Setting up a salt water fish tank can be rather difficult even for an experienced hobbyist. There are many different steps that you must take before introducing any sort of oceanic life to the simulated environment. Whether you are planning on having salt water fish, live coral, plants or any combination of life forms, you have to be prepared before any of these creatures can call your aquarium home. By correctly setting up a saltwater fish tank, you will ensure that fish and other marine life will remain healthy. It is important to start by purchasing the right kind of salt water fish aquarium for the type of life forms that you plan on keeping. Also make sure to get an aquarium that is at least 50 gallons in capacity, if not more. This will ensure that the life forms have room to move and breath. When setting up a saltwater fish tank for the first time you also want to get a stand and place it exactly where you want to see the aquarium in your home. Make sure that it is level, close to a power outlet and in a position with sufficient space to provide access to the tank. Before placing a salt water fish aquarium on the stand that you have set up in your home, you will also want to place some kind of under-pad so you keep the tank level and cushion the base. Now is the time to start placing the essential pieces of equipment into your salt water fish aquarium such as the filtration system. After this you need to lay a good couple of inches of gravel into the aquarium base with some banked up at the back. With the gravel and filtration system set up, you can start moving the water into the aquarium. It's best to allow the water to stand for several days or add a special saltwater mixture to before actually putting the water into the salt water fish aquarium. Now you can run the aquarium for a couple days, install the lighting system, test the water, and only when all this is done you can add the exotic salt water fish, coral or plants.
Algae can be green or even brown colored. Diatom or brown algae in a saltwater fish tank is easy to get and will need special attention to remove. Fortunately, there are just a few causes for brown algae problems. Once you've identified and removed the source, your problem will be solved.
Brown algae, just like the green algae, need light and a few other ingredients to survive. It could be tank lights or sunlight feeding your algae. The other ingredients are nitrates and silicates that help the growth of brown algae in a saltwater fish tank. Therefore, the first step to get rid of brown algae in a saltwater fish tank is to consider the lighting.
If your tank is placed where sunlight hits it for any length of time, you'll want to move it to a different location. Also, evaluate to make sure the tank lights aren't too bright, thus giving the brown algae a good growth environment.
Remove Ingredients
The best way to remove brown algae in a saltwater fish tank is to get rid of the ingredient feeding it. Getting rid of the silicates alone will kill the brown algae. It's also a good idea to remove high levels of nitrates.
The best way to check your nitrate and silicate levels is to buy a test kit. Adjust your water accordingly, cut down on your lights and the brown algae in a saltwater fish tank should be a problem of the past.
What is the best way to get rid of Silicates?
Silicates can enter your saltwater tank through many different ways. They can get in with certain sea salts, through the tap water you use, or enter on the substrate inside your tank.
Since the problem could be coming from any of the above sources, the best thing to do is to remove any sand in the tank unless it actually came from the ocean. Start using only RO/DI water no matter what kind of tank you have. Finally yet importantly, check the salt you use for high silicates.
Follow these simple steps and verything in your tank will not only look better but will be healthier. Your salt water fish will have a clean and happy home.
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