Saltwater VS Freshwater Help!

[Hellothemouse]

We are first time fish people, and I am looking for all the help I can get.
We do not want anything huge just something nice looking with pretty fish No sharks

Does anyone have a freshwater tank? (I am trying to stay away from goldfish, been there done that wasn't wonderful ) If so what size did you start with, what kind of fish do you have and how much time does it require to mantain it?

TIA

 

[dzorn]

We are first time fish people, and I am looking for all the help I can get.
We do not want anything huge just something nice looking with pretty fish No sharks

Does anyone have a freshwater tank? (I am trying to stay away from goldfish, been there done that wasn't wonderful ) If so what size did you start with, what kind of fish do you have and how much time does it require to mantain it?

TIA

Salt water is harder to maintain.(brother had one) We had freshwater. I perfer a bigger tank 20-40 gallons. Once the filter is up and running it was not really that hard to maintain. Cleaned the fliter once a month maybe. Added water weekly(kept in a milk jug so it was room temp.) A good cleaning twice a year. We had neon tetra, angel fish, kissing gormies(sp?) and a few other varities.

Denise in MI

 

[MonoManBlue]

Saltwater takes a LOT of time. I started (still starting) with a 40g. Most people will recommend starting with a 55g, however, the 40 was free. With saltwater, there is so much more to just even setting the tank up than you'd ever believe. Check out this thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

with that said, saltwater is one of the most beautiful aquariums out there. Once you get the tank up and running, they still require some maintenance (although all tanks will).

Freshwater tanks can very fun too, and are certainly easier for someone who doesn't have the time/inclination to really go all out. You can usually get that sort of tank up and running in a day, whereas a saltwater may take several months.

Whatever you decide, make sure you do plenty of research so you know exactly what you want and how to achieve it.

For me though, I love the look of saltwater tanks with reefs and the saltwater fish, so I will always sway that direction!!

 

[mrsv98]

We have had both and everything about the saltwater tank is more...more work, more money, more fussing! Right now, DD has three tanks in her room, a 2.5gal with two goldfish, a 4 gal with a male Betta and a 1gal with a female Betta. All three are easy to take care of and the Bettas are pretty bulletproof. Of course I don't think you could kill a goldfish if you tried!

Having a tank with a filter makes a huge difference since it doesn't have to be cleaned daily. Bettas, tetras and other small fish in that category would be a good place to start.

Yes, salt water fish are very pretty but they are such a pain to take care of, I let my tank go after 18 months and we are much happier with the smaller "regular" tanks.

 

[aaarcher86]

We have a huge 90 gal saltwater that my husband maintains. Before it was self sufficient it was the catalyst for many an argument in this house His arm was ALWAYS in the darn thing!

Before the saltwater tank we did have a small freshwater tank and that was almost no maintenance at all. We had fresh water puffer fish and probably something else that I can't remember. The only thing I didn't like was that fresh water fish are kind of blah. They aren't bright and vibrant but there are a few pretty ones that you can get if you plan ahead.

 

[Coconut36]

Growing up I had a medium size freshwater tank and we currently have a small desktop freshwater tank for ODS room.

I find freshwater to be low/minimal maintenance. We have a goldfish and 2 tetras in ODS tank and as a kid I had white mollies, tetras, guppies (that the fish person told me can be "picky" about the water..our guppy for ODS didn't even last a week!), "mickey mouse" platy and any number of other freshwater fish (the fish varied as they passed on and were replaced).

I found asking the people what fish did well together and what they recommended worked best for us. They pointed us towards fish that would do best in the size/type of tank we had and so far so good.

 

[NatashaDisneyCM]

I guess I disagree with everyone that says fresh water is easier or saltwater is harder! I do not buy this AT ALL!
I had a 85 gallon tank,I started with fresh water, ...basically I killed the fish I had within the first week and a half, It was dirty all the time, and I know you have to cycle the water with the fish, etc,etc, etc.

I said to heck with it, I LOVED the fish from Salt water, they are much hardier, than fresh, what I did was I got a 10 water bottle, I went all out, I did not have to go thru the water cycling stuff like I did with fresh. I had a great pump(a great pump is key here) and a bottom pump, I had live rock, and sea creatures, reefs.....yes, it was more. But my fish lived long healthy lives! Never any ick, or other weird diseases.

I would do a H2O change every week, around 10 gallons, I just made up the H2o bottle pre-made with the salt, and it was so easy!!

SO beautiful to look at!
But than again, I am a Chemist, and into Biology...maybe it just comes natural to me!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We are first time fish people, and I am looking for all the help I can get.
We do not want anything huge just something nice looking with pretty fish No sharks

Does anyone have a freshwater tank? (I am trying to stay away from goldfish, been there done that wasn't wonderful ) If so what size did you start with, what kind of fish do you have and how much time does it require to mantain it?

TIA

I have a Betta in a 10gal tank right now and it is still a pain.

Seriously we have had fish before in my family, some of them with HUGE tanks. Fish are a time consuming hobby that is expensive. Esp. when you have a KILL.

My poor sister had to flush $300 worth of fish down the toilet. They got a horrible infection and it just was a major kill from some new fish she bought.

