I want to set up a saltwater aquarium...

[Gerwin]

but a friend of a friends, sister-in-law said they were so hard!!!
geeze this is a daily statement, or goes kinda like that.

"WOW, all that testing and those chemicals, I don't know if I'm smart enough" that another one that makes me smile.

OR " I stopped by the Fish store and the guy told me , I needed , ~!#$$, and #$%%#~$, and (@#^*(, it ended up costing like 1000 plus dollars!

well, let me start by saying you can spend as much as you want, and there will still be more you could buy.....thats why its called a HOBBY does that mean you have to? not by my opinion.

First you have to decide what kind of fish tank you want. ie.

*Reef tank - all the live corals, live rocks etc
*Fish only tank ( community or aggressive) , and no that does not mean you can't have anything from the reef tank, just the cost factors start changing.
* or some kind of combo / hybrid

The thing I've observed in my 28 years of retail and tank maint. is almost anything can work, it depends on how much time you want to give to the aquarium. The more you want to spend, the less work you have to do.....TO A POINT, after a point you have so many gadgets you then spend as much time looking over them, to keep them operating......right Archie

I got side tracked.......a basic 30 gallon marine setup from the ground up, to keep fish alive would cost you about 250.00- down here at my place, I only say that because as the web is world wide, you my get the screwing where you are but I am happy to tell what you need, and will do so , when I feel like typing that much or you ask the Q's.
Now back to my 250.00, that gets you to the point where all you have left to buy is the decorations, fish and put the water in.

Again, I will revisit this article and add to it, in time. Tiff / Arch / Doug feel free to spout of your thoughts

[Archie]

when it comes down to it, simple is much better in the aquarium world.
now, i am definetyl a techno freak , (when it comes to my reef tank, audio/video,woodworking, etc. etc.) but these devices if not used in the correct manner can reak havoc in an aquarium without having the knowledge and understanding of these high tech(or even low tech for the matter) devices.
it all boils down to (do the specimens in my tank look happy/healthy )
simple husbandary tasks.
1.water changes(definetely a must, but this wil be discussed later in detail)
done monthly(10-20%).
2.filter cleanings done monthly
3.and not to overfeed fish(big problem in the fish hobby)
4.and basic water testing

[guitarest]

In my world of even the brackish tanks its really important and I have had to change a few habits (like over feeding). I also have had to thin the tank out also, many fish released back into the wild but in my area far up a bayou away from Back Bay but still has a salt content in the water.

But sitting in front of my tank and watching my tank make it worth every bit of work put into the tank.

[Gerwin]

well that blog was written 6 years ago and its still hold pretty true, would add the FOWLER system to it now (fish only with live rock) very popular in the last few years. And I still tell folks the hardest thing about saltwater is opening the wallet, but isn't that the hardest part of most HOBBIES? its not terrible but I would say times have changed and the 30 gallon is now about 300.00 depending on what you want, most of the increase comes in the cost of cabinets and tank and lighting price increases over the years the actually saltwater goodies have remained about the same in cost.

[Chef Steve]

I would say from my first tank that things do get expensive. But as Gerwin said, its a hobby. Which means that the work and purchasing is never done. But when you weigh the benefits with the cost, then you definitely will see that it is completely worth it. Ha even help with life extension for the owner.( I know its random info, but I just read an article that my professor had. I would have to say that most of the people now-a-days just want something that they can leave alone, and just watch it grow. Well of course this is not the case. In my opinion, it is the same as having a four legged pet. All pets require ample amounts of attention and caring for, in my opinion even though fish are smaller, they need the same amount, if not more, than any other common pet.

[Tyler]

Yes I would agree with a lot of this in the sense that it's about how much you really care about this hobby and also how much your willing to come out of pocket for it. The bigger the tank (also what type you are going for) has a lot to do with the price. Alright so you have your mind set on what size you want and what type of system you want to go with and you purchase everything you might need to get the Tank started. Everythings going great until you realize your running a tank in the middle of summer and you can't get your water temperature under 86 so you buy a chiller, then you don't have enough rock so you save up and buy some more, then you can't get your alkalinity/calcium levels to stay right so you purchase buffers. Now you have fish in the tank. Everything is going great except your rock is stacked up like a barge with bridge rubble that has hit a big wave and dropped it all on top of each other on the shallow side of deer island. So then you do what you can and fix that and everything is ready and just like you want it......until you may not be getting enough light in your tank for the type of coral your wanting. You have put this much money into it and pretty much done a DIY system to save where you can, but you also want it to be the best system possible so you might have a chance in winning some of these tank war competitions your LFS is having. To be continued.........

