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Saltwater vs. Freshwater aquariums........As for the care and upkeep, is there a difference between
I have always had a freshwater aquarium, so I am experienced plenty with them, but we are debating on getting a large saltwater aquarium. Are they harder to keep up? What about corals? Any information is appreciated.
14 Answers
They are alot harder to maintain but are so much more beautiful to look at. Depending on where you live there are stores that only deal with salt water tanks. They have corals in all different colors and shapes, they will also help you maintain your tank. When you first start it is very confusing with all the different things you need. A good salt water shop will help you with everything even over the phone questions.
To start off, one of the main differences is the price. Salt water fish generally are more expensive than freshwater ones. Also, the aquariums require a lot of extra work, the water must be a certain temperature otherwise the fish may die, and other problems may arise.
A friend of mine used to have a salt water aquarium, the fish were incredible, just beautiful...and each time he went to the store, he would buy a new fish, always a more expensive fish, some cost hundreds of dollars, at times some of the new fish would die because they didn't adjust to the new environment or for whatever reason. In the end, he had to give it up, he couldn't afford to put any more money into his hobby.
Make sure you do your research very very well, speak to the experts at the fish store before you decide.
Good luck.
A friend of mine used to have a salt water aquarium, the fish were incredible, just beautiful...and each time he went to the store, he would buy a new fish, always a more expensive fish, some cost hundreds of dollars, at times some of the new fish would die because they didn't adjust to the new environment or for whatever reason. In the end, he had to give it up, he couldn't afford to put any more money into his hobby.
Make sure you do your research very very well, speak to the experts at the fish store before you decide.
Good luck.
i have a 3oo gallon reef tank now, and i have had freshwater tanks before this.. it is a lot of maintance, time, and ALOT OF MONEY. Everything i have puechased from the tank to the corals, live rock, fish, live sand, equipt. my tab has racked up to nearly $20,000 its def. not a cheap hobby.
And I have to spend an hour atleast every day cleaning the tank and the skimmer & filter making sure all the fish eat and healthy. Its a lot of hard earned work- but def well worth the sight it if you have the Cash and time!!!!
And I have to spend an hour atleast every day cleaning the tank and the skimmer & filter making sure all the fish eat and healthy. Its a lot of hard earned work- but def well worth the sight it if you have the Cash and time!!!!
fresh water is easyer and has an overall low cost.
saltwater is not harder to keep but they cost more and you have to spend more time taking care of them you have to do almost daily water test and adding and changing water takes more time as you have to add salt or just water and you have to test it every time. and if you want to keep coarls you have to but good lights and may need to add chemicals all the time to keep them alive . the key to salt water is time and money money and time and knowing how to care for what you have.
saltwater is not harder to keep but they cost more and you have to spend more time taking care of them you have to do almost daily water test and adding and changing water takes more time as you have to add salt or just water and you have to test it every time. and if you want to keep coarls you have to but good lights and may need to add chemicals all the time to keep them alive . the key to salt water is time and money money and time and knowing how to care for what you have.
Saltwater aquariums are much more difficult to care for. If things start to go wrong in a freshwater tank (high ammonia levels, etc), you have some time to correct them, and they go bad more slowly. If things start to go bad in a saltwater tank, they go downhill much more rapidly, and you're likely to end up with a tank full of dead fish. If you decide to try a saltwater aquarium, make sure to do your homework and follow all directions given to you by professionals EXACTLY.
Setting up a reef tank (which will include live rock, corals and possibly other invertebrates in addition to fish) is complicated but do-able, and will require a certain level of patience, effort and commitment. There's a lot to know and learn before getting into it. This is probably also the most expensive saltwater set up to do in terms of the lighting and equipment you'll need, but perhaps also the most rewarding.
Assuming you are a conscientious and experienced freshwater aquarist, a Fish Only saltwater set up, on the other hand, is, in my opinion, not much harder or expensive than freshwater set ups, especially if going with hardier marine species. With that said, I wouldn't recommend attempting saltwater if one hasn't had much success with freshwater aquariums.
Finally, these are two great links I found worth reading:
http://www.epin…
http://www.epin…
Also check online forums for more info (www.reefcentral.com is a great place to gain knowledge)
Assuming you are a conscientious and experienced freshwater aquarist, a Fish Only saltwater set up, on the other hand, is, in my opinion, not much harder or expensive than freshwater set ups, especially if going with hardier marine species. With that said, I wouldn't recommend attempting saltwater if one hasn't had much success with freshwater aquariums.
Finally, these are two great links I found worth reading:
http://www.epin…
http://www.epin…
Also check online forums for more info (www.reefcentral.com is a great place to gain knowledge)
Minimum start up costs for the smallest tank a beginner should attempt (a 50 gallon) is between $500 and $700, then you start buying fish. The reason for a 50 gallon is that the larger volume of water takes longer to crash (go bad) than a smaller tank.
