fresh vs salt

[kamikaziechameleon]

This is how it was explained to me years ago. the only difference between any higher end f/w setup and s/w is the setup cost. I know plenty of people who dump just as much money into a small plant tank as others with nano reefs. But yes big full reef can be more expensive, but when done right you dont "need" RO units or chillers. My 65 reef setup has over 400w of light over it and doesnt ever have temp. spikes unless the house temp. spikes. It is a different kind of thinking that I take to it but i spend far more setting myn up atfirst and requires next to nothing per month to maintain. I think i spend maybe $10 a month to maintain it.

would cost me 20 dollars or more a month just to run that lighting.

 

[Jc1119]

I kept both most of my life . The initial setup is more expensive, the fish are generally more expensive, lighting costs are more expensive(reef) and all in all, it's just a little bit more work to keep a salt system stable. Water changes on my 300 fw setup are a joke. Hose goes in, siphon starts and I usually watch at least the first half of the early sunday games while I wait.

And for those who think that adding tons of live rock to eliminate nitrates keeps you from having to do water changes should know that Nitrate reduction is only one of the reasons we should all do periodic water changes, regardless of wether it be in a salt or freshwater system. By the same logic, why would someone with a planted tank ever need to do water changes either? And live rock cost for a large system can add up quickly.

I think if you're doing a fish only salt setup, the costs are pretty close but it's still generally cheaper to run a fw. Just the salt cost alone can add up when you keep around 1000 gallons worth of tanks and do water changes regularly

 

[Piicklez]

The only thing i would go salt for is for a shark tank. There are such a large variety of freshwater fish, theyre cheaper, and easy to maintain... I prefer fresh but salt looks nice with a alot of coral.

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

What are your guys thoughts on the nano reef??? It costs about 2-3 times the cost of a similar freshwater planted setup from eclipse that is basically plant ready. FTR I have never added C02 or fertilizer to my planted tanks, and don't see the need for them, a healthy fish to plant ratio and water changes seems to do it for me.

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

The only thing i would go salt for is for a shark tank. There are such a large variety of freshwater fish, theyre cheaper, and easy to maintain... I prefer fresh but salt looks nice with a alot of coral.

yeah I feel like the gap between keeping small salt fish and big fish is a huge gap. I do however feel as though I could afford and manage to keep most of the interesting freshwater fish if I aspired to, the hardest one would be an arapima, but that is still something I wouldn't rule out.

 

[RareExoticFish]

I have 5 years of salt knowledge and i still enjoy fresh and salt the same.
Salt - more fish are colourful and strange, Corals and you also have more of an eco system
Because how lots of fish seem to help each other in the strangest ways. The downsides are..
Fish are impossible to breed and the tank is not as hands on as fresh.

Freshwater - The great thing about freshwater is that fish will almost always breed depending on the type of fish, The tank is way more hands on then salt
because you can stick your hand in without messing up the conditions. A few more positive things are... The fish a alot cheaper ( usually ) then salt and you can also have planted aquariums work out better then your average salt tank. Even though fish ( in my mind ) are not as beautiful in fresh it doesn't mean that there are no oddballs such as an aba aba or a cornish jack ( my favorite fish ).

If you love both salt and fresh then there is an option.... BRACKISH!!!

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

I have 5 years of salt knowledge and i still enjoy fresh and salt the same.
Salt - more fish are colourful and strange, Corals and you also have more of an eco system
Because how lots of fish seem to help each other in the strangest ways. The downsides are..
Fish are impossible to breed and the tank is not as hands on as fresh.

Freshwater - The great thing about freshwater is that fish will almost always breed depending on the type of fish, The tank is way more hands on then salt
because you can stick your hand in without messing up the conditions. A few more positive things are... The fish a alot cheaper ( usually ) then salt and you can also have planted aquariums work out better then your average salt tank. Even though fish ( in my mind ) are not as beautiful in fresh it doesn't mean that there are no oddballs such as an aba aba or a cornish jack ( my favorite fish ).

If you love both salt and fresh then there is an option.... BRACKISH!!!

Brackish is more goofey that I care to deal with I mean I could easily enough add some solar salt to a hard water tank and simulate one but I typically keep brackish fish in fresh and once or twice a year raise the salinity slightly as a precautionary treatment for disease (something of a ritual) and thats it. My monos and various other brackish fish always flourish I've had more trouble with heaters than water salinity.

EDIT: What I mean to say is I love brackish fish and keep them regularly but I've never done a legit brackish tank if you know what I mean.

 

[Pomatomus]

Nano reefs are definitely the way to start unless you want to do FOWLR. Then once your coral frags grow you can upgrade to a larger tank. Personally I like having a lot of small, cheap fish in a reef instead of a few big ones. Keeping big fish with corals means more bioload and more maintenance. Not to mention I spend $10-$30 retail for the small fish whereas the larger ones can REALLY add up. For example, achilles tangs go for about $350, and there is a store by me that is trying to sell a clarion angelfish for $3500!

 

[kamikaziechameleon]

MONEY! A nano with a clown fish next to my bed or desk would be so sweet!

 

[tigerjace]

Here is a reef setup I use to have, it's been a while and just going off memory to give you an idea of cost:

EXTERNAL SETUP: TOTAL = $3300
TANK: 125gal (stand, canopy, tank, = $900)
FILTRATION: Berlin Style Sump, protein skimmer, UV, Return Pump, Heater = $800
LIGHTING: Three 175W 10k Metal Halide / Four 48w actinic blue VHO flourescent bulb (ice cap) = $1000
R.O. UNIT: $200
MISC. EQUIP: Sea Swirl Oscillating device, powerheads etc..$400

INTERNAL SETUP: TOTAL = $6900
LIVE ROCK: 2lbs per gal (300lbs) @ $2 per lb = $600
LIVE SAND: 4" Deep live sand (6-8 40lb bags of caribsea sand) = $200
CORALS: 50pcs on average $60-$100, estimating on high end ($100x50) = $5000
FISH: 15 fish; NasoTang, PowderBlue, HippoTang, etc / 12 Cleaner shrimp = $1000
SALT:160gal bucket = $50 / Calcium/Strontium/Iodine/TraceElements = $50

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST: $10,200
Monthly maintanence: $20-40
Lived in apt. @ time so electricity was free but if had to pay for 125gal alone estimating around $150 per month.

If you are doing Fish only subtract LIGHTS ($1000), CORALS ($5000), CHEMICALS ($50)
FISH TANK ONLY ESTIMATE: $4200. NOW IS IT MORE EXPENSIVE THEN FRESHWATER? 2 PAIRS OF BD RAYS EQUAL THIS MUCH, A HIGH QUALITY XBACK ASIAN ARO IS THIS MUCH, NOT TO MENTION THE SIZE SETUP TO KEEP THEM IN.

complete tank

left / middle / right


Had reef setup for 7yrs, did 10-20% water change every week, then converted to fish only and remove corals only and WENT 2YRS WITHOUT WATER CHANGE. Only replenish evaporated water!