Saltwater Aquariums: Decorations, Set-up and Costs

There are two different options for decorations in saltwater tanks. You can use artificial decorations or real live rock. Live rock will contain little more life and will also help maintain a beneficial bacteria colony. Your fish will be able to hide in the live rock and swim in and out of it. You can also buy real coral (hard or soft) which you can place on different levels of the live rock. Your fish will feed off of the live rock and different little things that escape from the live rock. The only bad thing about it would be the price. You will probably have to spend at least $50 for 25 pounds of live rock. The best type to buy is premium fiji live rock. It's used for show and you can choose the size if you specify that.

Smaller aquariums are easier to maintain and if you know what you are doing you will be successful. Don't let people tell you that you won't be able to keep fish alive unless you buy a 55 gallon aquarium. This is a lot of time, work and money. Not only do you have to clean the tank, filter and sand but you also have to purchase these items costing hundreds of dollars. An oak saltwater 55 gallon set up with cost you about $1200 for the tank, stand, filter and lighting.

You can also buy artificial live rock or other decorations. They will be a lot less expensive than actual live sand and live rock. Saltwater tanks are expensive and if you are trying to skip by with using fake decorations to save money you may want to switch to a freshwater set up. A tank and stand set up for any tank can range from $70.00 for a 10 gallon or $500 for a 55. Prices really vary from glass to acrylic and size ranges. More durable stands will cost above $1000 for a 55 gallon tank. Lighting for a saltwater tank will be about $140.00 for a 40 gallon and so on. Adding all pricing together you are looking at $1000.00 or more for a 30 gallon tank.

Live Rock is by far the best way to go. Some fish such as mandarins will only eat certain things off of the live rock. To feed a mandarin or dragonette you will need to buy frozen food which costs about $30.00 and lasts about 1 month. This is definitely an expensive hobby to take on. The results are completely worth it and you will have a little chunk of your own ocean inside your home. Saltwater fish are very colorful and have great personalities.