How much harder is saltwater vs fresh

[Matman1110]

Ive had a freshwater tank for about 2 years now and am thinking of making the switch. Money is not an issue right now for me.

Just want to know what more you have to do in terms of maintenance when keeping a saltwater tank.

Also would you advise against a reef setup for a beginner?

If not what are the complications and maintenance duties of a reef tank?

I am either planning on converting my 47 gallon column tank to saltwater, or buying a new tank thats no more than 30 gallons.

Thanks in advance

 

[slitherbomb]

For me, it's not really much harder. The only daily maintenance I do is add top off water to my tanks, to maintain a stable salinity.

 

[Bige]

Honestly, now that I do sw I have more trouble with fw.

 

[mr_X]

i would not go with the column tank. you want a tank with the largest footprint as possible for a reef. if it's no more than 30 gallons, i would do a 30 breeder.
reef tanks are a bit more work than just a salt tank, but the difference between salt and fresh is the salt.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Honestly I would a three foot 50 gallon tank. It will give you a great 36x18 footprint but still be in your general range. I agree with the breeder tank to give you the 18" width, but I think a 30breeder would be too short to work with.

The difference is that sw requires a little more precise planning, but runs a lot easier and more stable. SW is a more complete system, it is better balanced than FW. Most people enjoy the planning and researching all the options (how to setup filtration, which skimmer to use, how to setup a sump, etc.).

 

[carey]

I find my FW tanks run themselves. As far as my altwater setups, the hardest ones or most time consuming are the smaller tanks. After Igot my 125g reef all up and running its pretty much doing what it needs to do with just me doing water changes. Finally got my nitrtates down to 0 in it yesterday.

The smaller the tank the more work invloved in my opinion. Any swings can wreak havoc and it's alot easier to overstock a smaller tank and have parameter issues.

just my opinion, but my tanks run the gamut from 4g to 125g. I spent more time on my 4g than the 125g. lol

 

[mr_X]

a 30 breeder is easy as pie to light!

 

[Rutrag]

As Mr. X said, you want a tank that has as large of a foot print as possible.

As far as whether or not it's harder, that's more a function of your personality than the animals or the tank. You cannot rush things and you are likely to be looking at an unstocked tank for anywhere from a week to six weeks while the bacteria bed establishes itself. This is where I found that most people lose control, stock too soon or stock with aggressive fish (i.e. damsels) and end up hosing themselves.

You cannot stock a saltwater tank as heavily as you can a freshwater tank.

Generally speaking, the animals in a saltwater tank are more expensive than their freshwater counterparts, so you tend to feel a loss in your wallet a loit harder. You will of course have to spend money on salt. If you do not invest in an RO/DI unit or but RO/DI water, you are likely to spend a lot of time fighting cyanobacteria, which most of us will tell you is absolutely no fun at all.

If you want to go reef, then you will also need to invest in a good lighting system. Than single bulb fluorescent that came with the tank isn't going to do much good for any photsynthetic corals or anemones. I think this is the single most expensive startup cost in a reef tank.

I have been able to get away without running any tests on my freshwater tanks for years. (I'll admit here that I am not keeping any sensitve species.) However, you will want to invest in at least pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate kits, along with a hydrometer or better yet a refractometer. Saltwater animals are not as forgiving of fluctuations as freshwater fish. If you don't keep an eye on the parameters, by the time you decide something's wrong, you're way behind the 8 ball.

In summary, I don't think it's hard, but it will cost you more in terms of maintenance, and likely in initial startup as well. I'd also advise that before you take the plunge, you get some advice from forum members regarding what you specifically want to do with your saltwater tank regarding size of tank required, compatibility, etc. You don't want to go theough the work of gettign everything up and going to find out that you're unlikely keep that clown trigger with a mandarin dragonet successfully. Let us know where you want to go, and we'll help you get there.

 

[joy13]

The biggest difference to me is taking it slower doing a saltwater tank, some animals need to have an established tank before you can add them. The larger the tank the less maintenance a couple of things that I wouldn't do without is a refractometer, test kit, and an ATO {it is easier to keep it stable).

One thing to think about when choosing the size of tank pick your fish out first then decide if they will work in your tank.

 

[Matman1110]

i would not go with the column tank. you want a tank with the largest footprint as possible for a reef. if it's no more than 30 gallons, i would do a 30 breeder.
reef tanks are a bit more work than just a salt tank, but the difference between salt and fresh is the salt.

If i were to do just a salt tank (no reef), would the column tank be ok?

 

[carey]

You stillrun into the footprint issue. I started with a hex and there is only so much room on the bottom for rock and stuff. Alot of sw fish are perchers and sandbed dwellers so you'd be limited. If thats what you got though and can't go with a different type of tank then I say give it a try. Before long you will probably want another tank with better dimensions. lol

 

[Matman1110]

You stillrun into the footprint issue. I started with a hex and there is only so much room on the bottom for rock and stuff. Alot of sw fish are perchers and sandbed dwellers so you'd be limited. If thats what you got though and can't go with a different type of tank then I say give it a try. Before long you will probably want another tank with better dimensions. lol

It seems like this column tank is good for nothing. Im debating on selling it and just buying a new 55 or 75 gallon. Did you say that the bigger the tank the less work you have to do?

 

[carey]

The bigger the tank the easier it is to keep parameters level since you are dealing with more water volume. You still have to do water changes and maintain it the same as you would the smaller tank but if something goes out of whack theres a better chance in a bigger tank of catching it and fixing it.


Petco might still have their $1 a gallon sale going on, so $55 for a 55 is a great deal. But if you have the room and money a 75 would be even better suited. You get an extra 6 inches from front to back which gives you soo much more room for rock, coral and fish. Both the 55 and the 75 are the same length, 4 feet. The only difference I believe is that 18" from front to back.

The column tank I had didn't work out too well for me with freshwater even, I ended up giving it to a friend. I knew within 2 weeks that it wasnt gonna cut it. lol I went to a 55g from that with FW.

My first sw tank was a 29g which worked really well for a couple months until I needed more room for corals and fish. Then I went to a 55g which was a nice upgrade but if I had to do it again I would have just started with a 75. That extra 6 inches is a god send! LOL

Good luck in deciding, let us know what you end up doing.