Do I want an aquarium?

Matute

Reefing newb
I am not really an Aquarist but I do enjoy seeing other peoples' fishes at their places. The main reason for me not having fish is that it seems all too complicated: water skimmers, pumps, oxigenizers, water temperature... in terms of simplicity a cat would be ideal, only that a cat doesn't provide the soothing relaxation an aquarium does. So I guess I'm here to let you convince me to take the frist step and get an aquarium of my own instead of anoying friends and relatives by sitting in their living rooms all day and emptying their refrigerators!

Now to the specifics: from my research I've found out that most recommend to start with a small 12gln tank with a live rock [whatever a "live rock" is =>newbie here!] versus a 30gln minimum for FW tank to start: why the difference?. I am inclined to go for a FW tank, but I have been told that SW tanks and reefs are more fun in the long run and makes for a more enthusiast aquarist, so I guess I'm asking you to convince me :)

I know that SW is more expensive and time consuming and i am probably willing to make the investment, I just don't want to end up with a lot of dead fish...

I found a picture of the kind of tank I envision having one day at this site:

fishpetlove.com => see the tubular aquarium, is that a reef in the center?

Any idea of other sites where I can start looking for equipment and prices online?

Any help is appreciated!
 
Welcome to the forums!

Aquariums both SW and FW are alot of fun. This is one of the best hobbies in the world :D. If you were going to go SW I would go with larger then 12 gallon. A 12 gallon tank would be very restricting for the kind and amount of live stock you could have. Also in my experience the smaller the tank, the harder it is to maintain on a chemical level. SW is much more expensive to setup then a FW tank, and in this hobby if you want to have succsess you want to make sure few corners are cut. Live rock is basically the long dead skeletons of corals or other organisms that are full of beneficial bacteria to help maintain the chemical balance of your aquarium :). The only warning of aquariums is that they are very addicitive!!!!! For information check these forums and ask lots of questions, these people are really knowledgeable and are awesome :). For some information you can check out Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums. LA also has decent prices on hardware for your new tank :).
If you do setup a tank make sure you let everyone know so they can guide you along the way! :Cheers:
 
Pretty tank, Matute...pretty expensive, too! LOL From what I've read on it, it's got a 24in diameter right? You'd definitely have to secure your rocks so you don't have an avalanche. Obviously, money is not an issue if you're looking at that.

I started in freshwater, then made the switch to saltwater due to the colorful aspect of it. While there are colorful fish for freshwater, that's about it -- then you have the green from the plants. Imagine having colorful fish AND colorful corals! :D

I don't know if I can convince you, but from my experience, I found saltwater to be challenging, but once I started, I couldn't stop. I even tried to start up a small FW tank after setting up my 45g...but found it boring, so I turned even that 10g into a saltwater :) One year later, I upgraded to a 125g because I found I wanted more cool fish.

Yes -- saltwater is more expensive at the start, but now that all my stuff is set up, I don't spend a lot on it. Sometimes when it's time to replenish my salt supply, or if I want to add more livestock then yes, I spend.

I find I only have to do maybe 5-10 min/day of having to do something for the tank -- which is feed them -- but I end up spending an hour or 2 a day with it because i will just sit and stare at all the fish and their wacky personalities :) It's not a hobby for the impatient, but then again, neither is setting up a proper freshwater!
 
Going with a saltwater tank is going to force you into learning some things you probably tryed to dodge when in school.:D But it IS more fun.It also takes some time.But its all worth it in the end.
 
Going with a saltwater tank is going to force you into learning some things you probably tryed to dodge when in school.:D But it IS more fun.It also takes some time.But its all worth it in the end.

This is true, I never found chemistry at all interesting untill I started keeping aquariums
 
The larger the tank, the easier it will be to take care of. I'd recommend starting with at least a 29 gallon tank. Another big difference between FW and SW, in SW you can't keep as many fish in one tank. You are limited to about 1 fish per 10 gallons. So in a 12 gallon tank, you could maybe keep only 1 or 2 fish. You are very limited in what types of fish you can add, as well. In a 29 gallon tank, you could keep 3 or 4 fish, but again, most fish are off limits for a tank that size. Ideally, a 55 or 75 are good starting tanks. You can keep many fish in those, and many different types of fish, and you have a lot of options for equipment.
 
Do I want an aquarium?


I would say 2 things:

Do you have a lot of extra money? b/c start up costs are quite high to start from scratch.


Do you actually like getting into your "hobbies" and doing lots of research to learn about them?



If you answer "yes" to both of them then you should definatly go for it! Its fun/exciting and rewarding!

If not then there are still ways around it but its going to be a little tougher/complex decision.

To save money you can either DIY some things and keep a constant look out on craigslist or local forums(Which I strongly recomend there are a lot of full set ups sold cheap on craigslist that would cost you much more than buying from fish stores!)

And If you don't really want to do all the research (Which I doubt b/c you are here! =D) Then there are usually pet stores you can pay to have them take care of your tank. (But this is very pricy and I would not reccomend at all, heard many bad stories of them not doing the right thing in turn costing you money.)
 
I think you and I are actually alot alike. I was the type, that loved the ocean, loved to see saltwater tanks, my nephew started working for me, and we would stop at fish stores periodically, and that wwas the beginning for me. I've been doing this for about 6 months or so, here's what I would tell you.

