Newbie: Fresh water or salt? Need the facts

[jcardona]

I am buying a corner All-glass 92 gallon tank. I am a very busy person who have always love the sea. I hear conflicting opinions on how easy or hard is to maintain a salt water tank. I love the colors of Salt water life but know that there are some color in fresh water fish like the ones from Africa.

Need hard facts to make an informed decision before setting up the tank.

Thanks...:confused:

[Amphiprion]

This is a complex question, and working at a LFS, I get it all the time. Here goes: First, it depends on your primary goal for the tank (reef, fish only, invertebrates with some fish, etc) or in the case of freshwater (fish only, lightly planted w/ low tech approach, heavily planted w/ high tech approach). Once again, it boils down to what you want to do with the tank. Reef aquaria, in general, require slightly more maintenance than other saltwater tanks, due to the need for additives, regular lighting replacement, topping off for evaporation, etc. But many of these things can be fully automated as well-which brings me to my next point. Reefkeeping is one of the most expensive aspects of the saltwater hobby-be prepared to spend money. Other SW tanks require less maintenance, usually along the lines of regular water changes, wiping glass, etc and are usually less expensive. Some people feel SW is more difficult and more maintenance, but this still depends on what you do with the tank. Honestly, I spend more money and lots more time on my heavily planted, high tech freshwater tank than my reef. But, when you look at the grand picture, principles are not all that different between the two. Planted tanks require a delicate balancing act, whereas in reefs, you are maximizing nutrient reduction/export. All these maintenance tasks can become tedious-but only if you want it that way (I did). These are just some examples, but if done correctly, I feel that saltwater aquaria are not very much (if at all) more difficult than freshwater.

[sandy,rvt]

I have a fish only marine tank and a fresh water. My marine tank takes up more of my time than my freshwater. I did however have a fish die in my marine tank and it caused an algae bloom that I've been battling for months and is just now improving, I've also dealt with recuring boughts of tang ich and lateral line erosion which is now improving due to diet adjustment and many other potential factors which are difficult to really say since I changed many of my husbandry practices. If you are a busy person and take the learning curve into consideration, go with a freshwater in my opinion, others here with more experience may disagree. Good luck in whichever you choose.

[Agu]

Chiclids from Africa or South America are very colorful. Can't say how hard/easy they are because I gave up on the aggressive little devils quickly. Got tired of wondering which fish would be dead when I came home each day. Obviously I lacked sufficient knowledge :rolleyes: .

Reef tanks properly set up, correctly and modestly stocked, are the easiest aquariums I've ever had. No other aquarium can match the color or beauty of a reef tank.

However you're asking on a reef board. what did you expect me to post :confused: ?

:lol:

Ohh yeah, you wanted facts. With the advancement of the hobby Reef tanks are no harder than any other type of aquarium. There are two qualifiers though. You need to be willing to learn. You need to be willing and able to spend the money to do it right.


jmo,

[Croman]

If you are purchasing a RO/DI don't get it from
aquaticreefsystems.com they will rip you off. LIghts are on nobody home syndrome.

[mrmustard]

If you are going salt water, the question is, "How much money do you have?"

[nm354]

Originally posted by mrmustard
If you are going salt water, the question is, "How much money do you have?"
Its not how much you have but how much you are willing to sacrafice and how much you are willing to spend on a hobby.

[dhnguyen]

It's not neccessarily true that to do a reef tank will require a lot of money. I know a lot of people who have some awesome looking tanks and didn't spend a fortune on them. Many of these using NO flourescent lighting even.

On the flip side, I also know a lot of folks who have poured a ton of cash into their tanks only to end up in failure as well. Buying the most expensive piece of equipment doesn't neccessarily mean it's the best IMO.

So it's not all about how much money you have or are willing to spend. It's more a matter of commitment and patience.




D.

[gbtrain]

I had a cichild tank for around 6 years and I will say they are a very cool tank, with lots of action. In my opion freshwater is less exspensive and easier to maintain. With that said, I went to Saltwater a little over a year ago and have no regrets. Like everyone has said you need to decide what your budget for the aquarium is and what you want to have. Which ever way you decide to go Fresh or salt water, read up on it, get the correct equipment and set it up right. It is a excellant hobby to get into and can be very rewarding. Good luck in which ever you decide to do.

[Equalizer]

I had a cichlid tank a few years ago that required almost no attention. The fish grew like weeds.

On the other hand I've never had a SW tank that needed as little attention as FW.

If you have very little time go with fish only fresh water. JMO

Once you go SW you never go back :)

[Aaron1100us]

For some reason, I can't keep fresh water fish alive for very long. I've only had one loss in my reef aquarium in the past three years. It was a copperband butterfly fish and would only eat frozen brine shrimp which didn't have enough nutrition to keep it alive long. Never had a saltwater fish get sick and I've moved them about 4 times in the past three years. My fresh water fish kept getting ick or fungus and couldn't get rid of it, so I don't have fresh water any more. Salt water does take more time but the whole idea of how everything works and proper ways to set the aquarium up with the live rock, skimmers, using RO water, keeping things stable, using macro algae, proper lighting, proper water flow and all that stuff makes sense and is easy to do.
Know what you want out of your aquarium ie: reef, mixed, fish only, and then buy the proper equipment for what you want. Also, learn about the animals that you want before you purchase them.

