Brakish Tank Or Marine

[loveforfhishies]

i got a 20 gallon tank that is sitting vacant right now.. i have a 55 freshwater with some community fish but i wana go for a different style in my 20 gallon.. how hard would it be to set it up to have brakish or marine fish.. i dont know anything about marine aquariums so im not sure if it would be easier for a beginner to have brakish or marine. what do you all think?

 

[Mr.September15]

Brackish is easier than marine IMO. But if you want beauty and the feeling of satisfaction go with marine. All the information you need to set-up a marine tank is under the nano-section. The main thing you need to get a hold of is reading material. The more you read about marines the more you will learn and the less problems you will face, mixed that in with patience and your set. Any other questions that aren't stated in the all the marine sections (ie nano section,marine and reef chit chat) can be answered here.

 

[Lynden]

I used to do freshwater, and I find that marine is far easier to take care of than freshwater. I haven't done brackish before though; I don't really see the point of it since it is just like freshwater but with a little salt. Mudskippers I could set up a tank for though

-Lynden

 

[sianeds]

I'm closing down my 30gal SW this week and have spent all day looking for something new to do with it. I looked at brackish fish as I have always got gallons of SW lying around but I really wasn't impressed at the choice.

I guess I'll be venturing back into the boring old world of FW tropicals for a while

 

[N1z]

Tbh, if you like mud skippers they are insane! At my work we ran a juwel vision 260 half filled with water.

So we had mud skippers along the top jumping between bog wood, then skats and cat fish swimming below, was very interesting.

Also most scientists now say brakish can be run without the low salt content i believe but best to read up if to do that.

But marine is better IMO, but there are ups and downs with it and cost is far more pricey, but hey thats wot u get for having your own eco system in your home!

 

[sianeds]

I agree mudskippers are pretty cool...if you want a half filled tank. You also need a pretty long tank for them and there's not much you can do aesthetically...it's just a tank full of muddiness

IMO it's gotta be marine. The huge variety of colours, sizes, character...brackish doesn't come close

 

[dixaisy930]

You posted this question to a rather biased group. I don't think there's one person who has been successful with saltwater, that hasn't totally become obessed with it.

My saltwater tanks are the best things I've done, aquarium wise.

 

[Ter]

I can't really agree about marine being easyer with fresh water... humm.. I have a discus tank (many users on this board claim them as a very difficult fish 2 handle) .. and a marine tank... with my discus tank i've never once worried about algae, feeding, or my water stats except for a low KH and low PO4... however with my marine tank I worry about my powerful lighting, mixed with any extra nutrient that could lead 2 an aglae outbreak! If it ever did happen 2 my fresh water tank i'd simply turn on my lights and be done with the algae or add any product they sell at the LPS.. My marine tank on the other hand hosts 2 anemone and a few corals.. I can't just turn off my lights for two days... or with a clean up crew I can't just add any algae killer if it doesnt kill my clean up crew it might just starve them 2 death.. then there is the skimmer I have two models.. and none of them are "simple as pie" as maybe labeled. I find myself adjusting them time 2 time.. esp at startup.... then there is the KH and Calcium interaction that most of the time people i've noticed don't seem 2 worry about.. but i try 2 keep ontop of it. Substrates freshwater.. sure it helps keep the KH up or down and it ends about there( more or less)... in marine its a hole other world i find a marine substrate as complex as a hole freshwater setup.. if u really wanna read into it that is... just a few examples... it really depends how far you wanna go... and how much u wanna find perfection, perfection in the marine world ... well... i'm sure u get the idea?
Ter

 

[N1z]

I agree mudskippers are pretty cool...if you want a half filled tank. You also need a pretty long tank for them and there's not much you can do aesthetically...it's just a tank full of muddiness

IMO it's gotta be marine. The huge variety of colours, sizes, character...brackish doesn't come close

No you dont need mud, just damp bogwood, no joke we had loads but they did die from drowning once in a while . But very funny we used to hand feed them millworms. However go marine def better colours and characters!

I can't really agree about marine being easyer with fresh water... humm.. I have a discus tank (many users on this board claim them as a very difficult fish 2 handle) .. and a marine tank... with my discus tank i've never once worried about algae, feeding, or my water stats except for a low KH and low PO4... however with my marine tank I worry about my powerful lighting, mixed with any extra nutrient that could lead 2 an aglae outbreak! If it ever did happen 2 my fresh water tank i'd simply turn on my lights and be done with the algae or add any product they sell at the LPS.. My marine tank on the other hand hosts 2 anemone and a few corals.. I can't just turn off my lights for two days... or with a clean up crew I can't just add any algae killer if it doesnt kill my clean up crew it might just starve them 2 death.. then there is the skimmer I have two models.. and none of them are "simple as pie" as maybe labeled. I find myself adjusting them time 2 time.. esp at startup.... then there is the KH and Calcium interaction that most of the time people i've noticed don't seem 2 worry about.. but i try 2 keep ontop of it. Substrates freshwater.. sure it helps keep the KH up or down and it ends about there( more or less)... in marine its a hole other world i find a marine substrate as complex as a hole freshwater setup.. if u really wanna read into it that is... just a few examples... it really depends how far you wanna go... and how much u wanna find perfection, perfection in the marine world ... well... i'm sure u get the idea?
Ter

Ter basically your sayin its hard and more things to think about , also yer i find discus harder to keep then marine, as my shop never could sucessfully keep them.