May 28, 2013, 22:57

Comparing marine and freshwater aquariums, we will identify some of the most significant differences. First of all, this concerns the cost of maintenance, as well as the peculiarities of caring for both the aquarium itself and its inhabitants.

This article is intended specifically for those who are at a crossroads: what to choose? So, let's begin.

Types of aquariums

Speaking about freshwater aquariums, we often hear: aquariums for African and American cichlids, pseudo-marine aquariums, planted, for show fish and many, many others. Naturally, marine aquariums have their own varieties. They are, however, not so numerous. There are three main types of marine aquariums: fish-only, fish and live rock, and reef aquariums. Naturally, the cost of their purchase and maintenance is also different. Fish-only tanks are the cheapest, followed by fish and live rock tanks, and finally the champions, reef tanks, which are expensive to maintain. It should be noted that today an increasing number of people are inclined to use sumps for marine aquariums, since they have a number of undeniable advantages.

aquarium installation cost

Let's start with the prices for the purchase of an aquarium and the necessary equipment. To keep things simple, we'll look at fish-only tanks and reef tanks filled with corals and invertebrates. Before you is a list of equipment necessary for the functioning of a freshwater aquarium. Please note that prices are approximate and we used a 300 liter furnished aquarium. European brands were taken as a basis: Eheim, Deltec, Aqua Medic, Tunze, etc.

Freshwater aquarium for keeping African cichlids		Marine aquarium with live rocks		reef aquarium
Aquarium				Aquarium with overflow shaft and comb
		coral sand		coral sand
SJO Canister (external) filter, thermostat, compressor		lifting pump		lifting pump
Lighting T8 2pcs
Test set		Auto-topping system including: storage tank and pump		Auto-topping system including: osmosis, storage tank and pump
Inventory		Inventory		Inventory
Volumetric background		Pump currents2pcs		Controlled flow pumps including controller
Approximate cost		Lighting T5 4pcs		Metallic lamp T5 including T5 2pcs and "moon"
		SAMP + pvc fittings		SAMP + pvc fittings
		Living stones 40kg		Living stones 70kg
		Approximate cost		BP source
				Relay programmable
				Approximate cost

As you can see, saltwater aquariums require additional aquarium tests and some equipment not needed for a freshwater aquarium. You will need to purchase a good skimmer and good quality live rock. Living stones are a kind of biological filter, and buying them will save you from having to get an additional filter. The skimmer, in turn, will help dissolve the waste. The external filter must be cleaned regularly, otherwise it can become a source of nitrates. For its part, the skimmer will help remove organic waste from the water.

I would advise beginners to immediately purchase live stones. They actually have a lot of benefits. They look great, are a natural biological filter, in addition, some fish like to eat them, live inside, or hide behind them from prying eyes. And this is not a complete list of the advantages of living stones, there are others. Yes, and keeping a marine aquarium is much easier with these wonderful pebbles. In a nutshell about living stone

It is easier to change the water in a freshwater aquarium

Regular partial water changes in a freshwater aquarium are slightly different from the same process in a saltwater aquarium. Freshwater aquarium owners typically drain some water (say 10%) using a special hose and then top up with dechlorinated tap water or filtered water. If you carry out this procedure regularly, the condition of the aquarium will be excellent. Marine aquarium owners, on the other hand, cannot use a hose, since sea water must be mixed long before it is poured into the aquarium. To do this, you will have to use a bucket or a special storage tank, which can be placed directly in the aquarium cabinet.

Saltwater fish are generally more expensive than freshwater fish.

The first time you look into a pet store with marine fish, you can experience a real shock when you see the price tags. With the exception of the more common species, such as green chromis and other small pomaceous species, most fish cost $50 or more. Prices for marine invertebrates are also not weak, especially for those who live far from the coast, because the price includes transportation costs.

When buying, put the fish in a quarantine aquarium!

