What made you chose Freshwater over Saltwater?

[( 8 ) eiGhtBaLL]

G'day.

I'm a 17yr old student from Sydney, Australia, and I'm making a television aquarium for my final year major project in Design and Technology.

'Making the aquarium itself is fine and dandy, but what about the water?' I thought...

What are the pro's and con's of Freshwater over Saltwater?

I thank you for your time and effort in advance ....


- Jeremy.

[fishfreek]

I personally went with freshwater back in 1997 when i started with fish because of a few reasons.

First i had heard saltwater was really hard expecially for a beginner. I now know that to be somewhat a false statment.

Second I had seen saltwater fish in the stores and they where usually starting out at $8 a fish and of course worked their way up from there relitivly quickly. Thus freshwater fish where more economical of a choice.

As I advanced in my knowlege and felt more comfortable with fish keeping I made the transistion.

[tyler]

i started with brackish, did some fresh and just started my salt water. so i guess to answer your question, i didn't.

[Somethingfishy]

Well I started with FW becuse I have always licked FW, but I am starting an SW tank in the coming months.

[Thaiboxer]

For me it was primarily a cost issue, and some was the perceived learning curve. FW fish are so much cheaper, I think the investment in SW is out of my range right now.

[Jack]

After keeping FW for a couple of years, I kept reef tanks for 6-7 years. Just sold everything in my 75 gal reef. My reason for returning to FW, is due to the lack of time I have to keep up a reef. My kids are young and have a lot of activities. My son plays every sport. You can do a lot to reduce the time involved with a reef tank, but to really do it right, you'll likely be doing something everyday. Also, you can't let problems go for long, you have to address quickly.

I'm somewhat excited about returning to FW. Having kept SPS, LPS, anemones, etc.; I'm not intimidated by keeping anything FW. The only limiting factor is time.

[Caenis]

Being a new aquarist, I chose FW because I can't afford SW fish, and I figure if I'm going to make mistakes, I'd rather make them with $4 fish than $80 fish.

[Chrismac]

The reason there is no SW tanks in my house is because there is very little of a selection here many Shops are starting to get into SW but the tanks are empty with a note saying SW fish Comming soon, I do however look forward to seeing what will be available soon.
Chris.

[( 8 ) eiGhtBaLL]

The primary reasons that seem's to be popping up is cost, and ease for beginners.

Is there anything else I should know?

As this is basically my first tank, I have had a few in the past, but nothing major, just with a few comets and guppies and fantails and the like...

Didn't care about pH, temp, anything. Just feeding them and replacing the filter!

So as a beginner, knowing virtually nothing, Freshwater would be easier?

Is freshwater easier to clean and such?

[Grant R]

I basically went with fresh as I started as a total beginner and knew that jumping straight into SW was a mistake, as it's generally easier and cheaper to learn the trade with F/W fish.
I love my fish at the moment, but will be setting up a SW / Reef tank at some point. I'm going to keep Cichlids with live plants before that though, so plenty still to do.