Very few things capture my attention than the hypnotic motion and colors of salt water fish tanks and their incredible habitats. I've owned a number of marine tanks over the years and never miss an opportunity to check one out, whether at a public aquarium or a doctor's office.
However, as big a fan as I am of the marine fish tank, I don't think everyone should own one. Here are the big 3 reasons why:
1. Time commitment.
Owning a marine fish tank takes a lot of work. It's not like a freshwater tank where you can get by with letting maintenance slide for a while and usually not have the tank and fish suffer any major ill effects.
With a salt water tank, however, you need to stay on top of things. That means frequent water changes, frequent testing of water chemistry, getting rid of waste, being careful not to overfeed the fish, cleaning the salt buildup off the outside of the tank and surrounding areas, changing the filter media as needed, and more.
Letting these things go for more than a month or so and your tank and its inhabitants are subject to a degradation of water quality that can be fatal.
These days, time is a highly valued and precious commodity. If you're planning to set up a marine fish tank, make sure you have the time and strong commitment to devote to maintaining your aquarium.
2. Cost
It ain't cheap to set up a marine fish tank. Even a relatively modest set up can run many hundreds or into the thousands of dollars once you factor in the costs of the tank, filters, lighting, test kits, etc. And once you set the tank up the cost of fish, corals, live rock and invertebrates can add up pretty quickly.
3. Environmental impact
Sadly, most of the salt water aquarium fish in tanks these days come from the wild. As does most of the live rock. Not only does this deplete wild stock populations, but the methods of collection often involve using toxins and/or physical destruction to coral reefs.
This reason is probably the biggest one that I don't have a marine fish tank in my home right now. While there are some fish that are being tank bred and raised, they are few and far between. If you do decide to set up a tank, I'd recommend searching the web for captive bred fish, inverts and coral to see what options are out there.
If you're thinking about setting up a marine fish tank, please give it a lot of thought. It is not an impulse buy. It takes time and money to maintain properly and your decision has a real impact on the health of coral reefs around the world.
