Marine Or Fresh HELP! POLL!

dude412 · Member Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 148

im having a lot of trounle deciding on my tank styl for 35 gal im not sure to go marine or fresh im used to fresh and its not as hard as marine but i like a lot of the unque fish that fit in that size a tank so id like you to help by voting thx

grnlemonade · Super Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 1027

well i say there are three factors to consider...

1:budget- if budget isnt a problem you can do marine
2:variety- if you like the variety of fish in one type of water chemistry over the other then choose it.
3:maintenence- how much time do you have to maintain the tank on average once a week?

dude412 · Member Joined: 18 May 2004 Posts: 148

well bugedtet isnt a huge issue i dont amekt that much but i can save up time is an issue though im usally a little busy at the skatepark and i love the vareity of saltwater

Hooben · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:28 am Post subject:

Pretty much, the difference is huge. If you already have a tank, the salt water aquarium will support less fish than the freshwater will. The cost will be substantially higher for both fish and added supplies. Then you must also mix the salt into the water and buy the salt for every water change. You can only used bottled or reverse osmosis water, no tap water allowed.
You may need to add trace elements as well. The substrate for your freshwater tank will need to go, you will need crushed shell substrate from fiji shipped wet and alive...pretty expensive. You will need a few things too...
hydrometer- measures the amount of salt in the water
protein skimmer- removes dissolved organic and inorganic matter
If you are into conservation, most saltwater fishes are taken from wild reefs, very few are spawned in tanks. Most freshwater fish are spawned in tank farms in Florida and Arizona, and sold for much cheaper. Find yourself a local fish shop that can give you good advice! Good luck...

hooterhead · Member Joined: 03 Apr 2005 Posts: 86

i don't think the protein skimmer is a must if your only running fish. i've been doing fish only for about 2 1/2 years w/out a skimmer. and i don't really think that marine is harder than fresh once you get to know what you are doing.

marine is way more expensive. you have less of a choice on what fish you can put together. not many marine fish will be ok in a 35. fish cost a LOT more. and yes you will need more supplies.

Fishfirst · Member Joined: 14 Dec 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Wisconsin

Why don't you go on a true marine forum such as www.reefcentral.com and get the real scoop. Nano fish are numorous but you'd only be able to keep 2-4.