anyone switched to salt water and then regret it

[Samantha_p]

after finally mounting my 125 gal tank in the wall every one
keeps asking why I haven't swicht to salt water. I currently
have 6 angels, 1 fancy gf,1 bp,1 huge severum,1,pleco. I always
found salt water fish fascinating and ofcourse prettier than any
fresh water fish , but I've been afraid of making the jump.
has anyone swichted and have regret it. I get mixed comments
from people at the fish stores. some say salt water is not that hard
others tell me that is very complicated. any advice from you guys
will be appreciated

 

[HUKIT]

Brand new empty 165...thinking the same thing.

 

[WhiteDevil]

the bigger the tank the easier to maintain especially with salt water.

My uncle bought our 90g and turned it into a marine IN WALL tank, nothing I mean nothing can make a man smile like a beautiful in wall marine tank.

 

[kdogg85]

Depends on what type of sw tank you want.

Fish only is the easiest. Nothing more than fish,sand or gravel, decorations,filter,skimmer,and tank.

Fish only with live rock is more involved. You have to watch out for certain things that arrive with the rock. And be more diligent on water changes and tank maintenance.

A reef tank is the most difficult. You get into additives and special lighting and pristine water(water you could see a fish poop in and still drink it with no ill effects.) And still you have to look out for unwanted hitchhikers on the live rock. And you get into precise water movement and lighting schedules.

It really just depends on what you want and how savy or how deep your pockets are.

I have a fowlr tank. It seems hard starting out but you get the hang of it pretty quick. And you will soon find out that the fish are more like pets than decorations.

Most important of all, research,research,research, and when you think you've researched enough to be sick, research some more.

After all that, I'll say this, It's easier to do than what it seems when you read what to do.

 

[WhiteDevil]

what is FOWLR I know live rock but whats the other 3?

I am contemplating a 45 tall live rock tank because the start up is practically nothing(less then 400 bucks in equipment but the LR costs alot more then the gear does) equipment wise since I have a wet/dry here jsut need a protein skimmer from what I understand.

I concur, hands on is alot easier then reading a book, I mean afterall, fauna and flora cant read.

 

[HN1]

Nope. I don't know that I would have "switched" though. I added a marine tank. I wouldn't have gotten rid of one for the other. If you do your research marine tanks (even reef) are not that complicated, it's just less forgiving in a lot of cases. They can be as simple or as complex as you like, just like FW systems. It was not nearly as difficult as I expected. Research, research, research, and take it slow. A tank that's properly cycled will get ugly before it can be beautiful. Attempts to combat the inevitable, natural, processes within a tank during the first MONTHS do quite a few newbie reefkeepers in.

FOWLR = Fish Only With Live Rock.

 

[Smitty]

I'm pretty sure FOWLR: Fish Only With Live Rock

Stumped me for a while when first getting into things.

Edit: Dang, missed the response by a couple seconds At least I was right! hehe

 

[Samantha_p]

hey guys thanx for the replies.is their a good book out their you guys
recommend.I also been told that is better to buy the water
from a fish store than making it yourself, around here theirs
a place that sells the water for .40 cents a gallon.I'm definetly going
to make the switch to salt water,their is just no comparison.

 

[mgamer20o0]

there plenty of comparisons just not many people are exposed to it.

 

[kdogg85]

It's better to make your own water. That way, you know for sure what you are getting. Get an ro/di unit off ebay. Should cost around a hundred dollars. And get a total dissolved solids meter to hook up to it. The tds meter shows how much stuff is left after the ro/di process. It should read 0ppm but 0-10ppm is ok. If you don't intend on having coral then the salt mix you buy will give you all the trace nutrients you need.

 

[HN1]

hey guys thanx for the replies.is their a good book out their you guys
recommend.I also been told that is better to buy the water
from a fish store than making it yourself, around here theirs
a place that sells the water for .40 cents a gallon.I'm definetly going
to make the switch to salt water,their is just no comparison.

The Concientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner is a great place to start IMO.