[originalozzyo]

The best thing you can do is go and get a introductory book into keeping tropical saltwater fish. It will lay out everything in step by step instructions and more often than not will have have all the do's and don'ts of keeping saltwater. One of the biggest things to doing a saltwater aquarium is don't cheap out at the beginning, be prepared to spend money and do it right the first time. This will save you headaches in the long run.

[brad23]

I had a African tank unitl last weekend. I tore it down and went and am turning it into a reef.

I have a 37g reef right now. Salt is much more maintance than fresh water. I'd leave the African tank for up to 2 months with no water change and they never looked sick or unhealthy. You could feed those things gas and they wouldn't die very hardy. the only deaths i ever had was from aggression. I had them for almost 2 years.

But Salt tanks have so much more color and inverts are so much fun to watch. Very expensive though.

[dhnguyen]

Hmmm.... I haven't changed the water in my salt tanks at least 6 months. Water parameters are still perfectly fine.

Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Alk. 9 dKH
Ca. 400


With proper confirguation and maintenance, you shouldn't need to change your water very often in a satlwater setup IMO.


D.

[jcardona]

Thanks to all the comments in this thread. You are being very helpful. My 92 gal. tank has not arrived yet so I still have time to decide. I've always been more inclined to salt water because I used to dive some years ago. I had to give it up because of my children birth and the time away. I hope to go back one of these days. I really enjoy the colors and the science behind reef life and I'm always amazed about marine life. I will probably start with fresh water and as many of you will end up going all the way into a beautiful reef tank in the future. Keep your comments coming.

Thanks,:strooper:

[TitaniuIVI]

My dad has a 30gal freshwater tank. He works a 9-5 job so has enough spare time to take care of it. I have a 55gal reef. I work strange hours, limited days off, go to school, and try to lead a normal life. My dad makes more money than I do. I am a strugleing college student. With all these things in mind my reef tank is beautiful. I've had no fish losses even when I had a 6 day power outage. My dad on the other hand lost all his fish and has had a bumpy ride. What's the moral of the story? It doesn't matter what you pick. Just make sure you love it and you'll make time, you'll pull money out of strange places, and you'll stay up all night reading stuff on the internet for your fish. All I do to maintain the tank is clean the protein skimmer, feed the fish, and do some test. The same things have to be done on a freshwater tank. My biggest reccomendation is to read, read, read. I spent 1 year with my tank collecting dust in a corner while I started to prepare myself for the fish tank. I even took a marine biology class at school to make sure I knew most aspects of this hobby. Some more tips would be patience!! Don't let anyone hurry you. If you have patience you can do anything. And my last tip is don't listen to the LFS, most of them are just out to sell. Their best friends are ignorant people that go in asking for some nemo fish for their kids freshwater fishbowl. If you educate yourself you shouldn't have any problems with either fresh nor saltwater, but saltwater looks a hell of alot better!

[kau_cinta_ku]

and can't forget the

[welcome]

[TitaniuIVI]

I found some great links for you...

The top 10 things you NEED to start a saltwater aquarium (http://www.epinions.com/content_4341866628)

Going saltwater vs freshwater and common pitfalls to avoid (http://www.epinions.com/content_4447641732)

[Cutiewitbooty]

I used to be really into freshwater, expecially cichlids, like africans. But now that I have had a saltwater tank it makes FW seem plain and boring. I would go saltwater everytime. It's not that hard as long as you get the right equiptment to begin with. Also if you start out with a fish-only tank it is a little eaiser and as long as you stick with reef safe fish u can always upgrade to a reef tank when u lean the ropes.

[dhnguyen]

Once you go salt, you'll never go back as they say :)

D.

[jcardona]

Guys... I'm alrady convinced about going with Salt water. I just bought a Marineland Corner 70 (70 gal.) I need support to get the right equipment to start it up. Pumps, UV, lighting, Mini Reef, etc. I was thinking about starting with fish only but using Coral decorations then as I gain more confidence adding real reef.

I'll appreciate your expert advise on the right equipment configuratyion for my tank (components, brand, cost, links, etc.)

-Javier

[Equalizer]

The best advice I can give is buy as if you are setting up a reef.
Do you like softies or stoneys?

[Steffish]

The best explanation I heard was that fresh water and salt need basically the same maintenance. The only difference is: You tend to be able to get away without doing the things you should do in a freshwater without as severe of consequences as in Salt.
Does that make any sense?:rolleyes:

[wimplefish]

I agree with the once salt, also when I first started and this second time starting people walk by the living room with my wifes 55 gal fresh water with just about everything, they dont even notice but when they see the salt water tank all I get is questions and then them wanting one.
if you go salt remember there is work involved in this hobby and you will get very attached to the fishs and invertabrates

[usmcsgt]

I have a 75 gal african chiclid tank, it almost seems like nothing compared to my 90 reef im working on. In comparison my cichlid tank is maint free compared to my reef. BTW did you order your aquarium with a built in overflow?

[jcardona]

The marineland orner 70 does not come with an overflow. Do I really need one? what is the purpose of it.

I been reading some... I am thinking about getting a Rena XP3 canister filter. Do I need a Skimmer if I am starting with fish only? What type of UV should I use?

At this point I need specific information on models and components. Your help is always appreciated.

:strooper: