Types of Salt Water Aquariums

• A common clownfish swims in its aquarium.Striped Clownfish image by Lucid_Exposure from Fotolia.com
  
  Saltwater fish are coveted in the pet trade for their beauty and rarity. While all saltwater aquariums can be difficult to maintain and require a great amount of care and patience, not all are created equal. In fact, there are three primary types of saltwater aquariums, all requiring a different degree of care: Fish-only aquariums, fish-only with live rock aquariums, and reef aquariums.
  
  

Fish-Only Aquariums

• Many fish-only tanks contain clownfish, a popular pet.clown fish nemo image by scalesy from Fotolia.com
  
  Fish-only aquariums are unarguably the easiest type of saltwater aquariums to maintain. These aquariums, as their name suggests, only contain living fish and invertebrates but use artificial decor, sands, and rocks. These aquariums typically don't require special lighting besides the standard fluorescent UVB bulb and nor do they require special protein skimmers. They only need the basics; saltwater, heaters, and high-performance filters.
  
  

Fish-Only With Live Rock

• Coral-banded shrimp are common sights in FOWLR aquariums.shrimp image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
  
  Fish-only with live rock (commonly abbreviated FOWLR) are saltwater aquariums that require fish and live rock. Live rock are special rocks that contain copepods, which are tiny crustaceans that many fish and invertebrates, such as butterfly fish and coral-banded shrimp, eat. Live rock also contains tiny organisms that aid in the aquarium water's natural biological filtration. Having an aquarium with fish and live rock means added work, particularly when it comes to adding supplements such as iodine, calcium, and magnesium to maintain the live rock's health, as well as adding more powerful aquarium lighting.
  
  

Reef Tanks

• Live coral is the primary component of reef tanks.coral image by Lucid_Exposure from Fotolia.com
  
  Reef aquariums are the most complex type of saltwater tanks and are used to house fish, invertebrates, coral, and anemones. They require biological filtration in the form of live rock, powerful lighting, weekly water quality checks, numerous supplements, and the highest quality filters and protein skimmers available. Reef tanks, because of their complexity, are also the most expensive aquariums to maintain. They should also only be kept by experienced hobbyists who have maintained saltwater aquariums in the past.