarium, especially since the majority of our fish are captive bred, and we bought them from hobbyists who'd raised the fish and their parents themselves.

Freshwater Suggestions

If I was getting a new tank right now I'd want a couple of dwarf puffers.  They're cute, fun to watch, and they are known to breed in captivity.

The only problem is that they need snails and frozen foods, and they won't usually eat flakes or pellets, so that makes feeding them more work.

For someone who wants easy to care for freshwater fish I'd recommend Australian Desert Gobies.

I currently have some, and they are tied with my Figure 8 Puffer for my favorite fish.

The Australian Desert Gobies can live in water from 40-100F, and they do fine with a little salt in the tank if you'd like to try a brackish tank.

My desert gobies have always been in freshwater, and they're doing fine.

The gobies are usually found on the bottom of the tank, hopping around because they can't swim well.

They also like to perch on the sides of the tank, or any furniture in the tanks.

They usually spawn in a cave, and the male will fan the eggs and chase after anything that gets to close to the cave.

Unfortunately, the gobies are also voracious fry eaters, so once the fry hatch they don't usually last long, unless they are put into another tank.

Another problem with these fish is that they are annuals, and usually only live for 12-18 months.

My adults died within a week of each other, and it was really hard.

Other than that they're great fish, easy to care for, and they're a lot of fun to watch.

You could also add a few more non aggressive fish to the tank if you didn't want a species only tank.

Saltwater Suggestions

For a saltwater tank I definitely suggest live rock and a sand bed.

The rock gives the fish a place to hide and it helps them feel more secure.

Since you already have a powersweeper I'd recommend some coral. There's a pink birdsnest coral calling my name now.

Local aquarium societies, forums and other related groups often have coral frags for sale or trade if you have trouble finding them in local stores - the hobbyists will also give you a better price most of the time, and they should have a good idea on how to properly care for the coral as well.

If you're interested in fish in the reef tank I'm going to suggest clownfish.

I know almost everyone has one, but they're cute, and fun to watch as they wiggle around.

Even people who don't like fish, like clownfish, because of Finding Nemo.

It's also fun when to see children who are so excited when they see Nemo swimming around in your tank.

Equipment

We prefer Rena Cal Toplight Excel heaters.

We haven't had any trouble with any of these heaters so far, and we're slowly switching all of our old heaters to the Toplight.

It's nice that you can actually set your heater to a certain temperature instead of having to guess to get it where you want it.

Of course you still need to use a thermometer to double check the temperature, and make sure that the heater is set right.

I also love that the heater is fully submersible.

We also use Marineland Emperor BIO-Wheel Filters.

Some people like the bio-wheels, and some don't, but we haven't had any trouble with them so far. 

I have heard that if you use bio-wheels in a home where someone smokes it can cause problems for the fish, but I don't have experience with that myself.

The final thing that I have to say to anyone who's considering getting a new type of fish, or setting up a new tank is that it's important to do your research, but at the same time there are so many people with conflicting opinions and methods that it can get overwhelming.

When we were researching discus it got to the point where I just picked two articles that I thought were trustworthy, and followed the  advice in them, because I was getting so confused by all the conflicting advice.

Good luck with your fish - I'm sure that you'll love them no matter what you get, and I can't wait to see what you decide to do with your tank.

Owen over at AquaDaily knows how to get a crowd following.  Every week, he posts a video for his Fish of the Week category, which showcases a certain kind of fish that takes our breath away.  This little section on the front page, may be just a video...but it's the highlight of my week.  Every week with bated breath for the next choice sea creature that Owen will choose to put up on his blog.

This week, I was not disappointed.  The Giant Catfish of the Mekong River weighs over 600lbs and it's incredible!! It's length is about 3m and it grows extremely fast, reaching 150 to 200kgs in only six years, says HaLong806 from YouTube, who posted the video and info.This creature was caught in 2005 and is widely recognized worldwide for being the largest freshwater fish ever caught. Something interesting to note: The Mekong Giant Catfish is also known for its lack of barbels and absence of teeth.

Before you start getting angry about the fact this fish was captured, apparently the video says Thai Fisheries officials took the eggs from the fish in hopes of starting a breeding program and intended to release it.  But the fish died while in captivity and was sold as food to locals.  

Hmm, don't know what to think about that. 

Regardless, Owen, another week well done.

Heaters are one of the least expensive pieces of equipment we buy for our tanks.  So the question is: do we skimp?  Often times I think the answer is yes.  We spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on livestock and rely on the cheapest heater we can get.  To that end I’m going to share my opinions on what I think should be considered when selecting a heater for your tank.

First off, lets talk about the material the heater is made out of.  For many years the only heaters you could buy were glass.  Over time some “higher end” glass heaters started using Pyrex glass, which was a big improvement.  Having been around the hobby for 20+ years I’ve seen a mishap or two with glass heaters.  If you’ve never seen a glass heater shatter in a tank, I’m sure you can still imagine the mess.  I personally have no glass heaters in any of my tanks any more.  The two other materials commonly available today are titanium and plastic (I think they are ABS, but I honestly not sure).  I have used titanium heaters (and still have one) and they work great but do tend to be pretty spendy.  The last few heaters I’ve purchased are all the plastic variety, specifically the Visi-Therm Stealth line.  I’ve seen very few bad reviews on these heaters and at the time of writing I have five of them in use in various aquariums around my home.  Another nice feature on these heaters is they have an auto turnoff feature if they are removed from the water.  There are plenty of other good heaters on the market under other brand names, the Stealth heaters are just what I’ve found that I like and in my opinion the pricing seems reasonable for what you get. 