What you do is research the type of fish you want & what kind of groupings and then you choose the tank size based on that. You will find that is your best starting point.

 

[Hellothemouse]

We have a huge 90 gal saltwater that my husband maintains. Before it was self sufficient it was the catalyst for many an argument in this house His arm was ALWAYS in the darn thing!

Before the saltwater tank we did have a small freshwater tank and that was almost no maintenance at all. We had fresh water puffer fish and probably something else that I can't remember. The only thing I didn't like was that fresh water fish are kind of blah. They aren't bright and vibrant but there are a few pretty ones that you can get if you plan ahead.

See, I feel the same way! This is one of the reasons why I would rather make the investment in a saltwater tank

Saltwater takes a LOT of time. I started (still starting) with a 40g. Most people will recommend starting with a 55g, however, the 40 was free. With saltwater, there is so much more to just even setting the tank up than you'd ever believe. Check out this thread.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

with that said, saltwater is one of the most beautiful aquariums out there. Once you get the tank up and running, they still require some maintenance (although all tanks will).

Freshwater tanks can very fun too, and are certainly easier for someone who doesn't have the time/inclination to really go all out. You can usually get that sort of tank up and running in a day, whereas a saltwater may take several months.

Whatever you decide, make sure you do plenty of research so you know exactly what you want and how to achieve it.

For me though, I love the look of saltwater tanks with reefs and the saltwater fish, so I will always sway that direction!!

Thank you! I will check out that link

I guess I disagree with everyone that says fresh water is easier or saltwater is harder! I do not buy this AT ALL!
I had a 85 gallon tank,I started with fresh water, ...basically I killed the fish I had within the first week and a half, It was dirty all the time, and I know you have to cycle the water with the fish, etc,etc, etc.

I said to heck with it, I LOVED the fish from Salt water, they are much hardier, than fresh, what I did was I got a 10 water bottle, I went all out, I did not have to go thru the water cycling stuff like I did with fresh. I had a great pump(a great pump is key here) and a bottom pump, I had live rock, and sea creatures, reefs.....yes, it was more. But my fish lived long healthy lives! Never any ick, or other weird diseases.

I would do a H2O change every week, around 10 gallons, I just made up the H2o bottle pre-made with the salt, and it was so easy!!

SO beautiful to look at!
But than again, I am a Chemist, and into Biology...maybe it just comes natural to me!

What kind of pump do you like?

 

[Nature Mom]

After having a few short-lived fresh water systems, we have been a salt-water tank family since the late 90s. We've had up to a 200 gallon reef tank, but due to a move and a house that couldn't support that size again, we are back down to a 90. We are moving again to a new state soon and will have to start all over, so DH is already looking for a system for the next house...I think he wants to go bigger again, but as long as I have one I am happy with whatever he does with it. (Our first tank was when I was going through chemo the 1st time; it was a better sedative than any pill!)

I agree with the PPs, until you get the salt-water set up the way you want, your arm will be in it all the time. Once you get the system in order though, it only needs routine maintenance. We use a Berlin system on this tank, but our last tank had a refugium type filter system.

ETA: Totally agree about checking out Reef Central's site. Very good info there, lots of good people. One of my DH's fave boards to hang out on. Also check out your Craigslist for systems for sale. We sold our last on there, got this one off of there, and will probably re-sell it there too. Very good way to save some money and get a complete system, especially when you find those great deals where someone is moving and they can't take it...most times they will take far less than brand new set-up would cost, and if it is a healthy system, you already know everything in it is cycled together and compatible.

I am sitting in front of my tank now...here's a pic of Elphaba...

 

[Hellothemouse]

Beautiful picture!

 

[Nature Mom]

Beautiful picture!

Thanks. I love a reef tank...it is like an underwater garden for inside the house.

If you ever have any questions, I would be happy to help you in any way. Between all our tanks over the years as well as being a partner in a fish store until the market dropped, I have a plethora of useless fish tank knowledge. Just drop me a PM. I love to share my love for something with someone else who may grow to love it too.

 

[treehugnmama]

We have a 55 gal fresh and a 60 gallon brackish water. In the wild it is where a body of salt water meets fresh. It is cool I love hem both

We have a lot of plants in our fresh it is like an underwater garden ( I have a pond to love to water garden). We have a variety of cats in here. Glass cats stick cat. My 7 year old breads live bearers. We are being over run by Mickey platys. There are orange with a black hidden Mickey in the tail. Not very hidden. We do a 15 min vacuum 2 x a month for optimum levels

 

[scrdofbugs]

We have both freshwater and salt water. The freshwater is a 20 gal and the salt is 65 gal. My hubby takes care of them both. We had a salt tank 20 years ago and it was much harder than our current set up. My hubby has everything stable and he really does not have to do anything except during his once a month water changes in the salt tank. We have a yellow tang, 3 clown fish, fox face rabbit fish, 2 yellow tail damsels, cardinal fish, pacific blue tang, coral beauty, a couple snails, one live coral (we didn't have much luck with coral), live rock with feather dusters. We have lost some fish over the years but we love our tank. The freshwater is kinda blah. We keep saying we are going to redo it but never get around to it. My kitten loves to sit on the couch arm and watch the fish especially the yellow tang.