WATER QUALITY OF SALTWATER AQUARIUM

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As human beings required clean and fresh air in the environment to live the same way as fishes live in the water so they need clean water in the aquarium to live. Keeping only just a saltwater aquarium is not enough though it is expensive maintaining good water quality in the aquarium is also a difficult task for aquarists. Good water quality is the primary standard to a lively and prosperous marine aquarium. Although even in the well-established environment water quality is barely stabilized cause only the little amount of impurities in the water can make it worsen and harmful for the health of human beings and fishes as well. A series of obstruction can be brought due to the scarcity of good water flow in the aquarium such as fishes health, low dissolved oxygen and hassled algae, there are many causes which helps to low water flow such as a variety of fishes as some are not for a home aquarium, monitoring routine, tank size and etc. so maintaining a good water flow is the crucial thing to do for aquarists. fishes live in an immense ocean so they need more space in the tank before putting fish and corals in an aquarium one should know the dissimilitude between the size (small and large) of fishes, large fishes need more food as they required more food resulting create more waste and required more space unlike small fishes so different rules of thumb applied for fishes size accordingly like Rule for medium to large fishes is that for every 10 gallons of water 1 fish is needed and Rule for small to medium fish is that for every 10 gallons of water 2 fishes are needed. Though aquariums are not cheap if one wants to have a healthy aquarium make sure to buy a good size tank with the right amount of salt because without this a fish couldn’t survive,

The Main Water Parameters to Test in a Saltwater Aquarium Are

A healthy saltwater aquarium requires a good water quality level as the aquarium system is manmade unlike natural where nature used to work for keeping it clean so here all the requirements will be completed by an aquarist, but the question arises as to how to know when the water needs to be cleaned? The answer is when you notice that the water is not clear and not as same as on the first day or smelling an odor it indicates the aquarist that now the water is required to be tested. There are some main parameters in a saltwater aquarium that needs to be tested each parameter has a standard level set where the good quality fits for, below or above that level have consequences respectively for the water and by observing the results it would be clear whether water is pure or impure. Such parameters are 

Temperature Testing the water temperature of a saltwater aquarium is one of the most important parameters for keeping a saltwater aquarium healthy, so always make sure to maintain the aquarium’s surrounding area’s temperature as stable as possible two things are necessary which aquarist should know never place an aquarium near any kind of heat source and place aquarium where not sunlight can interact with aquarium cause too much of light resulting in more growth of algae. The temperature reading can be found by digital thermometer and it is inexpensive. Temperature standard level is different for three types of aquarium cause some of the species of fish, invertebrates, or plants needed different requirements, such as Fish Only required 72-78° F where Reef aquarium required 76-83° F and Coral Reef required 82° F. these are the standard level where the saltwater aquarium can be considered as stable for temperature. 

Salinity: The measurement of total dissolved salt in concentrated water is known as salinity.it tells the aquarist that how much salt has been dissolved in water. Having salinity stable is very important for a saltwater aquarium It is the ratio of salt molecules to the water molecules, Salt present in seawater contain not only sodium chloride (NaCl) but comprises of other elements too namely calcium, magnesium, and potassium this means a low level of salinity will also be lowering the levels of these too so changes should be done accordingly. There is a slight change in standard level for each saltwater aquarium type such as Reef aquarium required 1.023-1.026 (32-35 ppt), Fish Only aquarium required 1.020-1.025, Coral Reef aquarium required 1.025-1.027 (34-36 ppt). There are different device one can use to test is one of the accurate devices to be considered are refract meter with high accuracy.

Ph.: PH is the measure of hydrogen ion concentration or the measurement of acidity or alkalinity in an aqueous or liquid solution. Ranges of ph. on logarithmic scale vary from 0-14 and 7 being neutral ph. a level above 7 is making the solution alkaline and below 7 is acidic in solution. Testing ph. level in a saltwater aquarium is very important as it is bound with some other parameters too such as ammonia, higher the ph. level resulting ammonia toxic. Carbon dioxide can cause ph. level alteration at the time of photosynthesis the algae generating oxygen. Ph. levels can be tested by using any ph. meter, the ideal level for a healthy saltwater aquarium is from 8.0-8.5.

