# Saltwater vs. Freshwater?



## Catrina (Mar 18, 2013)

Hello. I am a beginner in the aquarium world, and have only ever had freshwater tanks. I think that saltwater tanks are very beautiful, but as I am on a tight budget, and have little experience with aquariums, I will proabably not attempt a saltwater tank until I have more aquarium experience. I have just been hearing people tank about sumps, and protien skimmers ect., and I am wondering what these actually are. Also, I am wondering what makes having a saltwater tank so much more difficult than a freshwater one? Just curious. Thanks for your help!


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Catrina said:


> Hello. I am a beginner in the aquarium world, and have only ever had freshwater tanks. I think that saltwater tanks are very beautiful, but as I am on a tight budget, and have little experience with aquariums, I will proabably not attempt a saltwater tank until I have more aquarium experience. I have just been hearing people tank about sumps, and protien skimmers ect., and I am wondering what these actually are. Also, I am wondering what makes having a saltwater tank so much more difficult than a freshwater one? Just curious. Thanks for your help!


It's not really more difficult, it's just a bit more expensive.

At the very basic, you need to mix salt in your water. That means buying salt and buying a refractometer.

Then SW needs more water movement than FW, so you need some water pumps. However, you can forgo things like the canister filter.

You will also need Live Rocks. These, coupled with water pumps, will replace the need for traditional FW filters.

Finally, you can also choose to use a deep sand bed for reducing nitrates.

Sumps and protein skimmers are optional based on what you want to keep in the tank.


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## Letigrama (Jul 6, 2008)

Catrina said:


> Hello. I am a beginner in the aquarium world, and have only ever had freshwater tanks. I think that saltwater tanks are very beautiful, but as I am on a tight budget, and have little experience with aquariums, I will proabably not attempt a saltwater tank until I have more aquarium experience. I have just been hearing people tank about sumps, and protien skimmers ect., and I am wondering what these actually are. Also, I am wondering what makes having a saltwater tank so much more difficult than a freshwater one? Just curious. Thanks for your help!


Hi, coming from quite a few years of FW and finally jumping to the SW world, I am finding it much more difficult in terms of filtration and chemistry.

I suggest you read, and read and read some more before taking the plunge. Little of what you know of FW will apply to SW so it's like start all over again. If you are passionate about fish, you'll do research and do just fine. Read about what you need and what type you want and then come back here for specifics questions as these guys are amazingly experienced! Good luck!


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## fesso clown (Nov 15, 2011)

I don't want to sound condescending at all but a successful SW tank is not cheap at all. (I suppose it can be somewhat subjective on what a successful is but even just keeping stuff alive is not even close to cheap-)

start here:
http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7482


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## Catrina (Mar 18, 2013)

Thanks for all the responses! The information helped a lot. I understand it can be very expensive, so I am not planning trying to start one up until I have a lot more information, I just wanted to get an idea about the difference. I have been doing a lot of research on youtube. If I ever get one, I will probably start with a small nano tank. Thanks again!


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## Catrina (Mar 18, 2013)

Thanks for the link! Lots of great information in one place!


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## Zidartha (Nov 16, 2012)

Catrina said:


> I will probably start with a small nano tank.


hrm. I was just looking at a small nano this past weekend. Like others, I'm a Freshie with mts now looking at the colours and varieties of the marine world.

So is there any point to a nano? I mean is it simply a gateway drug that will necessarily and inevitably lead to bigger better salt tanks?

k.


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## Flexin5 (Nov 12, 2011)

imo if you read up on how to keep a saltwater nano tank and you are up for dedicating a good amount of time (and money) to it, you can successfully keep a nano tank. now when I say money I don't mean that you have to go out and buy the most expensive equipment, or the fanciest of coral, but I mean that you'll have to buy salt, buy all the equipment, test kits, food, and whatever else may come up. 

my first tank was a 10 gallon saltwater tank, which I kept many corals of all kinds, sps, lps, softies, and it was going very well until I upgraded to the 130gallon. that tank taught me so much. I've never kept a fish tank prior to this period. up to this day I have NO idea how to setup a fresh water tank. 

it can be done, but with anything if you half-ass it your just setting yourself up for disaster, and wasted money.


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## Bar0n (Nov 26, 2012)

if you were ever interested in making the dive into saltwater, and want to start with something less complicated I would suggest going with an all-in-one type set-up. 

Try the Red Sea Max 130D, Biocube or any of the Innovative Marine Nuvo kits. I personally went with IM Nuvo because it came with a built in sump and upgrades for a skimmer and reactor  i would recommend doing alot of research before starting! Good Luck!


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## Catrina (Mar 18, 2013)

Hmm. I was looking at the Oceanic BioCube 14 gallon, and I think it had three chambers in the back. Does anyone own one of these? I was thinking of making one chamber a refugium.Then maybe a protien skimmer in another one, and then some acitvated carbon and phosphate removal media in mesh bags in the third? I was just reading the link that someone posted, and it seems that these are the most important things to have for proper filtration. I might be wrong though so feel free to correct me. Would this work in the back of the a Biocube?


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## Bar0n (Nov 26, 2012)

i don't think you will be able to fit all that in the back of a biocube.

