Hello from Pennsylvania

Hello everyone my name is Vic. I'm new to the site and the hobby of aquariums. I been checkibg this forum here and there and decided to join. Many of you here have amazing looking sets ups and fish. My question to every would be do u recommend a beginner to try a reef tank or should I stay with fresh water for now? I love the look of the reef tanks ;D I currently picked up a 75g tank and stand from a friend who had it sitting in his basement. Any suggestions on how to clean the grim from inside? Thanks in advance.

- Vic
Here is the tank

 

I wipe everything out with a mix of Clorox and water. Vinegar or clr will help take out deposits and a razor blade help with really tough stuff. You need to understand the time and most of all the cash it takes to set up and keep up a marine or reef tank. If all you have is the tank in the photo your looking at between 1 and 2 grand to get everything you would need to keep a reef. If you really want to do saltwater and you havent had a tank before maybe you should do a fish only for a while and the start up cost isnt as much plus would be more forgiving for someone starting out. Best of luck with whatever you decide and welcome to the hobby

 

Go saltwater!
But I am also from PA. What part are you ?

 

Welcome to 3reef i live in PA as well and for cleaning anything on a tank stay away from chemicals and soap of any kind. Razor blade water and vinegar would be the best bet.

 

I am just outside of north east Philadelphia. So can I hold saltwater fish with fake rocks til I can work up to a reef tank? Is it the same set up to just hold fish?

 

As far as set up that is. I'm not in a rush I wanna set it up nice but more so for the fish rite now then work my way up to a reef.

 

I've had freshwater fish most of my life, and only in the last year started saltwater.
I think it comes down to what interests you at this point, how much money you have to put into it, and how much time you have.

I've found out that reef tanks are 1000% more expensive (not an exact figure, but it feels that way ). They also take more of my time.

If you are go doing this on a shoestring (my normal modus operandi) and like just fish, I'd recommend freshwater, fish only. That might keep you interested for a while, you don't have to worry about lights, there are lots of types of fish that are interesting. Slap a $60 hang on back filter and some basic lighting and you are all set.

But if you have $200 to invest in a skimmer, and have some plumbing knowledge to make a sump, you could start out with some saltwater fish. If you have another $350 to put into lights, $200 for live rock, then you're in business for coral!

Coral is really awesome, though!!