Fishtanks Blog

The Most Important Equipment for a Stable Aquarium

Posted on 27. Sep, 2009 by admin in Aquariums, Fishtanks

If there’s one tip I wish I’d known when I started a saltwater aquarium, it would have been how to use automatic equipment to keep my aquarium stable. The biggest risk to a saltwater aquarium is rapid changes in the tank. The three things that change most rapidly in a saltwater system are temperature, salinity, and nutrient levels. Dramatic swings in these water parameters can have a serious impact on the health of your fish and other livestock, and using machines to automatically adjust them is the best way to ensure a healthy, beautiful aquarium.

The most crucial piece of equipment is an aquarium chiller. This is a refrigeration machine that makes sure your tank stays at a certain temperature. Aquarium heaters are just a basic heat source - they warm the tank as long as their power allows, but this changes when the environmental temperature does. Aquarium chillers use delicate sensors and refrigeration technology to chill the water automatically whenever the temperature begins to go up. This way you can use all the heat and light power that you want, without having to worry.

Another important tool is an auto top-off system. This senses when the water level in your aquarium begins to drop and adds water to the tank. Changes in salinity are one of the most dangerous things that can happen in a reef aquarium, and auto top-offs remove the risk. It drips water into the tank to make sure salinity stays stable.

The third important piece of equipment is a protein skimmer. Nitrates and other waste nutrients build up in your aquarium as a byproduct of feeding your pets. If these start building up, they can spiral out of control quickly and cause algae and bacterial blooms. A protein skimmer removes all the waste products from a system as it happens, keeping the tank clean.

These pieces of equipment aren’t always cheap, but it’s important to remember that they’re an investment. The money that you’ll save by preventing maintenance and having expensive animals die will more than cover their cost over time. I would never start a new aquarium without these three machines.

Tags: Aquarium Chiller, Aquariums, fish tanks