- a refugium will require a light, not sure how you would get this installed without ruining the appearance of the original tank

- protein skimmer, do you have one in mind? the space in the back of the biocube is limited, you may not be able to find one that will fit within the space and still have the cover close in the back


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Differences between freshwater and saltwater:

*Freshwater*
Fill any clear container with water and throw in some water conditioner
24 hours later throw in a fish and put a HOB filter on

*Saltwater*
Get a tank and throw all your extra money in it then watch it all melt away.

On a serious note, you would be amazed how little I've spent on my new tank.
If you're going into salt I would suggest getting a 10-20g tank to start out with since it would be much easier to manage than a smaller 5g nano and you could experiment with it more. If you lose a couple liters of water due to evaporation in a nano you're toast. Compared to a little larger tank that is more forgiving. My 33g in the basement can go a few days without a top up (yes I know I should do it.)

Here's a breakdown for a saltwater setup on a budget:
10g tank $10 (most of the time you can get one for free)
substrate FREE!! (come to my house and pick it up)
Salt $20 (from March at Fragbox) It'll last you a year easily
Powerheads $20 for 2 koralia nano's (they can be found for this price)
Heater $10 (or free sometimes)
Live Rock $3/LB $30 total (or cheaper sometimes)

So basically to get a 10g tank going it would be less than $100 and I'm pretty sure anybody on this forums will tell you that these prices aren't that far off from par. I've given whole systems away to people starting up just to see how their tanks will be. Utilize these forums, they have alot of awesome people lurking.


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## Letigrama (Jul 6, 2008)

altcharacter said:


> Differences between freshwater and saltwater:
> 
> *Freshwater*
> Fill any clear container with water and throw in some water conditioner
> ...


OMg LMAO- we dudes and ladies from the FW world are not that simple.....

I agree, or if you have a few tanks of your own. Start to do some research and convert one of yours to SW.

What I did. I decided to convert my QT 25g into a saltwater. I used my existing sandbed, empty everything. Connected a fluval 204, heater, air stone, filled it with water, and salt, and waited. bought a salinometer and waited more. then I bought about 20 pounds of live rock. Waited more, then I bought myself some hermit crabs ( they rock), then, when algae started, some snails. Then I added a domino damsel, and lastly a coral banded shrimp and a chocolate chip starfish and voila!. Tank's been perfect for 6 months. However, if you are not going to have a skimmer in the tank, you have to do water changes every week or so. This was my way to start. When I felt that I was ready to make the big step with a sump and protein skimmer etc, I did.

However, constant research and care is a must!

Overall, setting up a new one is fairly inexpensive....I find that the equipment is affordable if you buy it used. Is the livestock that is the most expensive!


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## 12273 (Nov 3, 2012)

Having been in both and having a planted tank and a new saltwater tank I can say from my brief experience that SW will provide you with a different form of enjoyment. It's a whole different kind of life. And everywhere you look things are happening on such a intricate level. It's not like freshwater at all in that aspect. Turn a light on a SW tank at night and it's a totally diferent tank than when the lights are on. 

It's such a majestic beauty and honestly something you simply cannot get with a Fw tank. Fw tanks have there ups and downs as do SW tanks. One is not really better than the other. It's just a matter of how much money, time and research you're willing to do. I spent a couple years reading and researching before taking the plunge. And still only know about 1% of what there is to know. When doing research you'll find many conflicting results while doing a search but ultimately it's up to you to make a educated guess LOL. 

I set up a 34 gallon Red Sea max and it certainly has it's limits. Larger water volume is much much safer. Mine won't take much to throw thing out of Wack. The people on here are amazing and will be more helpful than you may think. And you'll notice its a great resource and people will help you as much as possible. 

For salt water I think some basic research should be done on the functions of a skimmer, lighting and sumps if you want to go that route. Weigh pros and cons with lighting, filtration and what you wanna keep In your tank. Look up SPS coral, LPS coral and softies. Each have specific needs and also you'll find compatible species are hard to find. Look up what it takes to run a successful tank and what you shouldn't cheap out on. 

Test kits, refractometer and a means of doing water changes. Research RO/DI systems and how they work and why you need one. A basic water change isn't exactly "basic" and takes planning and you have to be prepared for the water change. When you get test kits make sure you know how to read them and what you need to test for. 

All in one systems are good IMO but have there issues. Can't be easily customized and limited in equipment you can use. But it's a great place to start and provides basic parts to make it work. I bought a Red Sea max 130 and have changed my lighting and added a auto top off unit. Thermometer and that's pretty much it. It's not perfect but does the job and provides me with basic tools to have a entry level aquarium. You can find 29 gallon bio cubes and Red Sea max tanks for good prices on here. I got mine here and it was a great deal and great shape. It was pretty much new. 

If you want a tank like altcharacter described it can be done much cheaper and has more flexibility. And like he mentioned lots of the stuff can even be free! People are always giving away stuff and thanks to Dave I got a great start to some rock. Thanks to skurj I got some amazing live rock with couple bonus hitch hikers and paid a great price. Dave can also be bought with beer . I have met some great people and were very helpful. Don't be shy to ask questions. Ask for advice and don't even be scared to ask for free stuff. Sand, heater, tanks and sometimes some nice rock can be free. If you can wait you can get most stuff for dirt cheap  all that is asked is that one day someone may need help and it's up to you to pass the buck. 




Sent from my iPhone with auto correct. Can't you tell?


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