Buying a saltwater aquarium should depend on several key factors. One key factor relies heavily on how well you can maintain the aquarium without going over budget and how well you can keep up with the tank's water chemistry and maintenance. The other key factor depends on what inhabitants you really want to keep in the aquarium. If you choose to keep fish in a saltwater aquarium you should research the fish that you want to keep before buying an aquarium to house them in.
Getting into the marine aquarium hobby is generally expensive, so proper planning could save you a lot of time and money. Deciding on what size aquarium you want to purchase should be based on whether or not you would like to keep large fish or large invertebrates. The larger the aquarium the bigger the maintenance fees will be.
The first key factor depends if you are on a tight budget. You must consider that you will need an aquarium, skimmer, lights, pumps, test kits, salt and live rock. The bigger the aquarium the more money you will spend on the above items. The initial purchase and setup will be expensive and time consuming, however don't forget that the continual aquarium maintenance will be pricey as well. You need to factor in your monthly costs of running your aquarium when you do your research for your aquarium. These monthly costs should include electricity, food, water and salt bills. The bigger the tank you have the more salt and water you will need to do weekly water changes.
Another key factor when planning your saltwater aquarium is the size of the inhabitants you want to keep. If you want to keep several species of tangs then you will need to have a tank that is at least one hundred gallons. If you are planning a reef aquarium then you need to think of corals and quite possibly anemones. Several species of anemones such as carpet anemones need a lot of space. You can plan on having a smaller tank to save on maintenance fees and have some beautiful fish such as clown fish, gobies and blennies. These smaller fish do not require a lot of room to swim but if placed in a small aquarium should not be housed with a lot of other fish and several species of blennies and gobies will not live together peacefully. A smaller aquarium can house several species of coral but be sure to research your purchases as some species of coral can and will use chemical warfare on other coral. Large stony polyp coral have sweeper tentacles that can harm nearby coral, the galaxy coral is a good example of an aggressive LPS.
Research plays a key role when starting up and planning a saltwater aquarium. Many fish need to be introduced at certain times during the start of a saltwater aquarium to avoid a dominance hierarchy and to prevent a bio-overload and a mini cycle. Fish should not be introduced all at once unless you are introducing a mated pair. Make sure you monitor your waters chemistry when introducing introducing new aquarium inhabitants.
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