Huge selection of invertebrates

It feels like the number of marine invertebrates is completely unlimited. Of course, the owners of freshwater aquariums have a large enough choice, but it cannot be compared with the marine world. Just walk into a pet store, say whatever you want, and chances are the species you choose will be in stock, ranging from corals, clams, shrimp and worms, to starfish. It seems that the number of available marine invertebrate species is constantly increasing.

Marine fish have amazing colors

Of course, among freshwater fish there are very bright species, such as fighting fish, neon tetras, discus and others, but the marine world provides us with an incomparable variety of colors, the sight of some marine representatives is simply breathtaking. Consider that you have never seen yellow unless you have seen a flock of yellow zebras swiftly cut through the waters of an aquarium or gracefully swim among the reefs!

Briefly

So, the content of marine fish is more expensive and they require careful care. However, if a balance is found, care becomes much easier, and living stones make life much easier. In freshwater aquariums, a similar filtering function (but with less efficiency) is performed by living plants. If you have been into freshwater aquariums for some time now, the transition to saltwater aquariums will not be too difficult. If you have money, desire, and, most importantly, enough fortitude to take up the study of the marine world and its features, do not even hesitate! Buy a marine aquarium and soon you won't even be able to imagine how you lived without it before.
Good luck!

Fresh and sea water are sisters, but there are quite definite differences between them. Let's start with the fact that each of them has its own mission and role on our planet. Fresh reserves make up 2.5% of the total world resources - all the rest are in the bowels of the Earth. Since the need for drinking fresh water is only increasing every year, mass desalination of salty sea sources has been started. At the same time, both waters are close and are, in fact, different sides of the same phenomenon, Yang and Yin.

It is interesting that Cousteau, during his next sea voyage, discovered the border between these two sources - it runs very clearly off the coast of the Strait of Gibraltar at the junction with the Mediterranean Sea. The sea has a certain temperature, flora, fauna and composition. An interesting fact: sea and fresh water never mix, mainly due to the difference in density - a liter of ocean liquid is heavier than a liter of fresh water by about 25 g. This is not strange, since it contains a whole set of trace elements that add weight to salty liquid compared to not salty. Using special filters, these impurities can be separated.

To obtain fresh drinking water from salty sea water, the following methods can be used:

1. Chemical - chemicals are introduced into the salty liquid, which, when they react with salts, begin to precipitate. The main disadvantage of this method is the high cost, distillation, and a long toxic process. The chemical method involves the use of distillers, distillation, evaporation and separation of liquids of different composition. In this case, the yield of demineralized water is maximized.
2. Ionic - the desalinated liquid is passed through filters in which the exchange of water ions with the ion exchanger takes place. This method allows not only to desalinate the liquid, but also to obtain valuable minerals from it. The profitability of the process depends on the salt content in the water (and it can be different).
3. Reverse osmosis - in this case, water is forced through a thin membrane (only a pure water molecule passes through the membrane, and impurities are retained). The advantages of the technique are minimal energy consumption, simplicity and compactness of the design, the ability to perform the process fully automatically.
4. Freezing - ice from sea water turns out ... fresh. After the salt liquid is frozen, the ice is separated, washed and melted. The method is highly complex and costly, so it is used quite rarely. How to choose the right cleaning method? To do this, you need to know the indicator of heavy water and start from it, since an increased content of deuterium is very unhealthy and contributes to a change in the basic properties of water.

So far, the most efficient and at the same time low-cost desalination plant does not exist, but in the near future, we hope, this solution will be invented. Fresh water resources are constantly depleted, and the need for them is increasing - therefore, the task of creating an innovative desalination plant is very acute.

The use of high-quality drinking water in sufficient volumes is the key to health and well-being. If you don't drink enough, over time you may encounter a variety of problems. We advise you to purchase a dispenser for bottled water and order clean drinking water from mountain springs.

