Marine vs Freshwater

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kavin2845

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 26, 2012
985
1
16
Malden,Massachusetts
Hey guys need some advise lol
I'm going on vacation the coming Monday and won't be back till August 29 so I broke down my smallest 35 gallon tank sold all the fish and just have heaters and filters and all the freshwater things I would need. Now I'm just deciding on what to do with it? Lol I've never done a planted tank (only a really tiny 2.5 which went great then I sold to a good friend of mine) so I was thinking if a planted route but then I also wanted to do a saltwater tank for years what do you guys think? The saltwater would be a lot pricier than the planted and I would have to save up alot oh and I'm heading of to college in about 2 years and my parents would have to take care if the tank when I'm gone (there not the best aquarists in the world) so what do you guys think? Oh and if I go planted has anyone ever had ploys with plants was it successful? Failure?
-Kavin


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Nova 8 said:
I would wait til you return.
Click to expand...

+1
It's your hobby dude, I mean, our parents could go and take care of things... but the 'passion' dude... 'passion', I'd say wait then after all those things DO IT.
 
If your parents end up taking care of it give them fish tank 101 (I did this -worked great my mom can now be trusted to feed, do water changes and understands what to look for (if tank spikes, if fish are injured, if something might indicate a problem), how to clean a basic filter and all that fun stuff). I feel like saltwater was more of a pain in a smaller system when I did it so I would stick with fresh until you are done with all of your schooling and stuff. It would probably be easier on them also if they agree to help you out! I think for right now freswater is the way to go.
 
I once tried to do a saltwater tank in a 29 gallon setup. It was a horrendous nightmare to try to maintain in that small of a body of water, likely because of my insistence on trying to keep a reef. I eventually ended up getting a 55 and a sump which made life much easier, the tank was far more stable. I'd steer clear of salt until you can get a bigger tank and have a good bit of disposable income. Salt tanks can get frightfully expensive to maintain.

As for your next step, a planted tank sounds really nice. I agree with the sentiments of the others in this thread though, wait until you're back from vacation to set it up!
 
I've done lots of saltwater tanks and the easiest to keep was my 220. Hardest was our 20. Small fluctuations are big in a small tank and small in a big tank IMO. Saltwater is great but is alot more hands on and more expensive to do water changes on.

As others said, best to wait either way. Plenty of time to decide.


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Honestly, i would say the amount of work you work have to put into a Planted Freshwater tank, VS a Saltwater Tank would more or less be the same... since depending on the types of plants you use, you'll more or less have to trim them every week once its all grown in properly...

On the other hand, if you were to do a straight Freshwater tank with just fish and hardscape, i could see your parents possibly willing to help out, and actually able to keep up with the load while your away for school IF they have an interest in keeping fish...
 
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