Anyone here have a saltwater aquarium?

ib4 Jones

A magnitude of at least 10x, closer to 100x. Same as the cost.

Way, way harder. Way, way more expensive for everything that goes into it...unless you are just going for fish. In that case, still more expensive but not as bad as a coral tank.

That being said, way more interesting.

I have spent about 5 times what the initial tank costs and it’s only 6 months old. With that said I am having a blast. I don’t make my own saltwater…. Yet..

We do mix our own water. We have a system that changes a little water (1.5 gallons) every day. That makes it very easy to keep up with that part of it.

A fish only sw system is no more difficult than a fresh. Once you start adding corals the complexity rises but, depending on species it can be pretty easy. As a sw system ages it gets easier to maintain.

I do mix my own water. It’s cheaper to mix it than buy it once you get into larger systems.

We had both fresh and salt growing up. Salt was a good bit more difficult. It is a lot easier nowadays, though, because of the internet. Back then (90s mainly) you had to rely on others and books, and there was no consensus whatsoever it seemed. Information was hard to come by. That's not a problem now. Hell, you can have information overload if you aren't careful.

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A fish only sw system is no more difficult than a fresh.

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Yea it would be fish only.

Something like this:



Do I need a sump for fish only or can I get away with a hang on back for starting out?

I used to have a 75 gallon salt several years ago. It was relatively easy for me (after initial tank cycle) because I decided to make it an aggressive fish tank. I had live rock, but since I had aggressive fish like clown trigger & hawk fish, I couldn’t have shrimp, snails, corals, etc. So, no expensive lighting & upkeep. I really enjoyed it. If you went salt, I would recommend a large one. I wouldn’t recommend a small salt tank because you don’t want fluctuations in water salinity & quality.

Currently,, I just have 5 gallon freshwater nano, planted tank with endler livebearers, a tiny bumblebee goby & cherry shrimp in my office. I think I’m enjoying my little planted tank more. The plants are pretty satisfying to grow & the little endlers are colorful & fun to watch. I do have upgraded lighting for plants, but this freshwater planted tank set-up is a lot less expensive than a salt of similar size & a lot less maintenance.

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I have one. It’s awesome but $$$$. Coral anywhere from 30-200, fish the same. I have to buy saltwater every other week for water changes. I spent $200 or so on different test kits.

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this ^^^^^^^^^^

saltwater tanks are for the rich who can pay someone to take care of all that, its really a full time job 24/7 and expensive as shite