The Big Mistakes Made by Saltwater Aquarium Owners

Saltwater aquariums offer several advantages over freshwater tanks, with the plants and animals often being more vibrantly colored and diverse. However, saltwater tanks can also be a challenging and costly project to undertake. Keep reading as we identify the biggest mistakes saltwater aquarium owners make.

Big Mistakes Made During Setup

Some of the biggest mistakes are made before a single drop of water lands in the tank. Lured by flashy displays of beauty, or bolstered by their freshwater tank success, many customers jump straight into saltwater tanks without first performing proper research. By doing this, they risk overloading the tank with too many creatures or purchasing filtration and oxygen systems that are too small for their needs. As a result, the new tank setup suffers from unhealthy levels of nitrogen, oxygen, pH, salinity, and more. Tank owners also make the common mistake of adding new fish too quickly, violating quarantine protocols, and not giving the tank time to stabilize before adding more new animals.

Big Mistakes Made During Maintenance

If a customer manages to get their saltwater tank off to a good start, they may soon introduce serious problems while performing routine care and maintenance. Everyone enjoys seeing their fish eat, so there is often a tendency to overfeed, which introduces excess nutrients to the tank. Tank owners may also introduce dangerous chemicals by filling tanks with tap water that contains chlorine or is not pure. Problems with the tank water can be easily identified through proper water testing, but tank owners will forget to run these tests or will choose to run the tests with cheap, inaccurate testing devices.

Big Mistakes Made When Things Go Wrong

Finally, even the best aquarium owners are going to endure setbacks, with water becoming unbalanced, and creatures suffering health problems. The biggest mistake owners can make when things start to go wrong is not asking for expert advice, whether it be from a vet, fish store, or online resource. Without quality advice, diseases can be misdiagnosed and medication improperly applied. This could easily cause a problem to get worse, turning a routine matter into a disaster.