How a Marine Aquarium is Built - a Simple Description​

My goal is to show you the construction of a marine aquarium at its simplest and explain how it works, based on the most popular aquarium model used in marine aquaristics. My idea is that after reading this article you will understand what it is all about. The article is dedicated to people who are thinking about setting up a marine aquarium.

Building a marine aquarium on a base level:

1. Glass or acrylic aquarium (glass is most common).
2. Rack or cabinet on which the aquarium stands
3. Sump – a technical aquarium in which the water is filtered and heated. We keep all technical equipment in this aquarium so that there is as little of it as possible in the main tank.
4. Overflow into which the aquarium water flows
5. The overflow piping, through which the water from the overflow gets into the sump. One pipe is the primary overflow and the other pipe is an emergency overflow to prevent the aquarium water from overflowing.
6. A base pump, which pumps the water back into the aquarium.

With elements 1-6 we will create a so-called water circulation system. These are the basic elements in building a marine aquarium.

To this set we will have to add lighting (8), skimmer (7), circulators (9) and heater (10), thanks to which our basic set of aquarium equipment will be complete.