Freshwater aquarist thinking of getting a saltwater tank in the future.

[Blackwater guru]

For 3 months now I have had this 145 liter blackwater aquarium that tries to emulate the tropical rainforest rivers of the amazon river with both tea coloured water , driftwood and rocks , and of course some plants although I mixed asian , african , and south american plants but they have been thriving because they have similair requirements .

The top has not been ignored either because I have marbled hatchetfish and amazon frogbit to create shadowy areas.

Even before I got that one I researched extensively about everything I could find for several months and because I have aspbergers = repetition over and over again for no reason which means more research even if it appears excessive to people who are not into the fish hobby.

As for now I am not too sure where I would put another fish tank and economically I simply cannot afford it because I am a swedish high school student who gets paid 1250 swedish crowns a month to study.

In terms of the aquarium I have been thinking of setting up either a saltwater aquarium or possibly a blackwater aquarium with discus fish that can be quite beautiful but challenging for people who have not done the required amount of research.

What I would like to know is if I can start in the saltwater aquarium hobby at the stage I am at and I want to know about the difference in water chemistry compared to freshwater setups.

As far as I am concerned and from what I have read saltwater setups have some differences in chemistry when compared to freshwater tanks especially in reef tanks where you need to remember the names of various supplements like iron and zinc depending on the inhabitants and because of this test kits for saltwater tanks are different.

Of course I am aware of the basic freshwater chemistry with things like ph and hardness/softness , ammonia and nitrates and the nitrogen cycle.

Would starting a reef tank be a good idea once I have the money space and the right amount of time and research required for this?

 

[Colin_T]

If you want to make the most out of the space you have, get a double or triple tier stand. You can have 2 tanks (one above the other) on a double tier stand, and 3 tanks on a triple tier stand. It takes up the same space as a single stand but is higher and gives you more tanks in the same space.

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Saltwater is not really any different to freshwater, and in fact it's easier as far as water chemistry goes because sea water is virtually the same all around the world. The GH, KH and pH are pretty much the same world wide. Coral reef tanks and fish only tanks have exactly the same water.

Freshwater tanks can have a wide range of water chemistry with soft acid water in the upper reaches of the Amazon, to hard alkaline waters in the African Rift Lakes, and even brackish waters.

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You cycle a marine tank in exactly the same way as you cycle a freshwater tank. You can even use the same ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits for fresh and salt water.

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You can do marines on the cheap or spend thousands on them. I do them on the cheap and collect natural sea water, sand and rocks from a clean beach. Check with your local fisheries department to see if you are allowed to collect sea water and stuff from the beach. Specify you only want a bit for an aquarium.

I run a small internal or external power filter. Some of my marine tanks had air operated sponge filters in them. They have a normal aquarium heater and a light unit. If you want corals or sea anemones, then have a couple of lights on the tank. Use globes with a 6500K rating.

Have a coverglass on the tanks to reduce evaporation. Top up the tanks with freshwater to keep the salinity stabile.

Do a big water change on them once a week or every couple of weeks (depending on how many fish are in the tank.​

Feed the fish a variety of foods and that's it. There's nothing special about a fish only tank and even corals aren't that hard to keep. Clean water, good filtration, regular water changes, good light.

 

[Barry Tetra]

If you want to make the most out of the space you have, get a double or triple tier stand. You can have 2 tanks (one above the other) on a double tier stand, and 3 tanks on a triple tier stand. It takes up the same space as a single stand but is higher and gives you more tanks in the same space.

------------------
Saltwater is not really any different to freshwater, and in fact it's easier as far as water chemistry goes because sea water is virtually the same all around the world. The GH, KH and pH are pretty much the same world wide. Coral reef tanks and fish only tanks have exactly the same water.

Freshwater tanks can have a wide range of water chemistry with soft acid water in the upper reaches of the Amazon, to hard alkaline waters in the African Rift Lakes, and even brackish waters.

------------------
You cycle a marine tank in exactly the same way as you cycle a freshwater tank. You can even use the same ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test kits for fresh and salt water.

------------------
You can do marines on the cheap or spend thousands on them. I do them on the cheap and collect natural sea water, sand and rocks from a clean beach. Check with your local fisheries department to see if you are allowed to collect sea water and stuff from the beach. Specify you only want a bit for an aquarium.

I run a small internal or external power filter. Some of my marine tanks had air operated sponge filters in them. They have a normal aquarium heater and a light unit. If you want corals or sea anemones, then have a couple of lights on the tank. Use globes with a 6500K rating.

