By Alexis Grace
Having exotic pets can be fun and that fun can also be in creating a reef tank for them. However, the search that you have to find everything you need can be really difficult and frustrating because there can be 10,000 of the same aquarium coral for sale while there are none that you can find for the specific types that you are looking for. I will talk about different aspects of the tank that you need to be looking into and looking out for. First things first we will discuss the tank itself and then we will go into what goes inside the tank.
The Tank
The tank is probably going to be the most important thing that you are going to want to find the most information on. When you are going to buy the tank to begin the process of starting a reef tank you need to keep in mind the type of fish, how many fish, and how much water is needed per fish. Yes, I said per fish. There are fish that do not need a lot of water but then you have fish such as an Angelfish needs 10 gallons of water per fish. So, let’s say that you have 3 Angelfish you will need a bare minimum tank size of 30-40 gallons especially if you are going to be putting plants and stuff in the fish. So, when you are going to start putting your supplies together before you do anything determine how many fish are going to be in there, so you know what size tank you are going to need.
Plants
You always want to make sure that you are typing to plant to the tank. Never put saltwater plants in a freshwater tank and vice versa. That can lead to all your plants dying and, in some cases, they will release gases into the tank killing your fish along with them. The first type of tank we are going to talk about is a freshwater tank. There are a few that will work great such as the Amazon Sword. Amazon sword plants are great for tanks that are not going to get a lot of light. They are low maintenance and grow well. Another great one is Crypt Wendtii which you see in most fish stores in their aquariums. A great feature of this plant is that it can be split up and placed in different areas of the tank without damaging the plant. Now in saltwater tanks the best type of plants to go for are things like turtle grass shoots. This plant is amazing for smaller fish breeds, seahorses and invertebrates. Another plant is coral. They have aquarium coral for sale at most pet stores and aquatic stores. Just keep in mind that you are keeping an eye on what fish are in there with the coral.
Substrates
Substrates are the things that go on the bottom of your tank to cover the glass at the bottom. Just about anything can be used for substrates if you figure out what works best for the type of aquatic that you are getting. Betta Fish and that stuff are fine with rocks, sand, you name it. While things like axolotls are not so great with rocks as they can swallow then and then their stomachs become impacted and a lot of times, they do not end up surviving. So, when you are picking out your substrates use caution and a lot of research to determine what will be best. The most popular types of substrates that are most used in reef tanks are things like sand, slate, gravel and small things like that. Now do keep in mind the best thing to use is sand as it gives your plants anchors to the bottom of the tank so they will not float off around the tank.
