fresh or salt

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

ebster

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jan 12, 2005
Messages
37
Location
californa, millvally
If u can list good & bad things about both fresh and salt and if u could have one which one.

Fresh needs coral, but has some nice fish.
Salt way to hard, has great inverts.

I would like salt to much $$$

I now fresh cant have coral but that woudl be cool
 
Try going to the FW and SW general forums. You should find stickies that say "What made you want a FW (or SW) aquarium.

I like FW simply because it is cheaper and easier to maintain.
 
What about a freshwater aquarium with a saltwater theme? (fake anenomes, fake coral, fake live rock. seaweedy looking plants, bright golourful fish or sw resembling fish) you get the picture
 
If you are new to the hobby I would not suggest trying a Saltwater tank to start out with.

Many people begin to loose intrest after a few months. and with salt water tanks, your left with a couple of grand worth of fish and equipment that is slowly dying in your living room. With freshwater, the losses are alot less. (finacially speaking)

also, Saltwater is expotenially (sp?) more difficult to care for than freshwater. It really is a skill of sorts. and the lessons learned from caring for a few freshwater tanks will go far to help you become a successful salt water aquarist.

I had freshwater tanks for 14 years before I attempted my first Salt water tank. And I am very glad I waited. :)
 
the only thing with that is that it isnt very natural for the fish. they often become uncomortable in the wrong surrondings
 
saltwater isn't that hard, IF you take the time to research a little bit, ask questions about stocking, and plan everything out before you ever buy one piece of equipment.
freshwater is just more forgiving if you make a little mistake...and of course is way less expensive to set up.
 
Malkore,

Yeah, but the thing is, your going to make mistakes. Especially when your so young. I know I did.

I overstocked, overfeed, didn't test parameters, never changed the water, never replaced the filter bag. (only rinsed) I put the wrong fish together, I didn't keep the temprature adusted properly, I never topped off, I syphoned my gravel about 4 times a year, I knew nothing about gas extange, I would dump medication into a system full of fish and plants.

And that was my Freshwater tank.
 
The general statements I've heard in my FW research is that freshwater is less expensive but requires more maintenance once 'set up', while saltwater is more expensive and requires less maintenance once 'set up'.

Is this not accurate?
 
no.

not acurate.

In theroy, Saltwater tanks should be able to be a totally enclosed ecosystem that completely takes care of itself. But for probibly 95% of us out there, its more of a constant struggle to keep our system from crashing.

Example: I have been fighting cyano bacteria for several months now. I have researched, researched, researched, for months on end. I make changes, and note the results. then I make another change, take notes.

I adjust the temp, adjust the lighting schedule, adjust my filter media content, adjust my food prep and feeding habits, add more cleanup crew of varying species, add certain chemicals to the tank,etc. etc, etc, and all in small incriments because any big change could throw your system out of whack and cause major distruction.

However, advanced hobbiests who have done it for many, many, years and who know their tanks unique system needs, and who have very large systems, Often have systems that require very little maintance at all... Just regular daily feedings of all fish and corals, clean the glass every other day, sift the sand bed once a week, change 5% of the water a week, dose with chemicals every day. (unless special eqipment does it for you) top off the tank every other day, trim the plants in the fuge back once a week or so, check all parameters once a week, check and clean all equipment every month, and probibly a host of other chores that I do not even know about! :D
 
there is truth to both, saltwater being less maintenence afterwards and then it being more you can get it to basically maintain itself but that requires much more than just the tank and stand. One thing i really like about saltwater is live rock, that stuff is great. basically it is a huge (nice looking) bio-wheel that only serves to rid the system of nitrates rather than possibly producing them further down the line.

the main to a saltwater aquarium is research research research! can't ever get to much knowlege. and looking up on the saltwater forums as well is a great idea. and the big deal with it being harder is just that there are more things you have to keep on top of such as trace elements and additives for inverts and corals ect. and when things go bad they tend to go bad faster.
 
If you are starting out I would definately suggest going with a freshwater tank. Once you feel comfortable with that and your water chemistry is constant and you're not losing any fish, then you should start RESEARCHING saltwater.
Good Luck with your Decision!! :D
 
Back
Top Bottom