Aquariums

I had a salt water aquarium for a while and loved it. But moving an aquarium is too much of a hassle and I live in an apartment now, so I will have to wait to set it up again.

I wanted to have the look of a school of fish in the aquarium but most marine fish are very anti-social to members of their own species in the confined space of a home aquarium. So I used some black mollies that I adapted to brackish then saltwater environment to cycle my tank. All but one died in the cycle process, so my hopes of watching schooling fish were shattered anyway (although the velvety black coloration of the molly provided an amazing contrast to the brilliant oranges, reds and blues of the other fish).

Over a period of time I added a clownfish named Blinky, a blue tang, named Marge, a coral beauty angel, named Sushi and a 6-line wrasse who was first called Spot, but earned the name Bellboy for his constant running up and down the walls of the tank.

I added some more powerful lights and added an anemone for Blinky. We called the anemone Koosh. Later I added a piece of live rock that eventually grew some mushroom polyps and a really interesting red macro algae. I moved across country and could not take the aquarium with me.

I also had a smaller hex tank that a friend gave me when he moved. The tank held a batfish named Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na BATFISH! She was purchased as a very small (maybe 2 inches tall) fish that grew quickly to about 9 inches tall! Nana was a cool fish, but succumbed to one of her frequent attacks of ich.

With the need to do frequent water changes, monitor the level of chemicals etc., salt water aquariums can be a lot of work, but they sure are fun to look at. When I start my new aquarium, I may decide on an African Ciclid tank that may take less work to keep up

Here is a nice site for basic info on setting up an aquarium: Saltwater Beginner FAQ
Many of the fish mentioned above are pictured at the site.
Saltwater Aquarium

Marine Aquariums
An ocean in your home

Definitions:
Brackish: Water that has some salt in it, but not at the concentration found in the ocean. A condition found
where rivers meet the sea and some coastal swamp areas. A few fish, like mollies and salmon, can live in either fresh or salt water if given a period of time to adjust.

Cycle: In aquarium terms, it means running an aquarium with only a few very hearty fish in the aquarium to allow a colony of beneficial bacteria to develop. These bacteria eat the toxic fish waste and turn it into less
harmful substances. Most fish become ill or die when faced with living in their own waste in a confined space. Its hard to flush an aquarium when you only have fins.

Ich: Just as nasty as it sounds, ich is a parasite that grows on the outside of a fish.

Live Rock: Is not litteraly a living rock. It is a piece of rock that has been exposed to a biologically diverse marine environment. When properly cared for in a home aquarium, a variety of ocean life may grow from/on the rock.These can include sponges, corals, interesting sea plants, and other life that may have deposited seeds/eggs etc. in the nooks and crannies of the rock. Live rock needs to be shipped/stored etc. in clean saltwater, or it becomes just another "dead rock".

Marine: a fancy name for salty / ocean water.

Water Changes: Toxic substances from fish waste build up in the confined area of a home aquarium. While a properly cycled tank can reduce the immediate toxic effects harmful substances do build up over time. These can be controlled by periodically (every week or 2) removing a portion (10-20%) of the old water and replacing with uncontaminated new saltwater mix.

My old saltwater fish tank

BAH! - it lost the template and formatting I had done!
Ignore the &nbsp's and the stupid animations i put in for spite

Caution: this site contains artificial fan coral (that looks suspiciously like spider webs) and angry rhinocerous fish!

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