Dear readers, hello! We all know perfectly well that salt is an indispensable seasoning for cooking various dishes. It reacts very quickly to the receptors of the tongue and creates a richness of taste. In shops and supermarkets, we are offered a large selection of types of this product, among which the most popular is cooking and sea. Recently, we are increasingly hearing that it is better to use sea salt instead of table salt. Let's try to figure out how they differ from each other.

How is sea salt different from table salt?

For more than 4,000 years, people have been extracting sea salt from the sea, which is obtained by evaporating water under the influence of wind and sun, i.e. through natural climatic conditions.

According to the type of origin, edible table salt is divided into boiling, stone, cage and self-planting.

Stone is a crushed mineral halite, which is mined in salt mines and quarries.

Vyvarochnaya - small and snow-white. It is obtained from the halite of lake water or water passed through salt layers. Then they are processed: evaporated, cleaned of impurities, bleached and substances are added that prevent the absorption of moisture, which prevents it from caking. And it should be noted that these additives are not at all harmless to human health.

Seed water is obtained by artificial evaporation of lake salt water or sea water, and self-planting is salt that has settled to the bottom of salt lakes.

Both salts contain NaCl. Only the chemical composition of sea salt, in addition to sodium chloride, includes a large number of macro- and microelements. This is due to the fact that it is obtained from sea water, which contains many minerals. The main ones are potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, bromine, iodine and others (more than 40 types) that the human body needs. In certain proportions, all these minerals help boost immunity, improve digestion, normalize blood pressure and heart muscle function, and relieve stress.

In turn, table salt, having gone through a multi-stage chemical purification process, contains only pure NaCl (up to 99%) and is characterized by a complete absence of useful substances.

Of course, sodium chlorite plays an important role in the body. This mineral is involved in the formation of hydrochloric acid, which is necessary for the stomach to activate digestive enzymes. Sodium chloride is one of the electrolytes that serve for the full functioning of the body.

In order to maintain the water-salt balance, sodium and chlorine ions must be contained in a certain amount. The norm of consumption is 5 grams of salt per day (one teaspoon), taking into account all the products in which it is contained.

With excessive salt intake, the body's need for water increases. Salt, containing practically only NaCl, has the ability to retain fluid, which contributes to the formation of edema and increased blood pressure. In addition, there is a load on the heart and kidneys.

Sea salt contains potassium salts. Potassium displaces sodium and reduces swelling. Potassium is an indispensable trace element of our body, without which the functioning of all cells is impossible.

Especially sea salt is rich in iodine content. It is present in it from its very nature. This element is necessary for the thyroid gland, which controls all the metabolic processes of our body, and it is also useful for pregnant women for the normal development of the fetus. Salt does not contain iodine.

Recently, iodine deficiency has been observed in people in the body. According to statistics, 35% of Russians suffer from this problem. Therefore, table salt began to be made iodized. Previously, potassium iodite was used for this, but this compound was fragile and two weeks after the product was packaged, the iodine evaporated. Since 1998, potassium iodate has been used, which made it possible to significantly increase the period of content of this element in the product up to a year. It should be noted that potassium iodate is a strong oxidizing agent and has increased toxicity compared to potassium iodite. Sea salt has no expiration date.

There is another distinctive feature. Sea salt has a more pronounced salty taste than regular salt. Therefore, when cooking, it is used in smaller quantities.

In addition, I suggest watching this interesting video.

Good health to you!

The unique properties of sea salt

It is believed that hand-harvested natural sun-dried sea salt is almost a panacea, a symbol of life and health. And this is no coincidence. Biologists have proven that sea water, called the "mother solution", is able to restore the hydroelectrolytic balance, in violation of which the immune system fails, allergies appear, and other health problems arise. In addition, under the influence of sea salt, regenerative processes in tissues are activated, skin elasticity increases.

