I was born with sand between my toes, as the saying goes. I crave the ocean, sand, salt, palm trees and warm tropical beaches. Alas, I was born and remain landlocked in the prairies. In addition to the fact that I’m a landlubber, I also unfortunately reside in northern Alberta, where winters are long, dark and bitterly cold. Don’t get me wrong, Alberta is stunning; vast prairies, gorgeous Rocky Mountains, and the deserts in the south where you can find dinosaur bones. But the winter gets to me. It’s usually February or March that I crash and I start to do silly things like make extravagant purchases to make myself feel happy and alive. My saltwater fish tank was one of those purchases. It was February one year ago and I happened to be in a fish store that sold tropical saltwater fish. I stood in front of a tank that was filled with corals and anemones, a couple of clown fish. I was taken back to a snorkelling trip in Mexico. It was amazing to get a glimpse into the secret world of the sea. So warm and peaceful, floating there, watching the colourful fish live and play. That fish tank gave me the same feeling. I asked my husband, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have a saltwater tank?” He agreed that it did feel like a mini vacation.

Since I’ve had my tank, I’ve been through some serious lows, and also some amazing highs. I post a lot of photos on my personal social media, and I get a lot of inquiries as to the commitment involved, and other questions. This article is to give you guys some information and some things to think about if you are interested in salt water as a potential hobby.

Time and Energy

A salt water tank simulates an ocean. Simulating the ocean in your home is not an easy task. There are many different water parameters that must be within a certain range to keep your fish/creatures healthy. Some of these parameters are Nitrate, Nitrite, PH, Ammonia and (of course) salinity. These parameters can be measured with at-home tests and must be checked at least weekly. Water changes are also a part of the deal; weekly as well as maintenance. Sometimes large (25-30% of the tank), emergency changes are in order if your tank has a crisis. This could mean mixing up a large batch of salt water in a hurry, or even having a reserve tank with salinated water at the correct temperature (this makes my water changes way easier). Marine fish need A LOT of time and energy. If you work 40 hours a week, have three small children and have a lot of extracurricular activities on the go, you may find the upkeep challenging. Patience is definitely a virtue in this hobby. A set up (the cycling process) takes 6 weeks. A “mature” tank takes close to a year. Introducing and acclimatizing new fish and critters takes days. Parameter changes need to be done slowly to make sure not to shock the fish.

Resources

Another thing to consider is what kind of resources you have available near you. The internet is a great place to start your research. There are plenty of forums and websites that have great information. You can learn a lot about what you might be in for. What about physical resources though? Do you live in a small town that may not have an LFS (that’s salty talk for “local fish store”) nearby? You probably need a place not only to buy your fishy friends, but also food, medication, testing kits, water additives, pumps, filters, salt, etc. The online world makes it pretty easy to get almost anything you need (including fish), but sometimes something critical breaks, and you may need a new filter pump in less than 24 hours. An LFS is also great since most employees work there because they have a passion for the hobby and many have personal experience with it. They are a great place to bounce ideas off of when you are having trouble with your parameters, and they can give you advice of types of fish and products that work for them.

Equipment and Financial Considerations

Most people in the hobby would probably tell you that 20 gallons is the minimum tank size you’d want to have to get into this hobby. 20 gallons won’t really get you many fish. You have to consider not only the size of the fish, how big they grow and how much swimming space they need, but also the amount of bio load they put into your tank. That basically means how much waste (poop) they create. The more fish you have, the more waste they make, the bigger tank you will need, otherwise your parameters will go out of whack. I have a 25 gallon tank and I have 4 small fish (that are considered “nano” fish because they won’t get too big), a couple of hermit crabs, a snail and a shrimp. I am at my absolute maximum bio load. If you want lots of fish, or big fish, you may need a tank in excess of 100 gallons.