So you’ve looked around, read some reviews, maybe even posted a thread on The Reef Tank asking for opinions about a specific heater (sorry but I just have to encourage people to ask and research before they buy).  So how much heater do you need?  Well, the general rule of thumb is about 2.5 – 5 watts per gallon of water volume.  This will vary somewhat based on your climate and also where in your house your tank is located.  I personally prefer to err on the higher side of the equation.  One important piece of the puzzle is to buy two or more smaller heaters to get the necessary “watts per gallon”.  This gives you some backup if one should fail (because they always fail when stores are closed and you can’t get a replacement quickly).  On my 125 gallon reef, I use 3 250 watt heaters.  That gives me plenty of watts and some redundancy for when one fails (let’s face it, it’s when one fails, not if).

Now this next part is about a piece of equipment that “newbies” seldom buy, but in my opinion every tank should have; a heater controller.  I have yet to see any heater from any manufacturer that has an accurate and reliable thermostat.  The thermostat in all heaters seems to be the weakest link.  Even my expensive titanium heaters with “so-called” built in controllers eventually “stuck on”.  There are a number of heater controllers on the market.  I know a number of people that swear by Ranco brand controllers, but again there are plenty of reliable brands out there.  I personally use a Catalina brand reptile controller.  It’s a single stage controller that will handle 800 watts with a sealed probe.  Best of all it only cost around $US30.  I’ve been using it for about a year and it’s worked flawlessly so far.

One last thought that is semi-related to heaters; thermometers.  Again, I find most thermometers in the aquarium trade to be unreliable.  I personally recommend having more than one so you can compare and get a feel for what the temperature in your tank really is.

So, there you have it.  My opinions on how and why to choose a heater setup for your tank.  What I’m advocating will cost a few more dollars, but compared to what we spend on other equipment and livestock I believe the extra few dollars are very well

Read more of Jnicho's work on his blog Reef-a-Holic.

Spending on a reef tank is tough enough, without worrying about expensive items and spending way too much.  Now thanks to Darin, you don't have to.  Check out his tips on what to look out for so you can enjoy your hobby, without breaking the bank.--Ava

Reef aquariums are a fun and exciting hobby. And when setup right a reef tank can provide years of enjoyment. But when rushed and set up incorrectly the reef aquarium can turn into a nightmare and a money pit. Below are three common areas where new reef aquarium keepers often make the wrong choices or have poor planning and end up spending money two or three times over until they get it right.

Inadequate Protein Skimmers

The protein skimmer is possibly one of the most critical parts of the reef tank setup. It will keep your water crystal clear and also remove harmful organics from the water that can lead to high nitrates, phosphates and algae growth. But this is one area where people again jump the gun and often buy an inadequate model for their size tank.The problem is made worse by manufactures that overstate the size tanks that their products can effectively skim. The most common problem is new reef keepers believing that a small hang on tank skimmer will do a good job for a larger tank. This is often far from the truth and once the tank begins to suffer even more money will have to spent on a large more powerful skimmer.

Choosing The Wrong Lighting

It is so common for a new reef aquarium keeper to buy a lighting setup and have to replace it with something better and more expensive six months down the road.  This often happens because they want to keep corals that need more light and never researched the different types of lighting in the beginning. Generally a good metal halide system will let you keep almost anything you want. But not everyone can afford them right away.  But if you run the numbers of buying a less powerful lighting system only to upgrade later it makes sense to spend the money now and only have to spend it once. Lighting is a very expensive part of the reef system, and probably one of the most critical. Take some time to research the corals you like then choose your lighting not the other way around.

Choosing The Wrong Livestock

there is so much marine life available for your tank that  it is easy to spend money on species that look beautiful have but have little to no chance of survival in captivity. Animals that are almost impossible to keep alive like mandarin fish and corals like dendroneptheya and many types of anemones are sold to many unsuspecting new reef keepers to simply make a profit. While the fish store is some what responsible for selling these types of animals it is ultimately up to the person who is paying the money to research and learn as much as they can about the animals they want in their reef tank. Failure to do proper research on fish and corals you buy will cost you alot of money through trial and error learning.

While their are other areas that could use extra planning these are the most common and the ones that usually cause the most problems and require the most money to fix. By relaxing,doing a little research little and not giving into the the impulse to buy you can have a successful reef tank the first time around and have more money left over for fish,corals and live rock.

If you want a stunning Saltwater Aquarium that is full of healthy colorful fish check out the saltwater aquarium guide available here. This fully illustrated guide will help you properly setup and maintain a flawless saltwater tank.

You can learn saltwater tips at the blog Saltwater Aquarium Guide.