differences between sw and fw

[kathleen55]

okay what are the main differences between sw and fw besides salt of course. any advice or tips help
here are a few questions:
- what is RO/DI
- what are sterilizers and what does it do?
- what do i need that i dont need in my fw aquarium besides salt?
- how many gallons should i start with?
- about how much will a saltwater aquarium cost (besides the fish)
i would love to have a saltwater aquarium in the future but am a complete newbie to saltwater sorry if i asked any ovious questions. thanks for all the help very appreciated!

 

[Fishguy2727]

RO/DI means reverse osmosis and deionized (water). This means everything was filtered out of the water leaving just the water and nothing else (it won't even conduct electricity). This is waht you want to top off evaporation and use to mix your saltwater (using a high quality salt). You want to start with water that is 0 total dissolved solids (TDS), this means there is nothing but water in it. This is what RO/DI is supposed to be (but isn't necessarily). For smaller tanks it may be easier or more cost effective to buy distilled water, which is also 0TDS. Either way investing in a TDS meter (I got mine for under $10 shipped on eBay) is a good idea to double check whatever water source you use.

A UV sterilizer is a type of filter that has a UVC bulb inside of a quartz (glass) tube. Water passes around this glass tube and is exposed to the UVC light. Depending on the flow rate through the UV sterilizer and the wattage (and quality) of the bulb different things will be killed. At a faster rate/lower wattage only algae is killed. At a slower rate and higher wattage other planktonic bacteria will be killed. At the slowest rate and highest wattage even parasites will be killed.

Bigger is better BUT you must stick to what you can afford to do properly. That means if all you can afford to truly do properly is a 20long that is what you should stick with. It is not just the cost of the tank and stand, but the live rock, lighting, salt, protein skimmer, etc. It all adds up.

The natiral saltwater tank uses live rock as 80% of its filtration, the other 20% coming from a refugium and protein skimmer. Some tanks will have more equipement than this (sometimes MUCH more), but this is the basic version.

Good live rock will cost you $8 or more per pound in a shop, $4-8+ shipped online. You should have 1.5 to 2 pounds per gallon (I have 3 pounds per gallon in my tank). If this is expensive there is one way to safely reduce cost and that is to use dry rock as a base rock and buy a few really good pieces of live rock to seed the rest so it will all become good rock eventually. This is one of very few ways to safely cut costs in saltwater.

What fish or corals make you want to do saltwater?

 

[Gti_Leo]

holyyy and i thought the price i paid for LR was alot, i paid 5.99 a pound and it was good quality rock also, i only had a week of cycle

 

[Maya]

Our LFS had some live rock "on sale" for 10.49 per lb. Good advice up there. Some
Ideas on other costs.... Salt can cost anywhere from $50- $150 per bucket here in Ohio. The RODI unit we bought on eBay was $120. The waste is about 2.5 to 1 though so for every gallon of RO water 2-3 gallons of water go down the drain (or on my flower beds if I feel like it). Our electric bill also went up about 45- 50 dollars a month with all the lighting and pumps for coral. Lighting for coral is one of the bigger costs in SW and it can run as high as you are willing to let it. A good protein skimmer can be found anywhere from $100+. Bigger tanks are more expensive but "easier" to maintain as far as water quality.

 

[kathleen55]

RO/DI means reverse osmosis and deionized (water). This means everything was filtered out of the water leaving just the water and nothing else (it won't even conduct electricity). This is waht you want to top off evaporation and use to mix your saltwater (using a high quality salt). You want to start with water that is 0 total dissolved solids (TDS), this means there is nothing but water in it. This is what RO/DI is supposed to be (but isn't necessarily). For smaller tanks it may be easier or more cost effective to buy distilled water, which is also 0TDS. Either way investing in a TDS meter (I got mine for under $10 shipped on eBay) is a good idea to double check whatever water source you use.

A UV sterilizer is a type of filter that has a UVC bulb inside of a quartz (glass) tube. Water passes around this glass tube and is exposed to the UVC light. Depending on the flow rate through the UV sterilizer and the wattage (and quality) of the bulb different things will be killed. At a faster rate/lower wattage only algae is killed. At a slower rate and higher wattage other planktonic bacteria will be killed. At the slowest rate and highest wattage even parasites will be killed.

Bigger is better BUT you must stick to what you can afford to do properly. That means if all you can afford to truly do properly is a 20long that is what you should stick with. It is not just the cost of the tank and stand, but the live rock, lighting, salt, protein skimmer, etc. It all adds up.

The natiral saltwater tank uses live rock as 80% of its filtration, the other 20% coming from a refugium and protein skimmer. Some tanks will have more equipement than this (sometimes MUCH more), but this is the basic version.

