Hubby wants to know diff in SW and FW tank

[Deenalove]

We LOVE the SW tanks. He just wants to know the diff in upkeep. I told him more time and money lol. Thank you

 

[thincat]

Welcome to AA, DNL,,,A fish only set up is not all that expensive. If he wants to go "reef" then the cost skyrockets. Setup would be expensive. You would also want to get a tank as big as you can afford. The reason for this is that larger tanks are more stable. The old saying "The treatment for polution is dilution". You would have to cycle your tank(read article on this site. Go fishless!!!! You would also need a good saltmix, on a reef setup you would also need Live Rock (LR) at ~ 1-2#'s per gallon of tank water. Aragonite sand and a skimmer.
That would be it for a start.
PS: read the articles on this site and if you have questions post them, again Welcome to AA!

 

[iDream]

i wont lie in that the usual FW vs. SW difference is price, mine took a nice chunk to start, but all thats left for mine is the water i choose to buy, and livestock.

SW tanks seem to me to be much more self maintaining than a FW tank

 

[Deenalove]

then i am guessing a 1g mini bow is NOT a good tank for a small SW tank? lol what about a 5g? UGH I dont know what to do. We are in an apt and are not allowed to have over 50 gallons lol

 

[iDream]

yeah a 1g would be a bad idea, even a 5g wouldnt be very good as the parameters could change VERY quickly and thats not very good. if you can afford a 50g then get one, that sometimes seems like a beginner size even though i went for a 14g biocube (its been great so far)

just go as big as you have room for (in your case a 50g) and can afford, that would be best

 

[BigJim]

Tiny saltwater systems are referred to as "nano" systems. They require a lot more supervision and maintenance than larger systems due to the small water volumes. Small amounts of pollutant have major effects on small systems. Start with as big a tank as you can. There are Biocube systems under 50g that have the filter and decent lighting built in. You could start there.

 

[MacMyers]

Unless you keep the Saltwater Shrimp ōpaeʻula (Halocaridina Rubra) or "Hawaiian Micro Lobsters"! Simple to keep, bullet proof, fun to watch (although small). Perfect for a small tank. I have 28 in a 1.5 gallon nano. From slightly salty to full salt, PH from 7.0 to 11, hard water.... whatever. No fancy filtration, algae and biofilm eaters, little to no maintenance, long lived. Just make sure to use either a foam filter or a foam prefilter.

I'm moving mine to either a 3 gallon Toms Micro or a 5 gallon glass kit for 30 bucks from Wally World. Theoretically you could keep 100 in there. I love them.

 

[fred]

I would buy used, Kijijii has lot's of used SW tanks (some with reef and fish). Just a thought

 

[BigJim]

Unless you keep the Saltwater Shrimp ōpaeʻula (Halocaridina Rubra) or "Hawaiian Micro Lobsters"! Simple to keep, bullet proof, fun to watch (although small). Perfect for a small tank. I have 28 in a 1.5 gallon nano. From slightly salty to full salt, PH from 7.0 to 11, hard water.... whatever. No fancy filtration, algae and biofilm eaters, little to no maintenance, long lived. Just make sure to use either a foam filter or a foam prefilter.

I'm moving mine to either a 3 gallon Toms Micro or a 5 gallon glass kit for 30 bucks from Wally World. Theoretically you could keep 100 in there. I love them.

Those look like smaller SW versions of FW RCS.

 

[MacMyers]

Those look like smaller SW versions of FW RCS.

I keep them too. They are similar, but the ōpaeʻula actually have little claws similar to a lobster. They are also a bit more entertaining. Animated and crazy swimmers. They'll spend an hour upside down after they crawl under a rock or whatever. From then on they will swim around upside down... surface and swim around... they don't seem to care about their orientation at all. It's amazing to see.