Does anybody here have a saltwater fish tank?

WDWBen

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I've gotten money from family for housewarming gifts and the holidays, so I've decided I want to set up a salt water fish tank. Does anybody here have any experience with them? Any help or hints would be great! I'm looking at starting small, 14 gallons. I really like how this tank looks:

http://www.petco.com/product/106669/...t=FishFC_Tanks

I know it takes time to set up, and I'd obviously want live corals, rocks, and other sea life. So if anybody has any tips, or knows of good websites, I think I'm gonna pick up the tank and starting kit this weekend.
 
I had a Goldfish once? that count?
 
Step 3. Add fish.
 
I've always wanted a saltwater tank...However, I hear it can get real expensive real fast.
 
I've gotten money from family for housewarming gifts and the holidays, so I've decided I want to set up a salt water fish tank. Does anybody here have any experience with them? Any help or hints would be great! I'm looking at starting small, 14 gallons. I really like how this tank looks:

http://www.petco.com/product/106669/...t=FishFC_Tanks

I know it takes time to set up, and I'd obviously want live corals, rocks, and other sea life. So if anybody has any tips, or knows of good websites, I think I'm gonna pick up the tank and starting kit this weekend.

i haven't, but a guy i used to work with had a gigantic one.

it almost ruined him, the corals/plants/fish are sooo fucking expensive
and it's very hard to keep the tank healthy. the 3rd time everything died, he got rid of it...
 
You must be prepared to spend thousands upon thousands of pounds if you want to take care of it properly, even on a small tank.

Do you have any prior experience with keeping freshwater tropical fish?
 
Just don't do it. Unless you have had a few years successfully managing an ecosystem in a freshwater tank...
 
^^^I concur.

Start off with a Freshwater tank (go for the biggest tank yo can afford/fit into your room). Believe me, I started off with a 20 gallon tank and it was all tears till I got a huge (for me) 5 feet by 3 feet tank. Even for a smaller tank like the 20 gal one, you would be surprised by the amount of maintenance it needs. Just changing the water (1/4th at a time) and cleaning the glass takes some effort.

Add to that taking care of the water by letting the water stand for a few days to let the chlorine escape from the water and all such stuff makes it a lot of work.

You might want to go through these websites to get some good info about what you are getting into:

http://www.fishlore.com/
http://www.aquarticles.com/ <---- I highly recommend this site.

But, in the end, keeping fish is the most relaxing and (believe me) involving experience. If you get it right, there is nothing in the world that gives you the same level of relaxation.
 
^ This.

Be prepared for the unexpected as well. I had a tank that was originally home to couple danios. I looked in the tank one day to discover I suddenly had quite a few danios. Most of the babies died off but two are still living. It felt good to keep them alive when I barely had any experience with fish to begin with.
 
I agree that you should start with a FW tank. I went with a 55G tank to start and I'm glad I didn't get anything smaller, although it can be a lot of maintenance at times. A large tank gives you room for expansion, which is nice if your fish are as prolific as mine are. New babies every other week, I swear!
 
Sorry, I failed to mention I've had a 5 gallon freshwater tank going for about 2.5, 3 years now. It's survived trips to and from college (6+ hour drive) and the move from my parents' house to my apartment.

I've joined a Reef forum in hopes of having my questions answered. I actually got, for free, a 30 gallon tank with hood, a busted filter pump (which I've ordered a new one), and heater. The tank has held a saltwater system before, so I know all the parts are good for that. It's currently half full of water with no leaks (no circulation yet, as there's no filter pump, but when that arrives, so too will filters and a BioWheel) and I'm quite happy with getting all of that for free. The hood alone was worth $140.
 
I agree that you should start with a FW tank. I went with a 55G tank to start and I'm glad I didn't get anything smaller, although it can be a lot of maintenance at times. A large tank gives you room for expansion, which is nice if your fish are as prolific as mine are. New babies every other week, I swear!

lol, yes, one of my friend has babies every other week as well...but since they're cichlides, they don't survive very long :p

every now and then, once is able to stay low profile between the rocks and grow up though

and sometimes a full grown one gets eaten...they keep their numbers in balance :p

don't know how much water is contains, but it's big! 200 x 50 x 70 cm or sth
 
My dad has two 180 gallon saltwater tanks... and it's cost us a great deal getting them running like we have now. Mind you... there is a $1000+ eel in there though. I'll grab some pics when I can.
 
Don't do it unless you have thousands to burn. You should also remember that bigger is better in tank size as a small tank you can only really have 2 or 3 fish.
 
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