[Gerwin]

Yes I would agree with a lot of this in the sense that it's about how much you really care about this hobby and also how much your willing to come out of pocket for it. The bigger the tank (also what type you are going for) has a lot to do with the price. Alright so you have your mind set on what size you want and what type of system you want to go with and you purchase everything you might need to get the Tank started. Everythings going great until you realize your running a tank in the middle of summer and you can't get your water temperature under 86 so you buy a chiller, then you don't have enough rock so you save up and buy some more, then you can't get your alkalinity/calcium levels to stay right so you purchase buffers. Now you have fish in the tank. Everything is going great except your rock is stacked up like a barge with bridge rubble that has hit a big wave and dropped it all on top of each other on the shallow side of deer island. So then you do what you can and fix that and everything is ready and just like you want it......until you may not be getting enough light in your tank for the type of coral your wanting. You have put this much money into it and pretty much done a DIY system to save where you can, but you also want it to be the best system possible so you might have a chance in winning some of these tank war competitions your LFS is having. To be continued.........

stop it your scaring me, I dont even want a fish tank anymore BS I still want and have 2!

[Tyler]

Haha. Well if it were easy and nothing could ever go wrong it would turn into that piece of furniture you never look at

[Bud]

I think one thing you neglected to mention that should be mentioned to every potential reefer, this is an addiction. Enough is not enough, one more coral, one more fish, one more rock, etc... As long as you have the funds, its not a bad addiction, but an addiction non the less.

[Scott Allen]

I think one thing you neglected to mention that should be mentioned to every potential reefer, this is an addiction. Enough is not enough, one more coral, one more fish, one more rock, etc... As long as you have the funds, its not a bad addiction, but an addiction non the less.

Something I quickly came to terms with in this hobby is there is always something else to get/want... No matter the size of the tank you will always dream of what you could do with one that was just 6" deeper or just 1 foot longer... "all I need is a new _____(dosing pump, light, vortech pump, whatever) and it's going to be perfect" or my favorite... (what doomed me) "I'm just going to get ONE coral or two and that's all.. I don't want a coral tank just fish..." and then one coral becomes two, becomes 5, becomes new filtration, new lights and eventually a new tank... Then you have to answer the question of what to do with the old tank.. that becomes a "simple system" that then gets one coral.... and it repeats... Oh how I love this hobby. (my wallet disagrees)

[guitarest]

I totally agree Scott, I have a dream to have another tank around 200 gal, same length as mine, maybe 6 inches wider and taller. But what I want to do with the tank is build a internal shelf of some type so that the tank will be 2 layers on one side so there will be a shallow side on top of shelf and a small cave under the shelf that would be darker than most of the tank so fish will use it as a cave like in the wilds.

While not a great drawing I think this would be a cool thing in larger tanks so you can have deep water and smaller fish in the same tank. The yellow is supposed to be sand, and its open under the shelf with a pump forcing a current under the shelf so the water will not get stagnant under the shelf. Any thoughts about this type of tank yall, Gerwin?

[Gerwin]

not sure my brain is grasping it

[guitarest]

When I stop by to pay for that 55 I'll explain it better...

[Dragont]

My girlfriend calls me a coral hoarder... Nuff said..
Tim

[JimmyZ19]

when it comes down to it, simple is much better in the aquarium world.
now, i am definetyl a techno freak , (when it comes to my reef tank, audio/video,woodworking, etc. etc.) but these devices if not used in the correct manner can reak havoc in an aquarium without having the knowledge and understanding of these high tech(or even low tech for the matter) devices.
it all boils down to (do the specimens in my tank look happy/healthy )
simple husbandary tasks.
1.water changes(definetely a must, but this wil be discussed later in detail)
done monthly(10-20%).
2.filter cleanings done monthly
3.and not to overfeed fish(big problem in the fish hobby)
4.and basic water testing

Archie,

As I made this mistake of over feeding in the beginning. Could you tell us about your personal feeding schedule and a little more about your stocking?

Thanks,

Jimmy