Salt v Fresh

[barrett274]

I have enjoyed all of the freshwater species tanks I've done, I assume you could do the same with salt but the whole prospect just seems like a hassle to me. Doing a small clownfish pair tank sounds fun though

 

[Ricky 1]

Excellent, I am so pleased, you can't beat education, it's a win win all round........thanks Mebbid....

 

[Mebbid]

Excellent, I am so pleased, you can't beat education, it's a win win all round........thanks Mebbid....

I couldn't fin dthe original video I watched on it, but here is one of the things that are being done like this.

Solomon Islands Coral Farm

It's larger scale with other companies. They supply hundreds of frags every month to these villages.

 

[Ricky 1]

Good to read, amazing how this is done, the people look so happy....

 

[Delapool]

I used to think salt would be harder and more expensive than fresh but I don't know now. Planted tanks are killing me. I thought fish were annoying but plants curl up their toes and wither away at the drop of a hat. I've got so many electrical timers running to try and keep the whole lot alive that street lights dim if they all come on at once. The fish are either eating said plants or plotting some other bit of lunacy with the chief culprits being the 'gee, that gap really is too narrow' loaches.

Actually considering buying a par meter now.

I only have the guy at work with salt to compare to as have never done it myself.

His salt water setup cost twice mine. Luckily his daughter works at a lfs. And he was always talking about new critters popping up out of his live rock I think it was. That sounded pretty exciting. I think the mystery shrimp killing his $30 fish may have been more excitement than he wanted.

But I think the science on a freshwater tank is just as intricate as saltwater. Almost

 

[Dallascowboys16]

I honestly like the look of a high end planted tank like the ones in ADA better than that of a reef tank. They're both incredible but I can't help but feel a little twinge of sadness seeing a reef tank stocked with fish that were taken from the dying reefs and corals also taken from one of the most rapidly degrading ecosystems on earth. One day I may have to try one with only ora fish and corals but really enjoy my freshwater tank right now.

 

[Mebbid]

I honestly like the look of a high end planted tank like the ones in ADA better than that of a reef tank. They're both incredible but I can't help but feel a little twinge of sadness seeing a reef tank stocked with fish that were taken from the dying reefs and corals also taken from one of the most rapidly degrading ecosystems on earth. One day I may have to try one with only ora fish and corals but really enjoy my freshwater tank right now.

The wild fish can be a little sad. Especially the wild caught ones that really don't belong in captivity like the moorish idol.
The corals on the other hand, ive never bought one that wasn't grown in an aquarium.

With a bit of digging you can have a reef tank with little ecological impact. In reality, when the coral does disappear from the oceans the only source of it is going to be aquarists which could be used to reseed areas after the problem is corrected.

 

[PB_Smith]

On my 20 reef I'm probably around $1000 in equipment and god knows how much in livestock...


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the really sad part of it is that $1000 of equipment is really probably only worth $100 in actual materials/labor.

this industry has some of the most outlandishly priced stuff ever.
got an add from marine depot for Tunze pump on sale for only $300.
sorry, for that kinda money I'll stick my hand in the tank and swish the water around myself.
and that's the small one, it's big brother is almost $600!

I don't get, do people buy this overpriced stuff for bragging rights or something?
My little 10 gallon planted tank cost me about $25 to set-up, including the price of the tank and it rivals some of the ones I've seen here with all the newfangled gismos and gadgets, LED's and C02 stuff.

spending more $$$ doesn't always mean it will yield better results.

 

[jetajockey]

Salt is way more expensive than Fresh, in general. Of course you could spend a ton on a FW tank too depending on what you buy. I just bought 4 8' acrylic frag tanks for $100, so a lot of it depends on where you shop as well.

I wouldn't say one is better than the other, but it's a matter of opinion. Some people want the newest, baddest, or most expensive thing they can find. Some people just enjoy the thrill of getting something new or different. And some appreciate the different species for what they are rather than for more superficial reasons. None of them are 'wrong', but the latter seems to have the most involvement in the long term in both the hobby and conservation practices.

