Saltwater aquariums compared to freshwater ones need far more attention to maintain them; especially if you want the tropical fish in the tank to remain healthy. You have to be aware that certain minerals and nutrients that are in the water which the fish need will eventually, over time become less, and so supplements will need to be added to your saltwater aquariums to replenish them.
However, not all saltwater aquariums require supplements to be added to them. This is because they have been properly cared for and the correct maintenance procedures have been carried out by their owners. When you do own saltwater aquariums which contain the likes of Clownfish and Angelfish, then just regularly changing the water and doing the right sort of maintenance may mean you don’t need to add any supplements to it.
The reason why you won’t need to add supplements is because each time you change some of the water in saltwater aquariums, you are in fact helping to replenish the nutrients and minerals in it. But be aware that if your salt water aquarium contains any kinds of corals, then a calcium supplement will need to be added to yours.
Is Your Saltwater Aquariums In Need Of Supplements?
The quickest and easiest way of being able to determine what minerals and nutrients are missing from saltwater aquariums is to test the water. You can purchase home test kits from an online aquarium supply company or at your local tropical fish store. These then help to identify what is missing and just how much of each supplement you need to add to get them back up to their required levels.
When adding supplements to any saltwater aquariums, make sure that you do so very carefully, as an excess can cause problems and prove harmful to the marine life within the tank. To actually deal with excesses of supplements in the tank’s water, you will in fact have to take all of it out, and this can put stress on the fish, plants and coral in yours.
Kinds Of Supplements Which You May Have To Add To Saltwater Aquariums
There is still much debate going on about if you really do need to add supplements to saltwater aquariums. There are some aquarists who believe that by changing some of the water in your tank on a regular basis, is more than sufficient to help replenish those nutrients and minerals which have been lost. Certainly those who own aquariums which contain just tropical fish or tropical fish and live rocks, have found this to be the case. However if you are someone who owns a reef tank in which corals are kept, then adding a calcium supplement is essential, along with possibly supplements of magnesium and Kalkwasser to your coral reef saltwater aquariums.
Adding a calcium supplement to reef saltwater aquariums helps the corals in the tank to grow, and also helps the growth of any invertebrates and algae (which the coral feeds on) as well. If you don’t add such a supplement, then it actually becomes much harder to get the chemical composition in the aquarium right, and won’t help with producing the right environment which the tropical fish and marine life in it like.
Calcium supplements today can be purchased in either tablet or liquid form and can be purchased either online or through your local aquarium supply company. The liquid form is far easier to add to saltwater aquariums; however it does cost more than the tablet form. Along with the calcium you may find that you need to add some carbonate or bicarbonate to the water in saltwater aquariums to keep alkalinity levels right. If it falls below 2.5meg in every liter of water in the tank, then you will need to also add a supplement of Kalkwasser to yours.
