Saltwater vs Freshwater Tanks

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Derpy007

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 14, 2014
95
0
8
USA
Hello everybody. I have had a 55G fish tank rusting in my house for about 2 years now. We have recently gotten everything we need for it with the exception of fish, decor, and sand. We were going to finish it after our vacation (which I am still on) but we have gone snorkeling several times here now and the saltwater fish and coral are absolutely beautiful. We have since been discussing wether or not we should switch to a coral tank with fish or keep our "aggressive" freshwater idea. To switch to saltwater we do not have to sell any components or buy anything large. We worry about the maintenance, cost, fish tank size, and experience required. We are semi experienced fish tank owners who have only ever had freshwater tanks. We currently take care of a 45G, a 30G, and 10G. I have owned a 250G, 75G, 55G, and multiple 20G tanks. We are also looking to keep the price under 500 dollars. Thank you for reading my novel and have a nice day :)
 
Long story short answer...with $500 budget you can get decent nice freshwater live stock while with $500 for saltwater setup and stock meant nothing :P
 
^Not true.
 
with a price tag of 500$ the remainder equipment will cost I will say 200$. the sand will be 35$ and the live rock if you buy from someone locally you may get for 2$ a pound so another 110$. that gives you around 150$ to play with. clown fish and damsels are around 20$ each so we will say 100$ for now, then for 50$ you can buy from a local guy around 10 frags or 5 nice coral pieces. in the end for 500$ assuming your lighting and at least filter now are adequate you can still do a nice saltwater aquarium. just some thought I managed to switch a 150 gallon over for around 600$, I had the light, a sump, and a few friends in saltwater which definitely helped, but it's easily do able. best of luck and enjoy the beauty of the ocean in your home
 
You can do a nice coral/fish setup for under $500. Cost will be a little more but not much, just keep it simple, and don't give in to all the saltwater fads and misconceptions that are floating around.
 
^Agreed and if you dont go the coral route,FOWL,you will come in a whole lot lower.
 
Thanks for all the help guys. I really appreciate it and we will take all of this into consideration.
 
How much coral should I buy at first? Will it reproduce? How do I place the live rock in the aquarium? Sorry about all of these questions guys... lol
 
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