Saltwater vs Freshwater

[sealcarp]

Ok, please forgive me, I'm a newbie to this forum. I have had a 45g freshwater chiclid tank for 12 years. Our basement is in process of remodeling and I am going to purchase a 120g or 150g tank. I would like to turn my 45g into saltwater, but I'm terrified! I have heard that it's not that much harder. Ideally, I would love to start the big tank as salt, but I realized very quickly that it would be cost prohibited. I also heard that I shouldn't start a saltwater tank under 55g.

Any thoughts and suggestions would greatly be helpful.

Thanks!

 

[alter40]

You can do a saltwater tank under 55g without any issues at all. The cost is going to be high even for a 45g tank. With a tank that size you will need probably about 60 pounds of LR and I would say it goes on average for about $7 a pound so there is $420 right there (if I'm doing my math right). Plus you would have to get the sand, powerheads, salt, etc... Usually saltwater will cost more then you expect it to. They are amazing aquariums and if you can do when then you should, but it won't come too cheap.

 

[sealcarp]

Thanks!

In your opinion, is the start up & upkeep much harder for salt vs freshwater? I understand there is more involved. I've been told that once the tank is established, its not that much different.

 

[kendakr]

There is an excellent sticky on how to set up a nano. I am in the process of setting up a 29 gallon and it has been up for about two months. I have a 29 fresh that is six months as well. IMO the main difference btwn setting up fresh and salt is that things in salt can go bad quicker then in fresh. Cycling isn't that different except you can use live rock instead of relying heavily on a filter Anyways, if you decide to go salt it is definitely doable for a 45 with a little commitment and since you already have experience with fresh it should be an easier transition. Good luck with your decision.

 

[alter40]

I haven't kept a saltwater tank myself but looked into doing it and from what I have heard once the tank is established its not that bad. You just have to make sure that you do test your water and test the salinity level and make sure that the water is ok. You also have to make sure to top off the tank because if the water evaporates the salt does not so your salinity level of the water will go up if you don't top it off often. You also can't use the tap water for the tank like you can with a freshwater tank. You will need to get RO (reverse osmosis) water or get an RO or RO/DI system for your house so you can make your own water instead of carting 5 gallon jugs back and forth to the store to fill your tank.

Once you have the RO/DI system, which is part of the start up I guess, its not that bad as long as you are willing to test the water and keep up with the maintenance of the tank itself.

 

[Lotus]

You can definitely run a sucessful tank that's around 40 or 50 gallons. Once you've gotten the tank setup and stocked, it's just water changes every week and keeping parameters in check.

Corals add a whole other level of difficulty/expense/care. A tank with fish and live rock should be reasonably straightforward.

One thing you should know before you start is that stocking levels in saltwater are much lower than in freshwater. You can probably keep about 5 or 6 small fish in a 45g tank. If you're a big-fish fanatic, you may want to rethink the tank size, or adjust your fish choices.

 

[sweetpickles7]

You can use tap water. The only thing with using it though is you might get bad algae blooms.

 

[sealcarp]

Tank Strength

Thanks everyone!! I have a silly question, my current 45g tank sits on its stand with no bottom support. Since I will have to put so much LR, sand, etc should I buy a different stand that supports the bottom of the tank?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

My 45g stand does that too... it'll be fine. If you look at the bottom of a tank, the bottom glass is raised up a tiny bit by the bottom "frame," so it isn't flush with the stand top regardless.

The startup costs of a saltwater tank are much higher, but then it costs around the same to maintain (just salt for water changes and more expensive to stock). It is a slower startup than freshwater, since you want the live rock to cycle before you add fish, and then you add fish slowly. Then the maintenance is about the same. The only real difference in maintenance is mixing up the water before a water change.

(Then again, that's not including reef... I'm sure reef tanks are harder to maintain since a lot of corals need individual feeding and lots of different levels need to be monitored.)

 

[KahluaZzZ]

depends on wich corals...a lot of easy photosynthetic ones don't need much care, only light and clean water ( frequent change to regain elements too ) without constant monitoring.