So you own a saltwater aquarium, time for the fun part – saltwater aquariumdecorations are one aspect of marine fish keeping where you can really allowyour imagination to reign free. A variety of decorations are available – fromceramic, resin or plastic ornaments and backgrounds, real or false corals andshells and even plants the skys the limit when it comes to making a marineworld for your fish..

Marine aquarium decorations are fun to buy because unlike the otherinhabitants of your tank they don’t require any special care. You won’t need tofeed them, provide special habitats and they can’t get sick or die so they arehassle free! A tank without any décor is dull but that’s not all.

An aquarium without any saltwater aquarium decorations is not very excitingand it can also beunhealthy for your fish. Using tank décor makes it possibleto break up the physical environment of the tank and is important both for thebiological and psycho-social well-being of the fish in your tank. This isbecause using tank decorations gives hiding places, areas for food to grow onand microbe activity that keeps your marine tank healthy.

Add to this the fact that marine aquarium decorations are nice to look atand fun to work with and you’ll begin to see that décor is essential in anymarine tank. The best way to choose your marine tank decorations is to visit astore that allows you to see saltwater aquarium décors in an working tank, notjust on a rack or a table.

Some examples of marine aquarium decorations you might like to try in yoursaltwater tank are:

Belching clams and treasure chests – These are bubbly and air actuatedaction ornaments. Spacemen, submarines, clams, and treasure chests are alwaysvery popular. Even a frog on a log and airstones, are fun saltwater aquariumdecorations. The display should be well lit and there should be plenty ofbubbles for the best effect.

So what other options are there for marine aquarium decorations? What aboutunusual and interesting backgrounds? You can purchase a variety of backdropslike marinescapes, paint-on materials, foils, mirrors and cork stock. You caneven buy an in-tank diorama! Display the background effectively and choose atank décor that suits its theme.

Rocks are another good choice for saltwater aquarium decorations. You canchoose from volcanic, sandstones and metamorphic rock or even plastic. Somerocks don’t have any impact on water quality while others improve the waterquality. 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 andAfrican Great Lakes systems calcareous “base” rock. You can usually buy rocksby the pound or the ‘piece’. Some rock types are artificial while others arenatural.

Driftwood is a great idea for saltwater aquarium decorations. It might beself-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,it’s cheap enough to buy anyway.

Corals and shells can also be used as saltwater aquarium decorations. Alwaystry to use those from a natural marine source.

Marbles are traditional saltwater aquarium decorations. They can be usedunderwater – whole circular to flat, marbles and crushed glass are popular inmarine tanks. However marbles don’t make for a good biological substrate. Theydo provide vibrant color to any tank, though.

Faux natural saltwater aquarium decorations are another way of pepping upyour tank. You can choose from fake rocks, logs, shells, coral, ships and more.Fake they might be but some are attractive when arranged properly; so don’toverlook these decorations.

Plastic plants are another option you might want to make use of for yoursaltwater aquarium decorations. You can obtain some good likenesses of marineplants like sagittaria-turtle grass for example so don’t overlook them and usethem to supplement your real plants while they are growing.

Your choice of saltwater aquarium decorations is up to you but there aresome general guidelines to bear in mind when making a choice.

Always make sure that your marine aquarium decorations don’t have any sharpedges on which your fish might cut themselves. Never use any substances (rocks,shells etc) that might give off toxic chemicals into the water. Choose shapesand designs that make suitable hiding places for shy animals and goodsubstrates for the growth of marine plants.

Also make sure that your saltwater aquarium decorations are squeeky cleanwhen you put them into your tank. Never use decorations from a tank where thefish or plants are ill or unhealthy in any way. Make sure that there are nospaces 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’syour tank after all. If you prefer a more elegant style choose natural, ratherthan faux ornaments and study other natural systems and try to copy some ofthese environments in your tank.

You can easily glean this kind of information from books on marine biologyor by doing some research on the World Wide Web. The more you learn the moreaccurate will be the marine world you create and this will make your fish andother invertebrates happy and healthy. The most important thing to remember isto have fun with your marine aquarium decorations.

But don’t forget the health of your marine ecosystem. Try to find the properbalance between the aesthetic value of your tank and the well-being of yourfish. 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 whatthey need to survive, a good cheap online book on everything you need to knowon marine and saltwateraquariums.

Good luck in whatever you choose, and enjoy your saltwater aquariumdecorations.

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER: twitter.com My facebook: facebook.com This video wasshot by: jonrawlinson.com HIRE ME! I’m available for freelance work. Want tolicense this video? Contact me jonrawlinson@gmail.com The music is “Pleasedon’t go” by Barcelona. iTunes: bit.ly Barcelona’s website: www.myspace.comThis was shot at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan. www.kaiyouhaku.comDownload the desktop wallpaper: bit.ly Buy the album Absolutes by Barcelona onthe iTunes store: bit.ly The main tank called the ‘Kuroshio Sea’ holds7500-cubic meters (1981290 gallons) of water and features the world’s secondlargest acrylic glass panel, measuring 8.2 meters by 22.5 meters with athickness of 60 centimeters. Whale sharks and manta rays are kept amongst manyother fish species in the main tank. WE MUST PROTECT OUR OCEANS! This was shotusing a Canon 5DMKII with a 28-135mm lens. You should visit my website:jonrawlinson.com Video Rating: 4 / 5

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