Am i setting myself up to fail?

[sicklidkid]

Hi, i wanna convert to saltwater and have posted here afew times but i dont want to screw up really bad. How much harder is salt than fresh? I just want a FOWLR. How much maintanence is required? It seems soooooooooooo cool but i dont wanna get in over my head. Any help??

 

[Brad]

SW...

It's really not very difficult....especially if you are just trying to keep fish. Don't worry about it..do it!

 

[srgetz]

You can do it....Read, ask questions, plan ahead. It is recommended to start with at least 45-55g tank, larger the better. You will need salt, sand or cc, sw test kit, sg tester, and possibly liverock and protein skimmer (highly recommend but not nessesary), along with a filter if not buying lr. Cycle tank with shrimp while you get used to things. Learn acclimation & quarantine technique. After finished cycling, add fish (up to 1" per 5 gallons or so). Feed sparingly. Change ~10% water weekly with premixed sw. Test water weekly, empty skimmer daily or as needed. Look into adding clean up crew. That's basically what you need to do with fw to sw FO or FOWLR.

 

[sw-addict]

I personaly would recomend atleast 1# of lr per gallon it will filter the water better than any filter you can buy. And after running your tank for a few months with fish get yourself a nice protien skimmer, 2 places not to scimp on is a skimmer and a heater. Also look into what kind of fish that you want and check lighting requirements that may be required. Just one more thing the bigger the tank the easier it is to keep and you won't be iching for the upgade in a year. Salt water is the best addiction that I have youll love it too.

 

[kidkameleon3]

saltwater is cake , unless you want to micro manage it and test for every additive everyday etc.. etc... May 10 gallon (which they all lfs said would be to hard for a beginner) was easy.Just top off with fresh water change water as needed.Didn;t add anything and it was fine

 

[jvennitti]

sicklidkid,

I have only been doing this since November of last year. The biggest word of advice I can give is "P A T I E N C E". Without it you're likely to experience more difficulties and disappointments. With that key, as the other post have said, it isn't that hard to maintain. What I found difficult was trying to figure out what the "correct" set up is. There seem to be almost as many methods/combinations as there are people in this forum. That is good, but can be intimidating and overwhelming in the beginning. I'd read as many discussions under the "Getting Started" area and ask questions. You'll get good advice from kind, helpful people, who seem happy to address many similar questions over and over for the benefit of the hobby.

I hope that helps,

Jeff

 

[Wally]

I find any of the required maintenance fun to perform...Its a great hoby for sure!

 

[sicklidkid]

Hey thanks for all the replies! I feel much more confident now! Currently in my african cichlid setup i have a 55 g, a fluval 404, 2 powerheads, and a shoplight. So the only other equipment i need is a protein skimmer, right? I plan to start setting up in a couple weeks, after i cash in on birthday cash! I would like to keep hardy fish since i am a beginner, i have heard clowns are good, i have also heard damsels are pretty tough but mean litle guys. I would like to go with clowns because they seems more peaceful, right? What other fish can i keep with them? Any special requirements? Is my lighting ok? Will i get live rock growth?

 

[jvennitti]

sicklidkid,

I haven't exactly stocked my tank yet, so I haven't gone through the compatibility process, but I've provided one link to a compatibility chart (I'm sure there are others). I'm sure that you can get some additional advice as to how many of what type you should/can have. For example, IIRC, you can have one clown, unless you get a pair. I also understand that some damsels are less aggressive than others, so they may be compatible with each other and other fish. As for the lighting, I have seen recommendations here of 2-3 watts/gallon if you have LR and to keep the coralline (sp?) going.

Good luck and continue gathering information before making the plunge!

Jeff

http://www.aquacon.com/compatability.html

 

[BrendanH]

From 1 newbie to another, you should definitely go for it. It's not easy but if planned properly you can definitely be successful and it's amazing to watch new critters popup every now and again Here's what I started with and the mistakes I made :

55g 48" glass tank
Fluval 404 filter
80lbs live sand
50lbs live rock
Aquaclear 301 & 201 powerheads
AquaC Remora Pro skimmer

1. I'm glad I started with the 55g as I was tempted to go smaller. If you can possibly get a larger tank right at the beginning you'll be very very glad you did. The initial cost of the tank is nothing compared to the other costs for equipment etc. Plus a larger body of water will help keep things stable for you.

2. If possible start right away with a sump and a tank pre-drilled for a sump. I did not and I'm sorry because now I've got a bunch of equipment cluttering up the main tank. Using a sump gives you a lot of benefits such as hiding a protein skimmer, a fuge (afaik at least - I have not done this yet but I believe a fuge can be a big help to a tank and without a sump you'll be looking at a hang-on which again detracts from the main display) mechanical filtration etc. eg. You could run your 404 for mechanical filtration and occasional Activated carbon right from the sump. The additional water in the sump increases your overall system capacity which again helps maintain stability.

3. Purchase good quality live rock and use it to cycle your tank. I made the mistake of buying from an LFS and although eventually it'll be just fine I'm sorry I didn't go with liverocks.com as is recommended time and time again on these forums.

4. Do not use fish to cycle your tank - many LFS will suggest that and it's just an exercise in cruelty to the fish. This is especially pertinent to you as you seem to indicate you want a less agressive mix of fish. Usually LFS recommends damsels as early additions to help with the cycle but most damsels are quite aggressive and may limit your additions later on. Right now I've got a beautiful Maroon clown in my 55g and I've got a Kole Tang in quarantine waiting to be sure I've broken the Ich cycle.

5. Most important of all - set up and use a quarantine tank right from the beginning. It is easy to do and will almost certainly save you a LOT of heartache, cash and hard work, not to mention the lives of your livestock. I did not set up a QT until I went to get my 2nd fish - the tang and boy am I glad I did ! 24 hours after I added him to my QT he came down with Ich. With the QT I could treat him seperately and easily. The alternative - set up a QT after your new addition gets sick, move all fish into the QT, treat them all for Ich, keep them in there for at least 4 weeks, longer is recommended, while leaving your main tank go fallow to break the Ich cycle in there !!! What a pain eh? Trust me - quarantine right from the beginning and you'll be a much happier aquarist

6. Be very very careful about taking advice from your LFS. A lot of them are well-intentioned but do not know enough about the hobby to be reliable. You may, if you're very very very lucky find one that truly knows what they are doing but you will be among the few. Do a lot of your own research on forums like these and read the right books. Make your own informed decisions based on the advice of experienced aquarists such as those you'll find here and you'll enjoy much more success. I look on my LFS stores as a source of livestock, but not so much for advice. After all - they're in it to make money and some of them are completely ruthless about sending you down the wrong path. I fell foul of that by taking LFS advice at the beginning and that resulted in me taking back a bunch of fish to a more reputable store in an attempt to save their lives as my tank was nowhere close to being ready for a single fish, never mind the 12 that they sold me, telling me that was enough for now and I could add more later!!!! (My tank was 3 days old at the time with measurable Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate) Go figure .....

Finally ... Patience, Patience, Patience. Without that you'll run into problems. Trust me - it's worth it !

Hope that helps !

Brendan.

 

[BrendanH]

BTW - what part of CA are you from sicklidkid ?

 

[BrendanH]

One more thing -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!!