Good live rock will cost you $8 or more per pound in a shop, $4-8+ shipped online. You should have 1.5 to 2 pounds per gallon (I have 3 pounds per gallon in my tank). If this is expensive there is one way to safely reduce cost and that is to use dry rock as a base rock and buy a few really good pieces of live rock to seed the rest so it will all become good rock eventually. This is one of very few ways to safely cut costs in saltwater.

What fish or corals make you want to do saltwater?

wow thanks so much that really helped. i would love to have a citrus goby or any type of goby. i feel in love with them the moment i saw them. i also love the green chromis and i like hermit crabs too. for corals i really like the mermaids shot glass but i know that is hard to take care. i also like mushroom coral and acropora tortousa

 

[Sarcothelia]

Same here Leo, I was wondering if $6 a pound was a bit high for some rocks, but if there are people paying $8 a pound from their LFS I think I can manage. Not to mention they don't do a very good job of taking whatever harvestable corals off of the rocks .

I don't even buy corals anymore, I just sift through their tank of live rock and look for the ones with the most polyps lol.

But yea, sw is a lot more expensive than fw. Even if you go bare minimum, just a FOWLR, you'll have to worry about a RO/DI filter, salt mix, filter media. If you think about reefs then lighting is very important, and most fixtures for a 20g capable of sustaining corals are $150-$400

 

[Gti_Leo]

i just bought a fixture off e bay 4x24 watts with slr for $110, its bright as crap and surprised even me. its as bright as a 250watt MH

 

[Sarcothelia]

Wow . 10k PC lighting or what? I didn't think you could get a 4 bulb fixture for ~$100

It probably would be around 150 bucks retail though, ebay is pretty cheap.

 

[Gti_Leo]

its a T5HO look at my thread called "its here its here"

 

[Sarcothelia]

I will...sounds like a good fixture for a smaller tank.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Depending on the type of rock some stuff in stores can be $15/lb or more. The best value live rock I have seen was from a customer who got gulf rock shipped submerged for something like $5-6/lb and it still had brain corals and gorgonians growing on it.

What kind of budget are you thinking of?

There are three main stages to a sw tank. First is the basic setup which includes everything to get the tank wet and running (tank, stand, salt mix, pumps, etc.). The second stage is live rock. Get it all in and let the tank cycle and the rock cure. The lighting should be added when the rock is cured and the tank is cycled. The last stage is actually stocking it. The good thing about this stage is that it is only as expensive as you want it to be. If you only want fish that are $30 or less and only want corals from the $10 section that is all you have to spend. If finances get tight and you can't add anything for a while, no problem. The other good part is depending on tank size, how things are going, etc. this stage can last years. You can be three years into the tank and still find neat things to add (cool new corals, porcelain crabs, etc.). With only fish you will be stocked in a few months. With corals it could take years. Even if you fill up you can swap corals or bring them into the shop for some credit towards new ones.

My favorite corals are:
-Pink Xenia (aka white pompom Xenia): I like this one because it is shorter and fuller than regular Xenia, is almost impossible to get it to stop pumping (regular Xenia may stop pumping and won't start back up again), has a better color, isn't as prolific, and still improves water quality.

-Zoanthids and Mushrooms: Are hardy, colorful, do not require feeding, have a neutral to positive impact on water quality, and do not require bright lighting (but do look better under brighter lighting).
-Euphyllia spp. (I prefer frogspawn): these are an LPS (large polyped srony coral) so are more demanding than those previously mentioned because they require proper calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels in the water. They are pretty hardy for LPS though. The only downsize is that they do have a strong sting so should not be within reach of other corals (including the night time reach of their stinging tentacles).

-Montipora spp.: An SPS (Small polyped stony coral), but a hardy one and can do well under conditions that could not support more demanding SPS (like Acropora spp.). They come in many colors and combinations and can do very well, even growing on the glass. They can be $10 for a good size colony, or $100 or more for one smaller than a dime.

 

[kathleen55]

wow thanks so much! right now i cant afford a sw tank. i didnt think it was so much more expensive heh my budget is about 100 bucks. im only 14 so maybe in the future for now ill stick with freshwater thanks for all the help the coral pics are beautiful!

 

[Sarcothelia]

Those are some nice pictures. I have a bunch of softies that look like that sps you showed last, Sarcothelia Edmondsoni. Minus the CaCO3 skeleton of course

 

[Fishguy2727]

-Clams (Tridacnid spp.): These are some of the most demanding things you can put in your tank (although not actually corals). The require a lot of light, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium. But have a posotive impact on water quality and their colors are simply unbelievable. Not for a beginner, but if you get to the point where you and your tank are ready for them they are more than worth it.

-Birdsnest corals: a branching SPS, similar to Acropora spp. but less demanding. They are usually seen in pink and green. They grow well and can be a great coral that looks similar to acros without the being as demanding.

Here are some pics of zoanthids and mushrooms:

 

[Gti_Leo]

yeah hte monties resemble some mushroom corals, but they require alot more light