Here is a site that has very good info on marine start ups:
http://saltaqua…
Check the left side of the page for links to all the topics.
Water quality is the absolute most critical part of a marine tank and testing must be done constantly to maintain it.
The difference between fresh and salt is that fresh water tanks are hard to get up and running but then easy to maintain, where a marine tank is fairly easy to get started, but very difficult and expensive to maintain.
Here is a site that has very good info on marine start ups:
http://saltaqua…
Check the left side of the page for links to all the topics.
Water quality is the absolute most critical part of a marine tank and testing must be done constantly to maintain it.
The difference between fresh and salt is that fresh water tanks are hard to get up and running but then easy to maintain, where a marine tank is fairly easy to get started, but very difficult and expensive to maintain.
its not alot harder in a tank 55 or so and larger, setups are more expensive, a wet/dry and a protein skimmer can set you backa few hundred, DIYing a wet/dryt can be a huge savings. if you want coral you are looking into a big chunk of change, around 1000-1500 for a high light 55g reef, and thats before live stock, for a fish only tank with live rock under 1000 and you should be able to stock it withnthat as well, up keep is not much more difficult. empty the skimmer cup every few days and mix salt. wetwebmedia is a good place to start research. sorry this is really incohernat
I have 22 years experiance in saltwater and 34 years in freshwater.
I will never go back to freshwater (Too dirty, too many diseases...)
I have 3 saltwater tanks running in my home at the moment (1 x 75 gal reef tank, 1x 75gal fish only with live rock and 1x 30gal tall seahorse and pipefish tank)
I set up the seahorse tank for $300 including the lights(good enough for some soft corals)
You can set up a fish only with live rock the same way.
For filtration I use 2" of live sand, 25 pounds of live rock ($3.00 per lb.) and a mix of about 20 small hermit crabs and 20 assorted snails.
I use 1x Maxijet 600 and 1x maxijet 400 to move the water through and around the live rock for Excelent biological filtration.
I also added a Aqua clear 300 with minimum water flow filled with small pieces of live rock and stuffed with Marine plants for coepods to reproduce for the pipefish (refugium)
I bought 99% of this stuff used and from people's houses in my city. (Local classified ads in papers and on the internet)
The maintanance on this tank is a 20% water change every 2 weeks, only because I have to feed the seahorses 3 times a day instead of 1 or 2 times for the fish only tank.
I clear the algae off of the front and sides when needed.
And I add more crabs and snails when needed.
I am looking for a SMALL USED skimmer so I will not have to do the water changes as often.
Larger tanks are better at keeping water quality stable but they also come with a higher price tag to fill with rocks and livestock.
GO FOR IT
THEY are not as hard as most people say.
Do some research and ask some questions on a SALTWATER FORUM like this one.
http://ovas.ca/…
Buy as much used equipment as you can and look for an aquarium CLUB in your city where you may be able to purchase livestock at half the price of a store or even trade equipment and livestock.
Good luck and enjoy
I will never go back to freshwater (Too dirty, too many diseases...)
I have 3 saltwater tanks running in my home at the moment (1 x 75 gal reef tank, 1x 75gal fish only with live rock and 1x 30gal tall seahorse and pipefish tank)
I set up the seahorse tank for $300 including the lights(good enough for some soft corals)
You can set up a fish only with live rock the same way.
For filtration I use 2" of live sand, 25 pounds of live rock ($3.00 per lb.) and a mix of about 20 small hermit crabs and 20 assorted snails.
I use 1x Maxijet 600 and 1x maxijet 400 to move the water through and around the live rock for Excelent biological filtration.
I also added a Aqua clear 300 with minimum water flow filled with small pieces of live rock and stuffed with Marine plants for coepods to reproduce for the pipefish (refugium)
I bought 99% of this stuff used and from people's houses in my city. (Local classified ads in papers and on the internet)
The maintanance on this tank is a 20% water change every 2 weeks, only because I have to feed the seahorses 3 times a day instead of 1 or 2 times for the fish only tank.
I clear the algae off of the front and sides when needed.
And I add more crabs and snails when needed.
I am looking for a SMALL USED skimmer so I will not have to do the water changes as often.
Larger tanks are better at keeping water quality stable but they also come with a higher price tag to fill with rocks and livestock.
GO FOR IT
THEY are not as hard as most people say.
Do some research and ask some questions on a SALTWATER FORUM like this one.
http://ovas.ca/…
Buy as much used equipment as you can and look for an aquarium CLUB in your city where you may be able to purchase livestock at half the price of a store or even trade equipment and livestock.
Good luck and enjoy
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