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How to Tell if a Fish Tank Can Support Salt Water

by Contributing Writer

Overview

You can make a freshwater aquarium out of just about anything that will hold water. However, saltwater tanks are not quite so straightforward. If you are thinking about creating a saltwater fish tank, make sure you are using the right type of tank, or you could end up killing your fish and even doing thousands of dollars worth of damage to your home.

Step 1

See if your tank is big enough. A small tank (20 gallons or less) cannot adequately maintain a healthy saltwater habitat. As a result, you would have to commit to nearly constant maintenance, which would be very hard on the fish and would likely kill them.
Step 2

Determine the location of your tank. If the tank is going to be in direct sunlight, it cannot support saltwater. Too much algae will grow for the environment to handle, even if you have algae-eating organisms. In addition, the location will need to be easy to access since you will probably have to do lots of monitoring to keep your tank healthy, especially at first. Also, measure the dimensions of any pumping apparatus that you will need to include with the tank to make sure that the paraphernalia also will fit in the allotted space.
Step 3

Make sure your tank can support a hood and lighting structures. Saltwater tanks need heaters, lighting and other machinery that generally goes in the hood on top of the tank. If you cannot get a hood (also called a canopy) to fit your tank, you cannot maintain a saltwater environment in that tank.
Step 4

Be sure that the tank's material fits its size. If you are going to use a tank that holds more than 70 gallons of water, for example, you should use an acrylic tank rather than a glass one. Glass is more likely to fracture and break under extreme water pressure.
Step 5

Make sure your floor can handle the weight of a saltwater tank. Saltwater is much heavier than freshwater. Just because a large freshwater aquarium has been fine in a location does not mean that a saltwater tank will not leave you with a gaping hole in your floor. If you are going big, get some professional advice on how your home will stand up to the change in the water density. Generally, if your floor can support a weight of 1,000 pounds, you should be safe.

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Tape measure
Tape measure
Saltwater aquariums support far fewer fish per cubic inch than freshwater tanks. If you are going to create a saltwater environment, remember that you need a lot of room if you want a lot of fish.
Saltwater aquariums support far fewer fish per cubic inch than freshwater tanks. If you are going to create a saltwater environment, remember that you need a lot of room if you want a lot of fish.