Sea water has anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, analgesic and resolving effects. Baths with sea salt relieve pain in diseases of the musculoskeletal system, radiculitis and polyarthritis. Salt also stimulates metabolic processes in our body. This is largely due to its chemical composition.
In countries where it is customary to use natural sea salt in food, significantly fewer people suffer from heart disease and arthritis.
Sea bathing also has a positive effect on our psychological state: mood improves significantly, stress and fatigue go away, sleep is restored, etc.

What is the difference between sea salt and regular salt?

At first glance, sea salt is not much different from regular table salt. It also contains sodium chloride and tastes salty too. However, two huge differences that make sea salt preferable to table salt do exist.
1. Sea salt, in addition to sodium chloride, contains more than 80 minerals, including potassium, which is an indispensable element for our body. In addition, iodine is present in large quantities in sea salt, which is especially necessary for pregnant women to give birth to healthy children. Sea salt is not processed in any way. Therefore, it tastes better. And, according to recent studies, it contains a small amount of rare gases that are released when salt and water interact, giving dishes a wonderful flavor.
2. Sea salt carries living energy, unlike table salt. Everyone knows that before getting to our table, ordinary salt, the raw material for which is rock salt, undergoes careful processing. It is cleaned and brightened with chemical bleaches and under the influence of high temperatures. Often, salt is evaporated from salty water deposits, as a result of which the primordial crystalline structure of the substance is disturbed. Sea salt is practically unprocessed. It is harvested by hand from the salt lagoons, where it is naturally evaporated from the sea water. That is why sea salt often has a grayish, or even black (with volcanic ash) or reddish (with red clay particles) color. It fully retains its natural structure and its healing properties.

Thus, by making a bath with sea (live) salt, you get a composition that is life-giving and incredibly beneficial for our body. A bath with table (dead) salt is only a saline solution containing mainly sodium chloride.

The chemical composition of sea salt

The basis of sea salt is sodium chloride, but unlike rock salt, it also includes a natural complex of biologically active macroelements and microelements. At the same time, sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, as well as iron, lithium, chromium, manganese, copper, etc. are in a perfectly balanced ratio. Often in the composition of sea salt you can find particles of clay, algae and even volcanic ash. Sea salt gets some bitterness due to the fact that it contains magnesium chloride and magnesium sulfate.

The mineral substances found in sea water are in the form of ions, and therefore it is essentially a weak ionized solution, which is characterized by high electrical conductivity and slightly alkaline reaction. And all ionized solutions have anti-inflammatory, anti-edematous, immunostimulating and antioxidant effects. They help with hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and many other diseases.

Sea salt solution irritates our skin, resulting in improved blood circulation, increased division of skin cells, and therefore, faster healing of damaged integuments.
Of course, staying on the sea coast is much more effective in terms of healing the body than using sea salt at home. Since even the air near the sea has healing properties, containing the so-called air vitamins: negatively charged air ions, oxygen, volatile phytoncides. However, by choosing the right salt and medical procedures with it, you can experience its healing properties for yourself.

Our planet is called blue for a reason. In photographs from space, it is indeed blue. And all because three-quarters of its surface is covered with water - 361 million square meters. km is covered by the World Ocean - part of the water shell of the planet's hydrosphere. The hydrosphere is oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps and even small springs. Everything is clear with rivers and lakes, but what is the difference between the sea and the ocean, do we swim in the sea or still in the ocean? Even the father of a third-grader can be puzzled by the question. Is the sea different from the ocean? Let's figure it out.

What are we talking about?

Everyone studied geography at school and remember that the World Ocean is divided into five oceans:

• Quiet or Veliky is the largest and oldest, its area is 178.6 million square meters. km;
• Atlantic - 92 million sq. km;
• Indian (ocean of ancient civilizations) - 76 million sq. km);
• Arctic - 15 million sq. km);
• Southern, about the boundaries of which scientists are still arguing - 86 million square meters. km).

With the oceans, what about the seas? What is the difference between the sea and the ocean, the photo below will not explain. Official geography reports that there are ninety seas on our planet, but disputes in scientific circles do not subside, and different numbers can be found in different sources. If experts argue, how can the layman understand?