That brings me to finances. The bigger the tank you want, the more equipment you will need. To get started, you will likely need a tank, tank stand, proper lighting geared towards reef fish and creatures, a filter pump (to filter organic waste), two powerheads for water flow (marine fish need much more water movement than fresh water – think ocean currents), a skimmer (helps to remove biological waste), a thermometer, a heater, sand or crushed coral substrate and likely, live rock (pieces of rock or dead coral from the ocean that will provide landscaping and hiding spots for your fish friends, but also helps to establish the basics of life in your tank. They come loaded with microscopic critters that help life to begin in your tank). And of course, let’s not forget salt. Salt is an ongoing expense as you’ll need to add it to any new water going into your tank. If you are starting from scratch, you can expect to pay $2,000 and up depending on the size of tank you want to start with. A word of warning; a marine hobby is not a place you want to cut corners to save money. I converted my 25 gallon fresh water tank to a salt water tank, so I already had quite a bit of equipment I listed above. I estimated that with the amount of equipment that I already had, that I would only need to spend about $500 to start my marine tank, but I ended up spending closer to $1000. I can tell you from experience that if you cheap out and decide not to buy the recommended supplies, or the cheapest equipment, you will likely pay in loss of fish. And they are expensive fish. Be prepared to do things the correct way, which is often the expensive way.

Crashes and Losses are Inevitable

No matter how careful you are, mistakes happen. Creating an ocean in a fish tank is difficult. Loss will happen. Sometimes it’s mechanical failure. A filter stopped working, or the heater malfunctioned. Maybe your parameters went south in a hurry. Your nitrate spiked and you weren’t home to do an emergency water change. Sometimes your critters don’t get along with your other critters. Maybe your crab gets a hold of your favorite fish. Sometimes it’s a mass extinction due to a fish disease or parasite that you didn’t catch in time to treat. Maybe that beautiful fish saw an opening and jumped to freedom, and you find him on the floor in the morning. Sometimes it’s a small loss, and sometimes it’s a mass extinction. There will be loss. It’s heartbreaking and you learn from it.

My Experience

I’ve had my tank for a little more than a year now. I have had a number of fish losses. However, I still have my original clownfish and yellow watchmen goby. They have put up with a lot from me and have proven to be very hardy. I have had moments of absolute devastation and hopelessness in this hobby. I have laid awake and had nightmares about this tank. I have had my fair share of problems, and spent way more money than I care to think about. My biggest issues have been getting my water parameters to settle. At the beginning it was my nitrate levels (caused by waste). In hindsight, I was guilty of overfeeding. For a really long time, my ammonia was dangerously high. Ammonia is toxic to fish and invertebrates. I lost a few lovely fish to my ammonia problems, and I learned some valuable lessons. It took me visiting quite a few stores and explaining my set up and parameters before one employee had a lightbulb moment and asked me about my cleaning routine. Evidently I had been keeping my tank “too clean” by scrubbing out all the algae and grime. With no algae, I had very little bacteria, and with no bacteria, the ammonia spiked. Bacteria is an essential part of marine life. There were times, before I figured out the problem, that I thought about tearing the whole thing down. I felt so bad for the fish; I felt like a failure.

Don’t worry, it’s not all doom and gloom. While I want those interested to get a real picture of the challenges, there is plenty of joy in this hobby. Marine fish are not only visually stunning, they are smart, playful and intelligent. They have vibrant and amazing personalities. I was bored of my freshwater fish, but I have never once been bored with my marine tank. I will often come home and sit for an hour, without realizing it, watching my clownfish play in a current. I watch my crabs turn over shells, and investigate new ones. I love coming in in the morning to discover that one has swapped homes and moved into a new shell. I love watching my grumpy faced yellow watchmen goby sift through the sand and puff up as someone swims too near to his cave. I love watching my cleaner shrimp try desperately to convince a fish to come near enough to get a cleaning. I love watching my six line wrasse hunt sneakily through the cracks in the rock for a hidden creature or morsel of food. I love how they interact with me when I come near the tank. The fish come right to the glass to greet me (or rather, beg me for food). I won’t tell you this is an easy hobby. I’ve found it to be a bit of a roller coaster. But now that I think I have things settled down a bit, I have what I saw that day in the store; my own little ocean escape. And a few fishy friends as well. I will promise you that if you do more research and decide you can devote the time and energy to it, you will fall deeply in love.

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