If you have choosen the fishtank and a place, you want add your fishes immediately to the tank. But be careful, it needs time to grow the beneficial bacteria that marine fish require for life!

Before the filling you have to by some things:

- Hydrometer
- Thermometer
- Heater
- Lighting and Filters
- Water Circulation
- Protein Skimmers

- Algae scrubber
- Salt
- Chemicals

Ask your locale dealer.

Here are the step by step instructions to fill the marine fishtank:

Clean the tank with a solution of 1 tsp. pure bleach for every 5 gallons of water. Scrub the tank, plastic plants, decorations and rocks. Rinse everything thoroughly several times with clean water.

Set up all your equipment and begin adding the saltwater. Use luke-warm water so your heater won’t have to work as hard.

Mix the salt with water, following the instructions on the bag and then measure the salt level with your new hydrometer. Your goal is a specific gravity between 1.020 and 1.023.

Fill your tank with the saltwater, leaving about an inch at the top.

Check the pH level and adjust this if you need to

Check the temperature and adjust the heater setting if you need to.

Add the marine buffer.

Depending on the fish species you have chosen the temperature will vary but seventy-six degrees is a good starting point.

If the water is cloudy from sand movement it will clear in a few days as the filter does its job.

Let everything run for at least 72 hours and get the temperature settings right and the water moving.

Cycle the aquarium. A just-set-up fish tank lacks the bacteria that it needs to form a steady biological cycle. Cycling takes about six weeks but you can speed up the process by adding a biological supplement that aids bacterial growth and while you are waiting add some live rock as this is not a tricky substrate like coral and won’t need specific temperatures or lighting. Live rock contains enzymes and bacteria too so it will help to break down fish waste.

Add your fish when the chemical levels are all okay and the tank temperature is within suggested limits. Marine fish species are expensive to buy, most costing you upwards of $20 each. Some fish will cost even more, for example, clown fish at upwards of $100. Damsels are a cheaper option – they are good strong fish and help cycle the tank by means of their waste products. Ask your dealer for advice on which species live well together and which ones will lead to the optimal health of your saltwater aquarium.

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