Have a coverglass on the tanks to reduce evaporation. Top up the tanks with freshwater to keep the salinity stabile.

Do a big water change on them once a week or every couple of weeks (depending on how many fish are in the tank.

Feed the fish a variety of foods and that's it. There's nothing special about a fish only tank and even corals aren't that hard to keep. Clean water, good filtration, regular water changes, good light.

How do you change water to salt? Using sea salt?

 

[Blackwater guru]

How do you change water to salt? Using sea salt?

you should always use special aquarium salt which can be bought at most lfs but if you are lucky to live near a beach finding sea water is very easy and it can always be used provided the water is not contaminated also keep in mind that in some parts of the world it's illegal to borrow sea water or without permission.

If you do use aquarium salt you mix it with dechlorinated tap water or if you live in a country with more poor water quality like Germany or America use ro-di water.

 

[Back in the fold]

For a very brief time about 15 years ago I kept seahorses. Not finding out such things beforehand I found out later that these aren't beginner marine fish. They died and at $65 bucks a pop it was both a bitter and expensive lesson. Do your homework first. @Colin_T says saltwater isn't any different than freshwater and I agree with him for the most part but there are some differences and you need to be aware of them .

 

[shabash]

you should always use special aquarium salt which can be bought at most lfs but if you are lucky to live near a beach finding sea water is very easy and it can always be used provided the water is not contaminated also keep in mind that in some parts of the world it's illegal to borrow sea water or without permission.

If you do use aquarium salt you mix it with dechlorinated tap water or if you live in a country with more poor water quality like Germany or America use ro-di water.

I May be wrong but aquarium salt and marine salt are different and their use is also different. “Aquarium salt“is designed for freshwater use and marine salt is for mixing or recreating marine water. Aquarium salt is simply sodium chloride while marine salt has other elements and minerals required for marine species. So if you intend to embark in the marine aquarium hobby, look for salt mixes that are specific to what you will keep. Reef salts for example have additIves needed to keep corals and such while standard marine salt does not. The costs of such are some times reflected in the difference. And yes, you do mix it dechlorinated tap or bettter yet, ro/di water because it’s easier to control your tds. Good luck!

 

[Colin_T]

Yes aquarium salt is normally rock salt, which is just sodium chloride.
Marine salt has sodium chloride as well as magnesium, calcium and a bunch of other things in it.

There is no difference between marine salt and "special reef salts" apart from the packaging. They are a gimmick.

Just get a decent brand of marine salt and add it to dechlorinated water, aerate for 24 hours and make sure the salinity is correct, then use it for water changes. Or go to the beach and get your own.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

Just a quick one....

Marine tank will require slightly more frequent maintenance than fresh water tank.
If you are away for a long vacation(1-2weeks), you may need to ask someone to top up water to maintain the salinity unlike freshwater tank that doesn't require any maintenance even if you are away for 1-2 weeks.

In term of cost, it will be slightly more costly if you have to buy the marine salt.
You may also probably need a RO filter.
During the summer, you will need a chiller to keep your tank cool especially if you keep corals.

But in terms of fish colours, I think marine fish are still the best.
Otherwise, you can consider Discus fish...
But Discus also requires more frequent water change than normal fish,..probably worst than Marine fish...

 

[Blackwater guru]

Just a quick one....

Marine tank will require slightly more frequent maintenance than fresh water tank.
If you are away for a long vacation(1-2weeks), you may need to ask someone to top up water to maintain the salinity unlike freshwater tank that doesn't require any maintenance even if you are away for 1-2 weeks.

In term of cost, it will be slightly more costly if you have to buy the marine salt.
You may also probably need a RO filter.
During the summer, you will need a chiller to keep your tank cool especially if you keep corals.

But in terms of fish colours, I think marine fish are still the best.
Otherwise, you can consider Discus fish...
But Discus also requires more frequent water change than normal fish,..probably worst than Marine fish...

So far I do a water change once a week on my current aquarium but I am not sure if that would be enough for a large reef tank (200 liters or larger) if I set it up.

Ro filtration is not exactly necessary for me because I live in Sweden in the countryside and the tap water here is much cleaner than other parts of the world like America or Germany where Ro filtration is needed for aquariums.

Summers here are also no where near as hot as they might be in America or other parts of the world where a chiller is usually necessary during the hot summer months.