 

[bribo12]

the really sad part of it is that $1000 of equipment is really probably only worth $100 in actual materials/labor.

this industry has some of the most outlandishly priced stuff ever.
got an add from marine depot for Tunze pump on sale for only $300.
sorry, for that kinda money I'll stick my hand in the tank and swish the water around myself.
and that's the small one, it's big brother is almost $600!

I don't get, do people buy this overpriced stuff for bragging rights or something?
My little 10 gallon planted tank cost me about $25 to set-up, including the price of the tank and it rivals some of the ones I've seen here with all the newfangled gismos and gadgets, LED's and C02 stuff.

spending more $$$ doesn't always mean it will yield better results.

Well I like the looks of my mp10 and kessil . The mp10 really does make the tank look a lot less crowded and replaced 2 koralias. If I didn't enjoy sps so much I'm sure I could of set up a reef for a lot less $$$. I don't buy the overpriced stuff for bragging rights and IMO after owning an mp10 and various other power heads, there isn't much comparison.
I love reef tanks and everything in my tank has come from other reefers or is ORA grown. I just read a great article on reef builders by mike paletta about the "reefers code" and it describes every value I feel about this hobby. People should share their corals, not put some ridiculous name on it and market it for $100's an inch... I think that's the best advice you can give to anyone getting into salt to save money. Look for a reef club or frag swaps to get corals. Retail is killer for pricing. I went to a shop and they had a beautiful Acropora valida colony in their display. I aske the guy how much for an inch frag. He goes oh that's not a valida it's GARF purple bonsai and is $80 for a fresh cut 1" frag. I just walked away. It's really sad when you think about it because shouldn't the central part of the reef hobby be conservation and aquaculture?!?!

Oh an p.s. PB I like my fancy things
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[Mebbid]

Well I like the looks of my mp10 and kessil . The mp10 really does make the tank look a lot less crowded and replaced 2 koralias. If I didn't enjoy sps so much I'm sure I could of set up a reef for a lot less $$$. I don't buy the overpriced stuff for bragging rights and IMO after owning an mp10 and various other power heads, there isn't much comparison.
I love reef tanks and everything in my tank has come from other reefers or is ORA grown. I just read a great article on reef builders by mike paletta about the "reefers code" and it describes every value I feel about this hobby. People should share their corals, not put some ridiculous name on it and market it for $100's an inch... I think that's the best advice you can give to anyone getting into salt to save money. Look for a reef club or frag swaps to get corals. Retail is killer for pricing. I went to a shop and they had a beautiful Acropora valida colony in their display. I aske the guy how much for an inch frag. He goes oh that's not a valida it's GARF purple bonsai and is $80 for a fresh cut 1" frag. I just walked away. It's really sad when you think about it because shouldn't the central part of the reef hobby be conservation and aquaculture?!?!

Oh an p.s. PB I like my fancy things
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I agree wholeheartedly about sharing. On that note, I got a 3" garf purple bonsai from a person I met off of Michigan reefers for $10

 

[treemanone2003]

Well I like the looks of my mp10 and kessil . The mp10 really does make the tank look a lot less crowded and replaced 2 koralias. If I didn't enjoy sps so much I'm sure I could of set up a reef for a lot less $$$. I don't buy the overpriced stuff for bragging rights and IMO after owning an mp10 and various other power heads, there isn't much comparison.
I love reef tanks and everything in my tank has come from other reefers or is ORA grown. I just read a great article on reef builders by mike paletta about the "reefers code" and it describes every value I feel about this hobby. People should share their corals, not put some ridiculous name on it and market it for $100's an inch... I think that's the best advice you can give to anyone getting into salt to save money. Look for a reef club or frag swaps to get corals. Retail is killer for pricing. I went to a shop and they had a beautiful Acropora valida colony in their display. I aske the guy how much for an inch frag. He goes oh that's not a valida it's GARF purple bonsai and is $80 for a fresh cut 1" frag. I just walked away. It's really sad when you think about it because shouldn't the central part of the reef hobby be conservation and aquaculture?!?!

