Guide to Starting Your Own Marine Aquarium

Saltwater aquariums provide the opportunity to keep exotic, colorful and tropical fish in a home or business. Owners say they are soothing, entertaining and a good way to relieve stress. Maintaining a saltwater aquarium is a little more time intensive than keeping up a freshwater aquarium. Start a saltwater aquarium with realistic expectations for a cleaning and maintenance schedule.

Marine aquariums are often divided into three seperate types:

  • Fish Only

    • Typically includes fish and artificial reef accents

  • Fish Only with Live Rock (FOWLR)

    • Unlike Fish Only tanks, FOWLR setups include Live Rock that helps to add life to the tank via acting as a natural filter system as well as to provide hiding places for inhabitants of the tank.

  • Reef Tanks

    • Reef Tanks will typically be the most expensive of the three types but will also offer the most vibrancy with all the different species of coral that you can find, as well as combining them with reef safe fish species.

Choosing what type of tank you are looking to establish is one of the most important decisions and one that will require a lot of research. To help you with figuring out where exactly to start, follow the links on the left side.