Ammonia: Ammonia (NH3) is directly associated with fish’s respiration system. Ammonia is terribly noxious in the saltwater aquariums it is the result of waste or dead fishes as they break down, ammonia generates in water when fishes eat food and release waste or algae die out and start to decay (insufficient Nitrosomonas).it can also be caused by overfeeding, neglecting dead fishes, or poor filtration. Ammonia can be made harmless by making an acceptable aquarium system with a fair surface area of water to be captured by Nitrosomonas (good bacteria). Ammonia must be at zero in the saltwater aquarium to keep it healthy and can be tested by sensor Seachem Ammonia Alert which changes color to detect ammonia in the tank.

Nitrite (NO2): Nitrile is very dangerous for saltwater aquariums it is produced when highly noxious ammonia converts into less noxious nitrite by Nitrosomonas (good bacteria). Nitrite should be kept as zero as possible its causes and ways to reduce are the same as ammonia. After monitoring ammonia aquarists should monitor nitrite by any nitrite monitoring device and once it becomes zero that means the aquarium is well established.

Nitrate (NO3): Comparing to ammonia and nitrite, nitrate is nontoxic to the saltwater aquarium, however, nitrite is dangerous for the marine aquarium as when good filter bacteria doesn’t work noxious waste products results impeding in fish’s respiration so to deal with this problem Nitrobacter (good bacteria ) would be mineralizing the nitrite present at the end of the filtration process. It is harmless at a low level so by keep changing the water frequently, providing and a little feed an aquarist can maintain the low nitrate. Live plants are also favorable for reducing nitrate. As lower the nitrate level healthier the saltwater aquarium is.it is a basic and important parameter that every aquarist has to keep monitoring every time. Nitrate can be monitor by any device with high accuracy one of those is ion-specific electrodes (ISE). 0(ideal) to below 40 ppm is the Ideal range for a healthy saltwater aquarium. 

Calcium: Just like humans calcium is also important for an aquarium’s long life. Low water calcium can cause to drop ph. level in water because calcium ion merges with other ions present in the aquarium to works as a buffer to prevent ph. fluctuation. Calcium levels can be low by keeping invertebrates in an aquarium or by some fishes for using it. If the Calcium level is decreasing too much then it can be prevented by adding a liquid calcium supplement. The calcium level should be between 400-450ppm.

Alkalinity:  Alkalinity is the measurement of how much calcium carbonate is dissolved in water. As in a saltwater aquarium, many invertebrates and corals are being added who make the calcium-based structures, and it's not possible in the absence of alkaline water. Alkaline low level cannot be able to sufficiently regulate ph. and resulting acid buildup. Aquarists can skip testing of alkane in the fish-only aquariums but should test for other types like reef aquariums which include invertebrates and causing slow growth. The ideal alkalinity range for a healthy saltwater aquarium is 7-11dkh.

Magnesium: Magnesium is the essential parameter to test for in saltwater aquariums. Cause it is vital for coral/invertebrates' growth because the low levels of magnesium can cause an incapability to maintain acceptable calcium levels as well as low ph. Its level can be protected by being lower through frequently changing of water using higher magnesium salt. The ideal level for magnesium is between 1250 – 1350ppm.

Phosphate (PO4): Phosphate is important for saltwater aquariums because it doesn’t give any harm to fishes but the low levels can create algae problems. Phosphate comes in the saltwater aquarium by using unfiltered water in tanks or by feeding fish. The aquarist can reduce the risk by controlling the causes like using purified water and providing less food or by using phosphate removing products like Sea Chem's PhosGuard. The ideal level for phosphate should be less than 0.2.