Freshwater vs. saltwater

Hi all. I am extremely new to this and was wanting some advise. I am debating between a freshwater tropical fish tank and a small saltwater fish only tank. Can somebody advise me on the pros and cons of each? I have had freshwater tropcials before with much success but would really like to start saltwater but am very nervous as I have never done that before. What should I start with? What is the smallest tank I should use for a SW fish tank only? What are the hardiest SW fish to start with after cycling the tank? Any info anyone is willing to share is appreciated and will be helpful in my decision. Thanks all!

 

Hello, and Welcome

I think it is going to come down to what you want to do. You have had freshwatrer before and were successfull so would you want to start again, bigger or different ? Really up to what you want.

I have both and actuall am down to 3 tanks now, trying to get back to 2.
I have had much better success with fresh water but I do find the reef / SW more exciting and challenging.

All I can really say is research first. Read though some of these threads and look at some of the photos. Maybe that will help sway you.

I would suggest if you wanted to start out with a reef / SW fish, that lookiin into the Redsea Max may be a good idea. I have seen many beginners start one of these with good success.

Dont buy into all the scams out there about live rock this and live water that. When you buy and install your aquarium, you are at least 60 days from adding fish and enjoying it. You can start with 1 damsel to help the cycle process.

\Good Luck

 

Can I add the damsel at setup or does the tank need to cycle awhile before adding the damsel?

 

I have had tons of FW tanks and SW>FW

 

Basically, you need something to start a bioload. Whether it's a dead chunk of fish or clam or shrimp, or whether it's damsel poo - it's up to you. Some people use a live blue damsel and cured live rock and live sand with bacteria already on it (which is what I did) to speed up the cycle process. The more different types of bacteria from the live rock you have, the less time it will take for those bacteria colonies to grow. I started with a 55 gal tank, 30lbs live rock and 60 lbs live sand. I did water tests every couple of days to monitor the cycles - started with spike in ammonia, followed by nitrite levels spiking, then nitrates. I added two damsels at the end of the nitrite (highly toxic) cycle, and they have been in the tank ever since.

 

I would say 1 dasel from day 1 to help start the process if fine. With just the 1 fish,. the Amonia , Nitrites and Nitrates should not get out of hand.

Make sure you test every two days and if it gets too high on the Nitrites or Amonia, you can do a small water change to keep it at bay. Remember you will see a spike right before they drop down as this is normal

Many use Damsels to cycle tanks as they help and they are hardy enough to handle it. Heck, some of them are even pretty cool looking. I still have my Blue/Yellow damsel.

Are you leaning towards FW ? How about Live Rock, substrate, and someday corals ?

 

You are joking right??? Saltwater vs Freshwater? I don't even look at the freshwater section at my LFS anymore.

 

Well I think I want to try my hand at saltwater this time. I'm just a bit nervous as it will be new for me. I would love to someday have corals but I want to start slow and learn all I can before I rush into it all at once. So I just want to start with a small saltwater tank I think.

 

Aw come'on guys, "nothing smaller than a 55 for beginners" what tank manufacturer do you work for! LOL, I think you have other Nano tank owners out there tell you your wrong.

smaller tank = less cost, and less fish and coral and more work but a beginner can do it.
bigger tank = higher cost, more fish adn coral but not necessarily any easier

Thing to remember with a small tank is things can go south in a hurry so you have to watch them closer. 10% to 15% Water changes weekly usually is enough to keep things on an even keel though.

As far as cycling goes, I agree the slower the better is all I can say. I have set one up and put stuff in it 2 days later but basically everything i used came from an older tank including the water. Plus I probably take better care of my tanks than I do my wife and kids so it wasn't hard for me.