The boundaries of the seas and oceans

By definition, an ocean is a body of water between continents. The sea is considered to be isolated water masses (land, islands, underwater ridges, etc.). The boundaries of the seas are often conditional, and on this basis, the seas are marginal (oceanic), interisland and closed (inland). With the boundaries of the second and third is more or less clear. But oceanic? These are the seas that are part of the ocean. Logical conclusion: the sea is smaller than the ocean. What is the difference between a sea and an ocean other than size?

Water and ecosystem indicators

What distinguishes the sea from the ocean is the chemical composition of the water. Oceanic seas differ from oceans in their special flow regime. The water in the sea, due to inflow from fresh water, is almost always less saline than in the ocean. Accordingly, its own ecosystem is created with its own flora and fauna. Although there is an exception - the Barents Sea. It has the most salty water, the percentage of salt in its water is 35%.

bottom quality

For oceanologists, the main thing in the question of how the sea differs from the ocean lies in the nature of the bottom surface. Oceans are characterized by the presence of oceanic crust. The bottom of the seas is always a shelf or slope of the continents, which repeats the geological structure of the mainland land. Exceptions are the Philippine and Sargasso Seas. These two bodies of water do not have land boundaries, they are located in the middle of the ocean and are separated from the waters of the ocean by underwater ridges.

Depth

Most seas are shallower than oceans. This is understandable, because they occupy the coastal zone of the continents. However, the "bottom" of the Earth - the Mariana Trench - is located in the Philippine Sea in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This is a tectonic fault, the depth of which, according to 2009 data, is 10,902 meters below sea level, the maximum depth to which the Nereus underwater unmanned vehicle could then descend. The only apparatus in the world capable of withstanding pressure of 6,000 pascals at such a depth belongs to the American company WHO. By the way, the highest mountain on the planet, Everest, can easily fit in this hollow, and even with a margin of approximately one kilometer.

But even here there are exceptions. For example, the shallowest sea is the Sea of ​​Azov. Its greatest depth is only 18 meters, the height of a six-story building. And it is also the most continental, which means that it is located very far from ocean waters. That is why it is one of the warmest.

Current differences

The difference between the ocean and the sea is in the quantity and quality of the currents. In the ocean there are surface warm and cold currents of water masses. They can find each other, intersect. The sea is characterized by the presence of one, either warm or cold current, with a clear route.

Waves of the seas and oceans

Everyone who has rested on the sea or the ocean has seen the waves and understands how the sea differs from the ocean. In the ocean, the waves are much larger. There is no calm on ocean beaches. And all because the wave in the ocean is not limited to the coastal zone and can gain great power. And if the ocean wave does not break on coral reefs near the coast, then this is where the paradise for surfers is located. The latest world record was set by American surfer Garret McNamara, who conquered a 34-meter high wave off the coast of Portugal in Nazar Bay, which is recognized as the generator of the highest waves not only in the Atlantic.

little confusion

Throughout the development of civilization, man has been in close contact with the coast of the water surface. And in the process of the development of navigation, when there was no oceanology yet, many water areas were given names that did not correspond to their geographical status. For example, the Mediterranean Sea includes the Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Adriatic, Balearic, Alboran, Cypriot, Levantine, Legurian Seas, although modern science considers them to be bays of the Mediterranean.

The Caspian and the Dead, which are large salt lakes, have also been named seas. But the Persian Gulf is the sea of ​​​​the Indian Ocean, and the Mexican - the Atlantic.

Afterword

So, what will dad answer to a third grader when he asks how the sea differs from the ocean? Briefly, the answer may sound like this: apart from the size and pronounced restrictive boundaries, salinity of water and the composition of flora and fauna, the presence of various kinds of currents and geological features of the bottom, in general, almost nothing. Although swimming in ocean waters is always more dangerous than in more peaceful sea waters.