My LFS (Local Fish Store)

[Colin_T]

It is a little bit more expensive to set up a marine tank but more so if you have corals. If you have marine fish and no corals, the only additional cost is artificial marine salts to make the sea water, and a hydrometer to measure the salt level.

Lights are the same for fresh water plants or salt water corals, get a globe with a 6500K rating. The actual marine fish don't need any special lights.

You use the same filters, heaters, air pumps, etc. If you want to add a protein skimmer you can and they help remove proteins from the water so it stays cleaner for longer, but you still do water changes.

You cycle the tank in exactly the same way as in fresh water.

You test the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH the same way as you do in fresh water tanks. And most test kits that get used to test fresh water, can also be used for salt water.

One advantage of saltwater aquariums is the salt level, GH and pH are the same for all fish. So you don't have to worry if the fish are from soft or hard water or if they come from acid water or alkaline water. As long as you don't mix aggressive species with peaceful species, you're pretty much good to go.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

So if you lived by a ocean, it would be much less expensive, because you no longer have to buy artificial salt?

And does a Saltwater tank need to be big? Could it be a 10 gallon, or 20 gallon tank? And does the filter, and or the heater (do saltwater fish need filters?) need to be meant for saltwater?

 

[Back in the fold]

Sounds to me like Colin knows the basics really well and how to do it on a budget. A rank beginner isn't going to go whole hog to start with. A basic saltwater tank to get your feet wet (pun intended) and learn those basics is a good idea. When I started out in this hobby many years ago it was what I like to think of as the Golden Age of the freshwater hobby. Axelrod and others were bringing in new fish to the hobby and many were seeing their first spawnings of a lot of fish that had all been wild caught. The equipment was getting better and information was being spread to everyone. This now seems to be the Golden Age of the marine hobby. The same things are happening. If you want to jump in on it pick Colin's brain and get busy.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Pick Colin’s brain, lol!

I would love to start a 10 gallon Nano, probably no live coral, but.....it all depends on equipment. If I can use the same filter, and heater (if needed), and light then I would go for it! But if not, I am not buying any more equipment. To much $$$.

 

[Back in the fold]

The guy knows his biz.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Me?

 

[Back in the fold]

Me?

Colin. If he was a wrestler he'd come off the top rope on all of us. Hmmm. . . Maybe not Byron. No. Byron would be his tag team partner.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Probably. And then @essjay would be his double assistant!!

 

[Fishmanic]

Colin. If he was a wrestler he'd come off the top rope on all of us. Hmmm. . . Maybe not Byron. No. Byron would be his tag team partner.

And I would roll out of the way and he would land flat on his face.

 

[Back in the fold]

And I would roll out of the way and he would land flat on his face.

Then Colin comes up does a leg drop on you followed by the high back suplex and finishes you off with the sleeper hold. BOOM! You are out for the ten count.

 

[Colin_T]

LOL, love the wrestling terminology

So if you lived by a ocean, it would be much less expensive, because you no longer have to buy artificial salt?

And does a Saltwater tank need to be big? Could it be a 10 gallon, or 20 gallon tank? And does the filter, and or the heater (do saltwater fish need filters?) need to be meant for saltwater?

If you have access to clean sea water, then it is cheaper. You want to avoid getting water from a harbour or anywhere there are lots of petrol/ diesel powered boats. Look at the surface of the water and if there is an oily film, go somewhere else. And avoid collecting water where there are lots of people swimming because sunscreens can contaminate the water.

I either get my water from a marine park, which has a nice boat ramp that nobody is allowed to launch a boat from, so I can reverse the car down, fill up a heap of plastic containers and put them in the back, then drive back up the boat ramp. Or I head down to an area that has lots of sea grasses and get my water from there.

I have used artificial marine salts but they were too pricey and I was getting them at wholesale price due to working in the pet shop. You can buy 20-30 litre plastic water containers from any hardware or even Kmart, Target and fill them with sea water. Put the lid on them and put them in the car. They don't normally leak. I used round 30 litre containers that have a big lid (about 8 inches in diameter) and can fill these in about 10 seconds. I had 10 containers and could bring back 300 litres of water.

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Read post #16.
Filters, heaters, tanks, lights, test kits are all the same for fresh or salt water. Don't get sucked in by companies saying you must use salt water silicon on your tank, or you must buy special ammonia and nitrite test kits for salt water. That is bs. The only additional item you need for a marine tank is a hydrometer to measure the salt level in the water. A plastic chamber hydrometer is the most economical and less likely to break compared to glass hydrometers. And they are both a lot cheaper than a refractometer.

My last lot of marine tanks were 18 inches long x 14 inches wide x 12 inches high. They had a thin layer of beach sand, some live rock from the beach, some macro algae (Caulerpa & Halimeda) from the beach, a corner air operated sponge filter, an airstone, a glass aquarium heater, coverglass and a twin fluorescent light unit hanging about 8 inches above the tanks.

These tanks were used to breed anemone fish (Amphiprion perideraion, sandaracinos & ocellaris), cleaner shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis), and dumpling squid. I also had anemones and Corallimorphs in a couple of the tanks.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Easier than I thought! So even a....so for example.....an API freshwater master test kit, will work for saltwater as well? Because here, the API freshwater master test kit cost around $20-$25 USD.........an API Saltwater Test Kit cost around $35-$45 USD.

 

[Colin_T]

The only difference between a fresh and salt water test kit should be the pH range. In salt water it should go higher than fresh water but apart from that, the tests should be the same.

I used the Interweb thingy and Dr Googly has a YouTube video with the exact question. The link is below.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Makes sense, sort of......

Man!! Then API is getting a lot of money! The SaltWater Test Kit is Twice the cost of the freshwater test kit, so not fair!!

 

[Back in the fold]

Makes sense, sort of......

Man!! Then API is getting a lot of money! The SaltWater Test Kit is Twice the cost of the freshwater test kit, so not fair!!

Huh ? Do you suppose they're in it for the money ?