1. Like others have said, start with a big tank 55g and up. (you're going to see fish that you want, and only be dissapointed that you that you can't have them in a smaller tank.
2. It's a hobby that is definitely addicting.
3. You'll do alot of research...on livestock and corals. But the research is fun and interesting
4. It can be very expensive, but you can also bargain shop on places like Craigslist.
5. It's not as complicated as some people make it.
6. It's very rewarding when you have happy fish and corals.
7. You'll definitely need to invest some time every week to care for your tank properly, this is not a hobby that you can set it and forget it. It's a constant work in progress.

Before you jump in, I would gather some information in regard to the fish that you find interesting, etc. at that point you'll know if reefing is for you.
 
There are two types of people that get into this hobby.

The one that did the research ahead of time and have a basic understanding of the chemistry involved.OR one that jumps in without a clue about even the basic of information like you replenish evaporation with freshwater not saltwater.

I'm going to be honest here...not knowing what live rock is makes me think that you need to do more research.By asking questions here is a good start.
 
Everyone else seems to have you pretty well covered. I'll just say that I started with a 10g and 75g FW tanks, while I had them I really liked them. Once I changed to SW I don't even look at my FW tanks anymore, I'll do my maintenance on them then go stare at my SW.
Welcome to the site either way!
 
The larger the tank, the easier it will be to take care of. I'd recommend starting with at least a 29 gallon tank. Another big difference between FW and SW, in SW you can't keep as many fish in one tank. You are limited to about 1 fish per 10 gallons. So in a 12 gallon tank, you could maybe keep only 1 or 2 fish. You are very limited in what types of fish you can add, as well. In a 29 gallon tank, you could keep 3 or 4 fish, but again, most fish are off limits for a tank that size. Ideally, a 55 or 75 are good starting tanks. You can keep many fish in those, and many different types of fish, and you have a lot of options for equipment.

I could not agree more. I have a 29G and its about as simple as it will get BUT all salt tanks are involved and take up a good amount of time and there is no way around that. Marine tanks are a million times more beautiful than fresh.
 
Saltwater is tottaly involved. There are ways to make it so you don't have to learn a million things to make sure your fish stay alive tho.
 
Get an imaginary tank! They are very easy to care for and maintain. I can help guide you if you like. There are no limitations. :mrgreen:
 
Dcan's faking having an imaginary tank. What he has are pics of his neighbor's tank, and he's pretending it's his imaginary tank. That's just low, dcan!

:mrgreen:
 
Thanks For the replies!

Good, now i know what a "live rock" is, and it is not a rock at all! :-|

Weel ok, SW more expensive and more work than FW... got it.

Now, about equipment, I've learned that for a simple FW setup you just need a filter. For SW you need a bunch of stuff... Some have recommended established places like fosterandsmithaquatics.com or marinedepot.com while other like simpler approach and recommend fishpetlove.com, and of course bords like craiglist or ebay. I visited several sites and found the fishpetlove.com has a huge variety, though too much to choose from can be a problem, of course i don't recognise any brands... are brand names important?

About the size of the tank... they are VERY heavy, so qhere do you guys put them?

I am learning a lot which I don't mind, but I am affraid of the complexities like keeping the ritght water temperature. What would you recommend as a basic SW setup? I would start with a 40 + gln tank.

Thanks!
 
First off welcome to the forums, there are tons of helpful people here.

My story:
I started with a 20g tank for a "school project" (more like a way to get a tank without having to fight my parents for it LOL, suckerssss!) for my marine bio class. of course the tank was totally unrelated and was for my own pleasure. With any small tank (smaller than 45 gallons) you are going to have WEEKLY water changes and you have to be very very precise about your bioload, tank levels, and all that good stuff. The smaller the tank the more maitenence.

I finally upgraded for a 75 gallon this last week and I am in LOOOOVE. I wouldn't necessarily follow my example because I do things that are probably frowned apon but I use working at an aquarium for 8 years as my excuse :mrgreen: :lol:

Go with something bigger. Get a sump. Really, go big when you first start because thats going to be the biggest cost. I just got my 75 g with 40lbs of live sand (something else you'll need) and 70lbs of base rock (this is rock that isn't live, btw live rock is rock.) and the top/stand/tank for $238. thats not a bad price if I do say so myself!

Buy the book Salt Water Aquariums for Dummies. OMG it helped me a ton LOL. it has a lot of great info on it.

Avoid petco or places that tell you crap... you can get a good feel for them by going in now and asking what size tank you can put a yellow tang in.. if they say anything smaller than a 55g you know they are talking BS.

keeping the water at 76degrees is EASY! thats why you get a heater for your tank :) takes care of the temp for ya
 
You can actually make your tank as complex or as simple as you like. The more complex it is,the problems that can come up.Thats why I prefer the" Keep It Simple Stupid" method.

But really,to start.All you need is the basic understanding of mixing saltwater,the nitrogen cycle,and some sort of filtration.You could even just use good water flow and a good quality protein skimmer hanging on the back of the tank with some live rock.

Brand names really aren't that important.But quality is.If you know what I mean.
 
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