I got a 65 gallon hexagon tank free from craigslist. The guy told me he used it for saltwater fish. My first question is can I use it for freshwater or should I keep it saltwater? Second question if I do keep it saltwater what will I need and how much is it going to cost? I have never had a saltwater tank before. I would appreciate any information you have. Thank you
saltwater or freshwater?
- Thread starter Robin King
- Start date
You could use it for either. Did it come with any equipment? Some stuff is useable for either SW or FW, some stuff not so much.
A hexagon tank is an odd size. If you're looking at going the saltwater route, be aware that the height makes lighting difficult for corals, and the shape of the tank doesn't allow much swimming space for larger fish. So your choices for fish are going to be limited to smaller size, not very active fish.
In SW, much like FW, the expense depends a lot on what you want to put into the equipment. You could probably do a fish only tank reasonably cheaply, but again you're limited on the number and types of fish with the awkward tank size. The maintenance on a SW tank is a bit more tricky, as you have to pre-mix the saltwater prior to water changes, and also have to add fresh water back in daily to top of what was lost due to evaporation. You can do an auto top-off (ATO), and there are many options for it, but it adds complexity and expense. Ideally, the water you'd be using should be RODI, which doesn't have all the impurities which tend to lead to algae growth, but that's not an absolute requirement. Especially for fish only, as long as your source water is pretty decent.
One of the typical large expenses in SW is live rock (rock with beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms living within the pores). You can also do this part more cheaply, either through craigslist or by buying mostly dry reef rock (many options for this - check out marco rocks) and adding one or two pieces of live rock to seed the dry with all the microorganisms.
Really look into what you want to do and what you want to look at every day. There are plenty of interesting / flashy fish in either SW or FW. Also look into what you're willing to put in maintenance-wise on a weekly basis. If you aren't going to keep up with water changes in SW, and don't want to buy equipment which might mitigate that (protein skimmer and/or algae scrubber), you'll end up with an algae-covered nightmare that is no fun, and you'll end up scrapping the whole thing.
A hexagon tank is an odd size. If you're looking at going the saltwater route, be aware that the height makes lighting difficult for corals, and the shape of the tank doesn't allow much swimming space for larger fish. So your choices for fish are going to be limited to smaller size, not very active fish.
In SW, much like FW, the expense depends a lot on what you want to put into the equipment. You could probably do a fish only tank reasonably cheaply, but again you're limited on the number and types of fish with the awkward tank size. The maintenance on a SW tank is a bit more tricky, as you have to pre-mix the saltwater prior to water changes, and also have to add fresh water back in daily to top of what was lost due to evaporation. You can do an auto top-off (ATO), and there are many options for it, but it adds complexity and expense. Ideally, the water you'd be using should be RODI, which doesn't have all the impurities which tend to lead to algae growth, but that's not an absolute requirement. Especially for fish only, as long as your source water is pretty decent.
One of the typical large expenses in SW is live rock (rock with beneficial bacteria and other microorganisms living within the pores). You can also do this part more cheaply, either through craigslist or by buying mostly dry reef rock (many options for this - check out marco rocks) and adding one or two pieces of live rock to seed the dry with all the microorganisms.
Really look into what you want to do and what you want to look at every day. There are plenty of interesting / flashy fish in either SW or FW. Also look into what you're willing to put in maintenance-wise on a weekly basis. If you aren't going to keep up with water changes in SW, and don't want to buy equipment which might mitigate that (protein skimmer and/or algae scrubber), you'll end up with an algae-covered nightmare that is no fun, and you'll end up scrapping the whole thing.
Thank you for all of the information it was very helpful. I have an artisan well my water is perfect. I have tested it several times and I brought a sample to my lfs. The sample tested perfect. I feel very lucky that I don't have to treat my water. From what you said though I think I will stick with freshwater. I don't have a lot of money and I don't know much about saltwater tanks. Thank you again for the information.
Lol I am sure she is. I have seen a lot of idea's also. But I have not checked pinterest yet. But I will now. Thank you. My friend and I share a 20 gallon breeding tank that has guppy, endler and swordtail babies that I might take. Or I might try a new fish I have not had before? I'm not sure yet. Thank you for suggesting pinterest.