 

[JuiceBox52]

If you want the bright colors of a marine tank I would suggest cichlids

 

[Colin_T]

cichlids don't even come close to marine fish for colour

 

[Sotomx]

Hi everyone, I´m comming from a reef aquarium and one of the most different things is the cost of maintenance, besides the cost of the equipment and inhabitants, for example, the cost of one fish may equal the cost of all the fishes in a 100 gallon community tank.

 

[Lajos_Detari]

So far I do a water change once a week on my current aquarium but I am not sure if that would be enough for a large reef tank (200 liters or larger) if I set it up.

Ro filtration is not exactly necessary for me because I live in Sweden in the countryside and the tap water here is much cleaner than other parts of the world like America or Germany where Ro filtration is needed for aquariums.

Summers here are also no where near as hot as they might be in America or other parts of the world where a chiller is usually necessary during the hot summer months.

Yes, once a week is enough as long as you don't overcrowd your fish tank.
Stock your tank lightly as marine fish require more water per fish than the freshwater fish.

Hi everyone, I´m comming from a reef aquarium and one of the most different things is the cost of maintenance, besides the cost of the equipment and inhabitants, for example, the cost of one fish may equal the cost of all the fishes in a 100 gallon community tank.

Yes, some marine fish can cost a few thousand dollars.
The corals are also expensive but they might be more beautiful than the fish.

You can probably start with some beginners fish like Clown fish which are also cheaper.
I think the Marine Angel fish are the most beautiful.
You can also check out the Reef Forum in the internet and youtubes video for more ideas though not all youtube information are accurate.

 

[ChefAlex]

Just to put it into perspective the costs of running an average reef tank, below is what was needed for my 43g soft coral system.

Used 33g Tank, Stand and 9g Sump-$400 (New is $1110)
Replacement Plumbing-$230
Flexible Tubing- $30
RO/DI- $190
Refractometer, digital testers and syringes- $330
Standard vial type test kit- $20
LED Light- $350
Light Mounting Arm- $70
Return Pump- $160
Protein Skimmer-$300
Algae Turf Scrubber with feed pump- $270
Auto Top Off with water container- $230
Heater with Controller- $100
One Controllable Powerhead -$200
3 Filter Socks- $30
2 Filter Cups- $25
12 outlet power bar with gfi- $80
80g Salt Mix - $50
Sand and Rock- $140
Containers, heaters and pumps for salt mixing and curing rock- $130
MagFloat- $20
Activated Carbon $20
Coral Dips, frag cutters and Glue- $85
Expoy-$15
2 Digital Timers- $36
Drip acclimator- $20
Total - $3376 (Saved $800 by getting the tank system and one pump used)

This list is still not complete, there are various small things that I’ve needed and haven’t added to the total. I would also like to emphasize my system is considered average in terms of equipment and dollars spent. I could double the cost of this system if I went with full controllability, had a dosing/CaRx system and bought the tank new.

Also, this is before any livestock has been added. Each fish ranged from $12-$70 (no fancy or exotic species for me, just run of the mill stuff). The clean up crew was another $70. Each coral frag ranges from $15-$80. All in I will likely spend $900 in livestock alone.

The costs don’t end there either... The fish only eat frozen foods, the corals eat frozen foods too. The price to change water is about $1 per gallon for a high quality salt mix (IE to do a 10g water change you use $10 in salt). Activated carbon is $25 per box, and can’t be without as the soft coral release toxins. The RO/DI membranes are $50 each to replace and there is 4 of them. The reagents for the digital testers are roughly $9 for a 25 pack of testers. I have 3 kinds of dips/meds on hand for any fish diseases. I have an old quarantine tank with canister filter that was already on hand but would have had to buy this if I didn’t have it.

 

[Colin_T]

Yeah but you are running a reef tank with a trickle filter, protein skimmer and algae scrubber. You also have a heap of stuff that is not needed for a basic tank with a couple of fish in. Yes if you want to go nuts and spend thousands of dollars on gear, but you can do it a lot cheaper.

My first reef tank was a 4 foot aquarium with an inch of beach sand on the bottom. A heap of live rock I got from the beach, along with the sand and seawater. I had a Fluval 303 external canister filter running on the tank. I had an Aquaclear powerhead on a timer, a heater and two x 4 foot long fluorescent globes above the tank. I bought a plastic chamber hydrometer and stuck some fish and corals in it. The tank went great for a couple of years before I changed it to rainbowfish.