Any of y'all do saltwater aquariums at the crib?

[JV]

I've had many freshwater setups over the years, with all different kinds of fish, but I've never kept a saltwater setup. Looking to do that, nothing too big, maybe 55 gal tops.

I know I want a plexi-glass or acrylic tank with a curved front, any other advice from anyone with experience?

JV

[Phester]

We have a very small saltwater tank. It started off a whim with a 6 gallon tank. Whether a mistake or not, it turned out to be a great learning experience. We have since upgraded to a 10 gallon.

My wife takes care of it mostly. And we have had the same clown fish as our only fish for almost 7 years...

I can't give any advise on a big tank - I know what needs to be done with those is about 100x more.... but our little tank is great.

[JV]

Looks nice! All you need is one clown fish, they have tons of character!

[Phester]

Originally Posted by JV

Looks nice! All you need is one clown fish, they have tons of character!

apparantly, that is the demise of most salf water tank - people get a tank and think they can fill it with fish. It needs to be "seasoned" with beginner fish, then it can take a normal fish. And only a certain amount of living things can exist in a tank....

[x5turtle]

I've had a 180 gallon tank, it look very very nice. with about 8 fish that's around 8 inches. don't expect to put too much fish or too little fish in saltwater tank. The water quality should be taken serisously. Clean and clear is the first factor, but all the biological bedding and filtration, chemical filtration, will cost you arm and leg in the long run. Depends, I would say if you want to keep your fish tank at the maximum performing level, where everything is optimize, you would be looking to spend over 5k just to have the setup right. not kidding, you will need a a/c and heater tube for water, protein skimmer, steralizer, tank, coral bedding, live rocks, bio balls, overflow tank and stand itself, the plexi glass box under the tank. OMG~ so much more to list. but those are the very standard things you need for a tank over 100 gallon. do the math~ o~ and salt is very expensive too~ to change 20% water on a bi weekly basis.

[Phester]

Although I agree with Turtle....

Our small tank has very little expense associated with it. Apparantly as the tank grows the costs go up exponentially...

[iceman72]

I had two salt water tanks. My advice is this...

#1 Do some serious research before you do anything. Do some reading on salt water fish, go to fish store and talk to some of the "experts" in the salt water section. (stay away from the name brand pet stores like PetCo and those others that just happen to sell salt water fish)

#2 Don't get anything smaller than a 50 gallon tank. Why? The larger the easier to keep the ph balanced. I recommend getting a 100 gallon tank to start off.

#3 Expect on a 50 gallon tank to spend at least $1k to do it right. Why? That will include the tank, nice stand to hide all the stuff you need under it, a nice amount of live rock (the more the better....will explain), and proper filtration.

#4 Don't be cheap on your protein filters and other filter systems.

#5 Don't get plain sand when you start tank, get several bags of live sand for tank. Why? Live sand contains bacteria needed to help get your tank set for your 1st fish.

#6 Dont expect to have a bunch of fish. I would say about 3 fish for a 50gallon tank.

#7 Dont expect to put any fish in your tank for at least a month. Sounds strange, but it is better that way. Spend first month getting pH levels set and get good bacteria growing. Feed the tank as if you did have fish in the tank. Sounds strange but it helps.

#8 When ready to add a fish, get maybe (2) of the cheap fish that cost maybe $1 - $5 bucks ea.

#9 Expect those first two fish to die Sucks but thats why you get the cheap ones.

#10 After about a month of keeping 2 - 3 cheap fish alive and having everything set, and having that water looking crystal clear all the time. Then after about 2 - 3 months total you can add the real nice fish.

#11 Expect to spend some serious cash on your nice fish. Thats why you want to have your tank ready when this time comes.

#12 Make sure you dont get too many agresive fish.

#13 Be carefull putting your hands inside of tank, some of those salt water fish can kill ya

#14 If all goes well this will probably be the beginning of a serious habbit that is hard to break. You will start off with one tank and if it works out well you will end up with several.

Enjoy, I hope this helps. If you would like me to recommend some of my books I have just say so and I will post them.

Also remember that most salt water fish are right out of the wild, most are not farmed in the US. So please if you are going to embark on this, take your time. There is no rush. Remember the ocean has been around for ever. You are trying to recreate it in your home. So as in real life, the longer the better.

Also you may want to try brackish tank first. That will get you into checking pH levels and working with salt. But it is much cheaper. If you can master that, and if you like it then get your full scale salt tank.

[Roc3b]

Great advice...I have been toying with the idea for a while now...good question JV.

[JV]

That is good advice, Iceman. I have been reading for several months about doing a saltwater setup. I have kept freshwater and brackish before, lighting requirements and substrate and filtration with saltwater is a whole 'nother thing as you point out.

Lucky to have a BOSS aquarium store nearby, which is highly regarded for quality and selection of saltwater species.

Thanks again for the response, I will finish reading what I have now, hit you up for that list of yours!

JV

[iceman72]

Cool if you have any more questions , feel free to ask.