Oh an p.s. PB I like my fancy things
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I read the same article and was quite fascinated by the information that he shared. In particular how the first part of the code involved a great deal of sharing in the beginning of reef keeping back in the 80's and 90's. It really hit home with me as I'm still quite new with just under a year of SW and recently answered on another forum an ad for free corals. After getting the day and time squared away, we got the talking over and he presented me with a rather large Green Nepthea, and some nice frags consisting of Joker pocillipora, Red Hot Setosa, Sunset Montipora, and a Green Montipora. I offered to give him some money for gas, for the frags, and each time he refused. Before parting ways, he finally told me that when he was first starting out, many folks helped him along the way. Including free frags to help get him started and become successful in the hobby. He was just passing it along. It's made my pieces that much more special.


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[Dogmom]

I had my tank as a freshwater planted tank for 7 years, but we moved and when I set the tank back up, I set it up as a saltwater with live rock with fish and corals. I had someone who came to help me, but it was as if it wasn't my tank anymore, so after losing some fish and corals, I decided to go back to the freshwater tank. The saltwater tank was so stark, almost like the surface of the moon, and you could only have 1 or 2 of each of the fish, not groups, like freshwater. I am a gardener, and love the look of the planted tank, and I also enjoy having a groups of a variety of fish.

 

[BLUElobster99]

I just got into salt water... And the amount of wild caught animals is astounding. I have a 50g mantis shrimp tank and I wanted to make my empty 20g salt but I'm feeling really uncomfortable about removing these animals from the ocean. I'm the kind of guy that won't take shells from the beach because i want to leave it for a hermit crab. So taking fragile animals from fragile ecosystem, and then shipping it halfway across the world seems a bit wrong to me. Unfortunately the mantis I'm getting is collected from a reef. That's why I'm doing everything in my ability to create a habitat that most resembles where it was collected. (eg the minimum. tank size is 30 but I'm doing a 50g) I've also made a large U shaped pvc tunnel to mimic the large burrows they construct in the wild.

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[bribo12]

I read the same article and was quite fascinated by the information that he shared. In particular how the first part of the code involved a great deal of sharing in the beginning of reef keeping back in the 80's and 90's. It really hit home with me as I'm still quite new with just under a year of SW and recently answered on another forum an ad for free corals. After getting the day and time squared away, we got the talking over and he presented me with a rather large Green Nepthea, and some nice frags consisting of Joker pocillipora, Red Hot Setosa, Sunset Montipora, and a Green Montipora. I offered to give him some money for gas, for the frags, and each time he refused. Before parting ways, he finally told me that when he was first starting out, many folks helped him along the way. Including free frags to help get him started and become successful in the hobby. He was just passing it along. It's made my pieces that much more special.


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I like fw tanks too but if I ever did another fw tank it would have to be something challenging and different. I guess I'm just a salty through and through lol


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[trennamw]

To the original question, I don't think it's like Ford vs Rolls ... It's apples vs oranges.

They are two different but similar hobbies.

If someone gave me $10,000 to spend on a new aquarium, I'd stick with freshwater. I simply have no desire to try saltwater. Like many others have mentioned, I couldn't give up plants.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[Mebbid]

To the original question, I don't think it's like Ford vs Rolls ... It's apples vs oranges.

They are two different but similar hobbies.

If someone gave me $10,000 to spend on a new aquarium, I'd stick with freshwater. I simply have no desire to try saltwater. Like many others have mentioned, I couldn't give up plants.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

2 words my friend... planted reef

One of the 3 plants I'm using in my reef.

 

[fish wrangler]

I like it Mebbid!

I sent you a pm too Mebbid.

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[PNWaquarist]

Planted tanks are killing me. I thought fish were annoying but plants curl up their toes and wither away at the drop of a hat.

Yep, plants can be a real money pit. I've even managed to kill Java Ferns, which I didn't think was possible.

 

[ppo8820]

I love looking at a saltwater tank, but that being said, I just dont think we can really re-create what the ocean does naturally. SW is just too much work, the fish and equipment cost so much compared to fresh, and there is the whole mixing water.

Ive had salt in the past, but I wont again. I am a freshie all the way and I enjoy it that way.