Salt Vs. Fresh

i had to ask. Im getting a 55 gallon tank here real soon. I have enough know how to keep a FRESH water tank running awesome. But i have allways wanted to know about salt water tanks. So...what are the biggests differences?

Do i buy/add salt to the water im guessing
Do i need heater's/chillers
Special chemicals's?
Special Filter's
Are the fish really expensive??
Is it in general MORE expensive to keep and maintain a salt tank??

thanks

 

If your asking these questions i suggest you do a TON more research before even attempting a saltwater tank

 

You're expense will depend a lot on what type of corals if any you are going to keep. Stony SPS(small polyp stony) corals require more expense.
Yes.. you will need to add salt
Chemicals .. yes there is some chemical filtration but may not be absolutely necessary in a fish only aquarium.
Special filters.. yes the "live rocks" are the main biological filtration.
Fish are much more expenive.. varies from $3 and up.. it all depends on how rare and large ect.
I would recommend getting a couple books to familiarize with the hobby.

 

Basically yes to ever question up there. I have a fresh and a salt water tank, for the freshwater tank I change a filter pad once a month and top it off with water like once a week which normally I don't even have to dechlorinate. My fresh water tank plus all my fish, roman colliusum, filter and lights probablly cost about 150 (25 gallon) my salt water plus my 4 fish, coral, basic 24 gallon tank with lighting and filter, live rock and chemicals, is probably upwards of 600-700 bucks. But my salt water puts my freshwater to shame so its well worth it. For a 55 gallon tank though your going to spend a fortune on it. The rock alone for that tank will probably run you 150 bucks (if you just going base rock and no live rock) lighting depending how nice you wanna go upwards of 150 easily (very easily) and Ill just stop there because you'll probably need a skimmer and chiller and I don't know the prices of them, fish coral chems....etc it never ends

 

really depends if you want to go with a reef or just fish only. if fish only no, it's not that much more. i ran a 55 for years with a emporer 400 filter and a 200 watt heater. no special equipment needed if you just want fish only. plus you can add on later if you want. reef tank start up is expensive but can be done later down the road.

 

I just started a saltwater tank not long ago and had a lot of these same questions.

You either buy premixed saltwater from a lfs or you can buy marine salt and mix it yourself. The downside to mixing it yourself is that you cannot mix it in the display tank and will need a fairly large container to mix it. I used a 32 gallon plastic trashcan.

I have a heater in my aquarium but because I have glass lids and a fairly large light the heater has never came on. I believe you just need a chiller if you cannot keep your temperature down.

If you get a good protein skimmer and between 1-2 lbs of live rock per gallon of water you shouldn't need a filter. If I had to do it again I would have setup a sump from the beginning.

It was somewhat expensive to setup but its not bad to maintain as long as your prepared i.e. extra saltwater and extra RO/DI water

 

I've had freshwater tanks and just setup my first SW tank and so far between the tank, stand, powerheads, skimmer, lr, ls, water from lfs, and light I have spent close to $2,000 and I still have a few more things to get. And I dong even have fish or corals yet. And this is only for a 46 bowfront. So yes if you want a reef it's much more expensive.

Just do a ton of research and keep on asking questions. The people here on 3reef will help you along the way

 

All the answers above are correct.It is more expensive to start up a salt tank,but the expense really depends on what size tank you are using and what you want to keep in it.Too small a tank and its harder to keep water parameters,such as salinity,stable.you would also be very limited as to which fish you could keep.Try browsing some online sites such as,Drs. Foster and Smith for saltwater fish info and notice the potential size and minimum tank size required.Also,you can keep fewer salt water fish per gallon of tank size than in a fresh water tank.A reef tank tank with corals of any type is going to require much more expensive equipment.

 

BTW,hope we didnt scare you away!! IMO,a 55gal. fish only is a good way to start if you decide to give it a go.Just do lots of reading and ask lots of questions before you buy anything!! This forum is a good place to learn,so welcome!!! Dave

 

i would go buy a couple books and surf around on 3reef for a couple months. thats what i did and trust me you will be happy you did.
last thing you wanna do is rush into this, take it slow and make sure you understand whats goin on in that box of water.;D