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Anybody here have or had a salt water aquarium? I'm looking into starting this and just wondering if anybody has done this. If you have what advise do you have for somebody starting out and what are the gotchas with this? I had an uncle with one when I was a kid and I've always wanted to try it.
make sure you use salt water fish.
get one of those sweet magnet cleaner things
My advise is don't do it! Just kidding, kind of. It's a (potentially) expensive and demanding hobby. It all depends on what you want. If you just want a small tank with a couple of the hardier varieties it's not too bad. If you want a large tank with corals it can start to get pretty pricey and demanding. Bottom line, regardless of what you want it requires much more attention than a freshwater tank. Marine environments are much more stable than freshwater, and therefore the fish that live in them are much less tolerant to changes in water quality and conditions. The initial set up can take some time as well. It will take months for your tank to cycle and the conditions to stabilize before you can add anything but the hardiest of fish.Quote:
Originally Posted by mramseyISU
All true. Plus Saltwater fish aren't cheap. You don't want to be flushing $15 - $200 down the toilet a couple of times a year.Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthCyd
I had salt water fish for about 2 yrs and it was quite a bit of work especially in the initial setup of the tank. I only had fish in the tank and never got into the coral though and that is a whole new level of 'pain in the arse'. I actually found that once things were stabilized and I added the fish, it was easier to maintain than fresh water tanks, but you have to stay on top of it. I had a 60 gallon tank and I know the smaller the tank the less success you have because it don't take as much to screw up the environment. I would probably do it again if I ever run across a good tank for the right price. I say go for it
You guys are telling me exactly what I expected. It's more work than a freshwater tank which I knew going into this. I'm looking at a tank between 10-20 gallons and less than 10 fish.
My brother had a 55 gal tank and was loving it. One power outage while he was out of town and it killed everything off. So after losing $1000+ he has gone back to freshwater.
I have quite a bit of experience setting up and maintaining saltwater tanks. If you are looking at 10-20 gallon tank you will most likely top out at about 3-4 fish (SMALL fish, i.e. the hardier varieties of damselfish). The reason smaller tanks are difficult is that most people like to try and stuff as many fish into them as you would a freshwater tank (and often before the initial ammonia cycle has completed). This leads to a huge spike in toxic Ammonia and Nitrite because the demand on the microbial community outpaces their ability to cycle the nitrogen waste.Quote:
Originally Posted by mramseyISU
That said, if you take the time to do it right, you can still have a very impressive small salt water tank. I've had a 12 gallon reef tank running for over 10 years now and it has very minimal maintenance. Of course I only have 1 small fish and about 10 lbs of live rock which promotes stability.
You wont be able to have very many fish at all in a 10-20 gallon. Saltwater fish require more room than their freshwater brethern. But, that size of tank should be relatively easy to maintain. Ive had a 125 gallon saltwater setup for many years. Its not as hard as people would have you believe. Once you learn the ropes.Quote:
Originally Posted by mramseyISU
You can buy bacteria now that will cycle your tank almost instantly. So you dont have to worry about that either.
It is an expensive hobby, no doubt. But a 10-20 gallon tank shouldn't be too bad. And its a good way for you to gain some experience. Then you can upgrade. I say go for it.