 

[cmor1701d]

First some housekeeping. If you hold the mouse over an abbreviation like FO, FOWLR you should see a little definition box pop up. This was a recently added feature. There is also a

Salt water tanks are NOT hard, but do require more initial planning to be successful. So you need to do some reading and some planning.

I had FW tanks as a kid and then for about 10 years as an adult. I started in SW about 6 years ago by buying a 125 gallon reef ready (pre-drilled) tank. I found AA after a few months and this place has never let me down (unlike most of the lfs).

So some starting points in your reading:
Check out the Articles section

Then head to the SW Getting Started forum and read the posts there.
Start with Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank (STARTING OUT)

Back to the articles section for How to cycle your tank with out the use of fish

Quarantine

Sumps Explained

Ask lots of questions, plan, plan and plan some more. Post your plans to see what others have tried and succeeded or failed with. Decide on FO, FOWLR or REEF (a FOWLR becomes reef in a year or so, because you can't help it, the desire kicks in and you just have TRY a coral or two). So plan on that.

I have started to codify my rules:
Rule # 1. Nothing Good ever happens Fast in a salt water aquarium
Rule # 2. PWC (Partial Water Changes) are your friend, and cure many ills.
Rule # 3. All animal species live longer on a 30% reduced caloric intake. Only feed every other day at most (fish species dependant)
Rule # 4. Don't add anything you don't test for first.
Rule # 5. Anemones will never live anywhere near their normal (aprox 30 years) lifespan in a home aquarium. Leave them in the ocean.
Rule # 6. QT EVERYTHING before adding it to your tank (mandarins accepted, corals should be dipped)
Rule # 7. Hyposalinity is the best, safest, and most effective treatment for marine Ich (IMHO)
I'm sure I have a few more to add. Hmm..
8. A Refractometer is a MUST HAVE, not a luxury.
9. Use only RO or RODI water (either buy it or make it)

Give a few minutes and I'll get to number 10 <LOL>

So come on over to the salty side and never look back. A SW tank takes more time and care in the first 6 months to a year. Once you are comfortable with caring for your tank it's a breeze. Unless I leave for more than a week I don't even have anyone look after my tank. All they do is open a baggie of pre-measure food I left taped to the side of the tank and drop it in, and then only every 2-3 days or so. That should tell you how complicated and hard it is to maintain.

 

[kdogg85]

All of what cmor said is very true. Looking at all that can be overwhelming. But, doing it is easier than reading it.

 

[cmor1701d]

I don't mean to make it harder than it really it, but there is an initial learning curve for YOUR tank. All tanks are NOT created equal. Once your tank has stabilized it's EASY!

 

[7Enigma]

The biggest thing that has always kept me away from the SW side is the costs associated. Both initial stocking and maintenance costs are much higher than FW and continues to climb the longer you have the tank. But as mentioned earlier, few things are as nice as a well taken care of SW tank.

 

[austinsdad]

Kinda wonderin if this would get more feedback in the SW section. I'm hesitant to move it though.

 

[cabezon]

A reef tank is the most difficult. You get into additives and special lighting and pristine water(water you could see a fish poop in and still drink it with no ill effects.)

I have salt water in my veins, but I still don't think it is a good idea to drink it.

 

[jeffwisely]

i made the move from FW to SW. it was the best thing i ever did. there is a little more planing envolved with SW but its worth it. if you want to do it just go little buy little getting things you need and pretty soon you should have almost every thing to start except LR and fish. but before you do swich just make sure you do alot of reaserch.

 

[Crepe]

An eel tank is probably the most rewarding set up you can get. A beautiful moray can do very fine in a 45 gal tank and all you need is to make a live rock cave in it. It's more of a pet than an ornamental fish, or puffer fish, they are both very personable animals.

 

[logansmomma1228]

I would love to switch to saltwater once I can afford/accomodate a bigger tank. I already do tons of research but I get confused when it comes to skimmers/pumps/ all that stuff. Haven't done too much research on the SW side yet, but there are beautiful fish and inverts for those and my dream tank is one. One day, when I am rich (haha) and more experienced I will have one! I just don't want to put a ton of money into something I won't understand too well. I figure start easy, get the FW figured out, then get a SW and enjoy both