Just curious if anyone is into marine tanks? What's the maintainance difference between that and fresh? I am looking into a 75 gallon. I was told that between the live rock and substrate that water changes aren't such a priority because they feed off of the waste and bacteria? Any info on diffuculty would be appreciated. Thanks guys
Anyone mess with saltwater?
- Thread starter specialized002
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25% water changes every 2 weeks is a good idea. check the salinity and pH often saltwater fish are alot more sensitive to water conditions its not much more difficult stock ur tank with plenty of snails and hermit crabs cuz algae is more of a problem. if ur getting corals make sure tht ur fish a reef freindly. its not really anymore difficult, as there is a biological solution to any problem that will arise in you tank and if ur not a fan of biology theres a supplement for every problem as well.
also if you plan for reef, make sure your lighting is good.
i do 10% waterchanges weekly.
get a good test kit (like ELOS) i used red sea they suck. unaccurate!
also live rock is pretty much a must!, in Saltwater you cannt keep ad many fish as freshwater. Skimmers are great for filteration!
i do 10% waterchanges weekly.
get a good test kit (like ELOS) i used red sea they suck. unaccurate!
also live rock is pretty much a must!, in Saltwater you cannt keep ad many fish as freshwater. Skimmers are great for filteration!
I have no skimmer, no mechanical filtration, and no chemical filtration at all. All I have is biological and some macro algeas to soak up the nitrates. I enjoy it A LOT. No rinsing to do, just some occasional prunning. My powerheads push most of excess food and other crap into my overflow, and my mini-hermits eat whatever drops into the my refugium. I also have mysis shrimp multiplying at a decent rate in the caulerpa, and the caulerpa grows at an astounding rate.
There is more then one way to skin a cat, and so far I like this method the most. As soon as the money gets saved up, I am gutting the filtration in my solana and doing a hob fuge with a ton of LR in the back where the skimmer used to be.
As far as difficulty, I spend less time on my saltwater tanks then I have on my freshwater. But my freshwater tanks were stocked with cichlids, which are messy and somewhat destructive.
There is more then one way to skin a cat, and so far I like this method the most. As soon as the money gets saved up, I am gutting the filtration in my solana and doing a hob fuge with a ton of LR in the back where the skimmer used to be.
As far as difficulty, I spend less time on my saltwater tanks then I have on my freshwater. But my freshwater tanks were stocked with cichlids, which are messy and somewhat destructive.
Lighting, skimmer, r.o. system. Be proactive, get every test kit and use them. Spot the problem(red algae) before it arises. Everything else is cake.
*Blink. Blink...BlinkBlink.*
Okay. Well I think you are all wrong.
The only thing I read that I thought was right was :Theres more than one way to skin a cat"
That being said...H2O changes are strictly based on your setup. No one can tell someone else what they need to do. You need to set up a system that works for you, monitor h2o quality, and then do h2o changes accordingly. No other way to do it. Depends too much on stocking, filtration...too many variables for a one answer solution. I used to do 25% weekly on my 75g reef. No reason to, determined that through testing, and now I do 25% every other week.
Okay. Well I think you are all wrong.
The only thing I read that I thought was right was :Theres more than one way to skin a cat"
That being said...H2O changes are strictly based on your setup. No one can tell someone else what they need to do. You need to set up a system that works for you, monitor h2o quality, and then do h2o changes accordingly. No other way to do it. Depends too much on stocking, filtration...too many variables for a one answer solution. I used to do 25% weekly on my 75g reef. No reason to, determined that through testing, and now I do 25% every other week.
Stock slowly. Monitor your water quality. Live rock is a definite must! Lots of good deals can probably be found on Craigslist in your area.
Keeping a close eye on your salinity is extremely important. Topping off evaporated water will help keep it stable.
I wouldn't say it's more difficult than freshwater. It's the same amount of work, just different types of work. Hardy species will help you gain confidence.
Go slowly in your stocking.
Live rock will also help your tank complete the nitrogen cycle. I used raw shrimp in pantyhose and live rock and my cycle completed within two weeks. Then I did a water change and introduced fish. I personally introduce one fish at a time, but that may be paranoia.
Keeping a close eye on your salinity is extremely important. Topping off evaporated water will help keep it stable.
I wouldn't say it's more difficult than freshwater. It's the same amount of work, just different types of work. Hardy species will help you gain confidence.
Go slowly in your stocking.
Live rock will also help your tank complete the nitrogen cycle. I used raw shrimp in pantyhose and live rock and my cycle completed within two weeks. Then I did a water change and introduced fish. I personally introduce one fish at a time, but that may be paranoia.
