What can all you salties tell me about saltwater?

[Judge92]

So, I'm completely new to fish (just this year and only a few months) and only freshwater, but I've been thinking of getting a small (maybe like 10g?) tank. I thought it would be freshwater and didn't even think about saltwater!

SOO

What can all you salties tell me about saltwater? Where would I start? Tell me everything possible because I don't know the questions! lol

 

[Fishguy2727]

Start with a dummies/complete idiots or beginners handbook on the subject, then start asking.

 

[abdhalim2]

Start with a dummies/complete idiots or beginners handbook on the subject, then start asking.

+1..good advice...

hye there....
im here also a newbie in this SW hobby...to be honest, im doing my reading and research for 3-4 months (still need to learn..LoL)before buying those stuffs...luckily, i found this sites from Mr Google...what can i say, reading and research can save your pocket money....

 

[Judge92]

That's why I'm asking now...
I'm not planning on getting anything like tomorrow. I'm just interested. But if you don't want to give any advice thanks anyways.

 

[Fishguy2727]

You are literally asking for many books worth of information, we are recommending those books.

 

[Judge92]

thanks for the names

 

[pat8you]

I would start out with the articles section on this forum. There are a few good articles that will get you started on equipment and cycling and all that.

A lot of the pricipals of keeping a tank will transfer over from freshwater. It is a little more complicated keeping an eye on your levels but nothing you can't handle if you are interested in salt.

I would warn you that most saltwater tanks are larger in general that freshwater because the more water volume you have the easier it is to keep your tank parameters stable. If you are looking to stay small for your first tank to try your hand at SW i would suggest the 30 gallon range. There are a few biocube tanks that are in that size. The larger the better though. If you can afford/have space for a 75 i think this is a perfect place to start.

The upfront cost of SW is quite expensive depending on what you want to do with the tank and how willing to DIY you are. There are a few things like buying base rock instead of live rock, and making your own sump instead of buying one that will cut down your start up cost by a ton.

I believe liveaquaria.com has an articles section as well with some basic information that is good for beginners as well. I would not take all their information as fact since they are still trying to sell you things but most of it is pretty good. Read up a bit on those and that will generate a lot more questions. Once you have some more specific questions start up a thread of them and we can help you from there.

 

[Jdelima]

It is VERY time consuming & VERY expensive! Everyone told me the same thing, but I had to learn the hard way. I'm back to freshwater. I love the look of a saltwater tank, but I don't have the time or money to care for one.

If you must have one, I would start with a nano cube tank that comes with everything you need to start one.

 

[Ziggy953]

Agreed Pat. The dummie and idiot books are old outdated information. Go to the article section on the site and do some reading.

Also I would suggest going larger than a 10g tank. Small tanks are much harder to keep stable in SW than larger ones. I would suggest starting out with a 29g tank minimum and larger if you can.

Ask all the questions you want on here that is what the forum is here for.

 

[melosu58]

I would start out with the articles section on this forum. There are a few good articles that will get you started on equipment and cycling and all that.

 

[thincat]

That's why I'm asking now...
I'm not planning on getting anything like tomorrow. I'm just interested. But if you don't want to give any advice thanks anyways.

My advice is to do the 10g as a FW tank and get as big of a tank as you can get for your SW tank...10g is very hard for even an old timer.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Saltwater is more expensive to setup but relatively cheap to maintain. In my experience if a saltwater tank is setup properly it can actually be less maintenance than freshwater since it is a more complete and balanced system. I have had many people say the same thing. They had been in freshwater for years and avoided saltwater. When they finally did it they were surprised at how easy it was if it is setup and maintained. Set it up right and do the water changes and you will avoid most of the problems out there.

Bigger is better but it is vital to stay with the size tank you can do properly. Even though you may be able to do a 55, it is not the best option if you can't afford to do it properly. I have seen many people trying to maintain tanks bigger than they can really handle and they have more problems than if they just did a smaller tank better.

 

[Judge92]

Yea, I learned about bigger being better just in general since it's easier to keep the parameters in check. Didn't think about it being that much harder for SW lol. Well I'll take a look at those articles and probably stick with the FW for a 10g for now

That'll still be a while from now lol. Probably when I go off to college