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Are You In Need Of Saltwater Aquarium Decorations? –
Brightening Up Your Marine Tank!
Now for the fun part – saltwater aquarium decorations
are one aspect of marine fish keeping where you can
really allow your creativity to reign free. A variety of
decorations are available - from backgrounds, ceramic,
resin or plastic ornaments, real or false corals and
shells and even plants the sky is (well almost) the
limit when it comes to creating a marine world for your
fish and other invertebrates.
Saltwater aquarium decorations are fun to buy because
unlike the other inhabitants of your tank they don’t
require any special care! You won’t need to feed them,
provide special habitats and they can’t get sick or die
so they are relatively hassle free! A tank without any
décor is dull but that’s not all.
A marine tank without any saltwater aquarium decorations
is not very exciting AND it can be unhealthy for your
fish. Using tank décor makes
it possible to break up the physical environment of the
tank and is important both for the biological and
psycho-social well-being of the fish in your tank. This
is because using tank decorations provides hiding
places, areas for food to grow on and microbe activity
that keeps your tank healthy.
Add to this the fact that saltwater aquarium decorations
are nice to look at and fun to work with and you’ll
begin to see that décor is essential in any marine tank.
The best way to choose your marine tank décor is to
visit a store that allows you to see saltwater aquarium
decorations in an actual tank, not just on a rack or a
table.
Some examples of saltwater aquarium decorations you
might like to try in your marine tank are:
Belching clams and treasure chests – These are bubbling
and air actuated action ornaments. Spacemen, submarines,
clams, and treasure chests are always firm favorites.
Even a frog on a log and airstones, are fun saltwater
aquarium decorations. The display should be well lit and
there should be plenty of bubbles for the best effect!
So what other options are there for saltwater aquarium
decorations? What about different and interesting
backgrounds? You can purchase a variety of backgrounds
like marinescapes, paint-on materials, foils, mirrors
and cork stock. You can even buy an in-tank diorama!
Display the background effectively and choose tank décor
that suits its theme.
Rocks are another good choice for saltwater aquarium
decorations. You can choose from sandstones, volcanic
and metamorphic rock or even plastic. Some rocks don’t
have any impact on water quality while others improve
the water quality. If you aren’t sure of a certain rock,
play it safe and leave it out. Try pieces of tufa,
igneous, silicious/petrified woods), and brackish and
African Great Lakes systems calcareous "base" rock. You
can usually but rocks by the pound or the ‘piece’. Some
rock types are natural while others are artificial.
Driftwood is a great idea for saltwater aquarium
decorations. It might be self-sinking or weighted and
wither chemically or physically inert or live. Don’t try
to cure your own woods. It’s just too time consuming and
expensive.
Corals and shells can also be used as saltwater aquarium
decorations. Always try to use those from a natural
marine source.
Marbles are traditional saltwater aquarium decorations.
They can be used underwater – whole circular to flat,
marbles and crushed glass are popular in marine tanks.
However marbles don’t make for a good biological
substrate. They do provide fantastic color to any tank,
though.
Faux natural saltwater aquarium decorations are another
way of pepping up your marine tank. You can choose from
fake rocks, logs, shells, coral, ships and more. Fake
they might be but some look quite attractive when
arranged properly; so don’t overlook these decorations.
Plastic plants are another option you might want to make
use of for your saltwater aquarium decorations. You can
obtain some good likenesses of marine plants like
sagittaria-turtle grass and vallisneria-zostera for
example so don’t overlook them and use them to
supplement your real plants while they are growing.
Your choice of saltwater aquarium decorations is up to
you but there are some general guidelines to bear in
mind when making a choice.
Always make sure that your saltwater aquarium
decorations don’t have any sharp edges on which your
fish might cut themselves. Never use any substances
(rocks, shells etc) that might give off toxic chemicals
into the water. Choose shapes and designs that make
suitable hiding places for shy animals and good
substrates for the growth of marine plants.
Also make sure that your saltwater aquarium decorations
are very clean when you put them into your tank. Never
use decorations from a tank where the fish or plants are
ill or unhealthy in any way. Make sure that there are no
spaces within the decorations where fish might get
trapped and die.
The best saltwater aquarium decorations don’t have to be
particularly fancy. If you like spacemen and frogs go
ahead and decorate your tank with them – it’s your tank
after all. If you prefer a more elegant style choose
natural, rather than faux ornaments and study natural
systems and try to duplicate some of these environments
in your tank.
You can easily glean this kind of information from books
on marine biology or by doing some research on the World
Wide Web. The more you learn the more accurate will be
the marine world you create and this will make your fish
and other invertebrates happy and healthy. The most
important thing to remember is to have fun with your
saltwater aquarium decorations.
But don’t forget the health of your marine ecosystem.
Try to find the proper balance between the aesthetic
value of your tank and the well-being of your marine
life. The only way to make sure that your stock stay
healthy is to study, study, study the fish,
invertebrates, plants and make sure you give them what
they need to survive. Good luck and enjoy your saltwater
aquarium decorations! |
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