Help Needed !

[sjcneedshelp321]

please can you help me interested in setting up a marine aquarium, how much time roughly is needed per day? thanks, any help appreciated

SJC

 

[SkiFletch]

to TFF SJC, hope you enjoy your stay. To directly answer your question, a properly setup marine tank will take very little maintenance daily other than inspection and feeding. Sometimes things like salt creep need to be maintained and other times small tasks need to be performed like cleaning a skimmer or that sort of thing, but not much is required daily. Weekly or bi-weekly water changes of 10% or 20% respectively should be performed depending on how big an aquarium you have. Since it appears you're new to marine fishkeeping, you might want to check out this thread which has a lot of links to topics for those just starting out. Also let us know any other questions you have, we're here to help . Are you thinking about a tank with fish only, or a reef with mixed corals, etc?

 

[sjcneedshelp321]

to TFF SJC, hope you enjoy your stay. To directly answer your question, a properly setup marine tank will take very little maintenance daily other than inspection and feeding. Sometimes things like salt creep need to be maintained and other times small tasks need to be performed like cleaning a skimmer or that sort of thing, but not much is required daily. Weekly or bi-weekly water changes of 10% or 20% respectively should be performed depending on how big an aquarium you have. Since it appears you're new to marine fishkeeping, you might want to check out this thread which has a lot of links to topics for those just starting out. Also let us know any other questions you have, we're here to help . Are you thinking about a tank with fish only, or a reef with mixed corals, etc?

Thanks ski.. that helps.. i got that impression from the book im reading at the moment but met someone who completly contradicted it, so i needed a third opinion ! well imo i think coral looks nicer but i've got the impression that they die much quicker than fish if you don't have the water perfect (hope i don't make myself sound like an idiot here !) so i was thinking of just starting off with a coral free tank and seeing how it goes. I THINK i understand most of it except for a 'cycle' (?) ALSO i just would like your opinion on whether i should go for the whole marine scene or it will just end up leaving a big hole in my wallet and a bunch of dead fish?

SJC

p.s. thanks for the previous post SkiFletch, just what i needed to hear!

 

[SkiFletch]

Glad I could help . Sounds to me like you're off to the right track. Some of your concerns are common ones but really not all that warranted IMO. Corals are very easy to keep if you select the appropriate ones. Most LPS and soft coral species are pretty hardy and can tolerate some imperfections in the water. As long as you set your tank up properly with LR, aragonite sand, sufficient flowrate, reasonable lighting, and do water changes, a softie/lps tank can be kept without exotic care. Go ahead and check out my diary if you'd like as this is pretty much what I keep. No strange supplimentation or other maintenance needed, just water changes

you are correct though when you consider the hobby expensive. smaller tanks can be done cheaper of course, but that limits your stocking options. IMO the saltwater world is beautiful and I dont know if I'll ever give up a reef tank . The hobby can be difficult to grasp, but with the help of forums like this and the great people here, I'm sure you'll learn quickly