So just how hard is it?

[Francis]

Somone once told me "if you can keep discus you can keep marines" but shortly after, our discus got diseased and died. So take something apparently simple to keep like those nemo like clown fish, just how hard is it, if you could compare them to a tropical fish i would be grateful, also if i tried it how many small clown fish would live in a 3x1x1.2 tank. Finally should I try or should I wait untill ive got more experience?

Thanks,
Francis.

 

[fraservet]

It's a very difficult question to answer.

The short answer is that it is probably not any more difficult than keeping Discus.

The long answer adds a "but". You will obviously need to invest a fair amount of money to do it properly, and it does require quite a lot of maintenance.
If you just want a fish only tank, with a few of the easier fish, then it shouldn't really be a problem.

One important rule with marines is the larger the tank the better. Anything under about 30 gallons becomes more difficult to maintain stable water parameters.

I guess the tank you mention would be about 20 gallons?

This would be suitable for a pair of small clowns, and perhaps a goby/shrimp combination. You will also need a clean up crew of snails and crabs.

I would advise reading a LOT before starting - it can really save you from a lot of problems, not to mention wasted money.

 

[steelhealr]

It depends on the defintion of difficult. I can perhaps shed some light in a picture. I had a sea star die in my tank last week. 30% of my zooanthid corals probably died. I had to go into 'emergency tank mode (dead animals can poison your tank)'. My evening work included the following:

1) Make 5 gallons of SW the day or so before
2) Check the s.g/salinity of the fresh made SW and the tank water
3) Topoff the tank with RO water to match up s.g.s
4) Stop all pumps and disconnect heater
5) Remove 4 gallons of SW and while doing:
--pull out the chaeto (macroalgae) and place in a separate bucket
-vacuum the sand, especially where the star died
--vacuum the back sumps
6) Clean the pump intake guard of chaeto and debris and replace
7) Pull out all filter media and replace them
8) Scrape algae of the submersible fuge light and replace the chaeto
9) Refill the tank with SW
10) Restart all pumps and heater
11) Clean the glass and floor
12) Repeat steps 1,2,3,4,5,9,10,11 several times last week until nitrates cleared and the corals appeared better.

Is this 'hard work' or a labor of love? I don't know. Does it take up time? Yes. Granted, my tank is a 24G and a 75G SW tank would probably have not budged much. Nano's require, in different ways, more work, not that a 75G tank is easy either nor had headaches of it's own.

Having come over from FW only a few months ago, here is how I call it:
1) Much more expensive hobby
2) More involved tank upkeep
3) Much more equipment involved, and, perhaps, let's say a wider base of aquarium knowledge needed
4) Livestock less forgiving of mistakes

5) BETTER COLORS
6) MORE FASCINATING
7) LIMITLESS STUFF TO WATCH IN YOUR TANK
8) MORE DIVERSE MARINE LIFE. CORALS ARE AMAZING.R
9) WHEN YOUR TANK IS UP AND RUNNING, MAN, WHAT A SIGHT.

JMO. SH

 

[tel999]

Somone once told me "if you can keep discus you can keep marines" but shortly after, our discus got diseased and died. So take something apparently simple to keep like those nemo like clown fish, just how hard is it, if you could compare them to a tropical fish i would be grateful, also if i tried it how many small clown fish would live in a 3x1x1.2 tank. Finally should I try or should I wait untill ive got more experience?

Thanks,
Francis.

[snapback]880855[/snapback]​

Hi Francis,

I'm a new boy too, I'll tell you what I have found out so far (I have no fish as yet, just cycling the tank. I'll keep posting here over the next few week's to let you know how it's going).

So far I have figured out 4 things about owning a marine tank:

1) Learn as much as you can from books, forums, lfs and people who once kept a goldfish, BUT, don't take their word for it. Balance out everything until you are happy.

2) Make the time to look after your tank, I now get up 20 mins earlier than I used to to do my daily tank checks: Ammonia, Nitrite, Skimmer, general water health etc etc. This, I have no doubt, will expand and expand as I get live rock and fish into the tank (and, lets be honest 'cos i've fallen in love with the hobby) a large reef tank. But you know what, it's worth the time!!!!!!!!!!!!

3) As the good book said "DON'T PANIC". Routine, Routine, Routine is the key to owning a marine tank.

4) If you don't know...ASK. (Trust me, if something go's wrong these guy's on the forum will be asked.........however stupid the question )


Go for it mate, Join the 'newboy marine club' (you know you want to )

 

[gbnw28178]

It depends on the defintion of difficult. I can perhaps shed some light in a picture. I had a sea star die in my tank last week. 30% of my zooanthid corals probably died. I had to go into 'emergency tank mode (dead animals can poison your tank)'. My evening work included the following:

1) Make 5 gallons of SW the day or so before
2) Check the s.g/salinity of the fresh made SW and the tank water
3) Topoff the tank with RO water to match up s.g.s
4) Stop all pumps and disconnect heater
5) Remove 4 gallons of SW and while doing:
--pull out the chaeto (macroalgae) and place in a separate bucket
  -vacuum the sand, especially where the star died
--vacuum the back sumps
6) Clean the pump intake guard of chaeto and debris and replace
7) Pull out all filter media and replace them
8) Scrape algae of the submersible fuge light and replace the chaeto
9) Refill the tank with SW
10) Restart all pumps and heater
11) Clean the glass and floor
12) Repeat steps 1,2,3,4,5,9,10,11 several times last week until nitrates cleared and the corals appeared better.

Is this 'hard work' or a labor of love? I don't know.  Does it take up time? Yes. Granted, my tank is a 24G and a 75G SW tank would probably have not budged much. Nano's require, in different ways, more work, not that a 75G tank is easy either nor had headaches of it's own.

Having come over from FW only a few months ago, here is how I call it:
1) Much more expensive hobby
2) More involved tank upkeep
3) Much more equipment involved, and, perhaps, let's say a wider base of aquarium knowledge needed
4) Livestock less forgiving of mistakes

5) BETTER COLORS
6) MORE FASCINATING
7) LIMITLESS STUFF TO WATCH IN YOUR TANK
8) MORE DIVERSE MARINE LIFE. CORALS ARE AMAZING.R
9) WHEN YOUR TANK IS UP AND RUNNING, MAN, WHAT A SIGHT.

JMO. SH

[snapback]881417[/snapback]​

WOW, that a lot of hard work there you had to do. I would love to have a marine tank after keeping discus for years. I love the marine fish and the whole look of a marine tank with corels and fish swimming about, they look stunning to watch!

But after reading all you had to do there. I'm not so sure now. And I thought Discus could be hard work and time consuming. Not compared to that after reading it.

 

[Navarre]

Whilst SH has given you a scenario that ment alot of work to save his entire tank, when a tank runs correctly its runs almost maintenance free.

I set my 100 gallon system up last year (may 2004) and left it... i did nothing to it other than clean out the skimmer every couple of days, add nomral RO water for top up due to evaporation... Oh and yes! feed the fish and enjoy em!

Err thats it!

I didnt do a single water change until the end of october 2004 and i only did it then because i felt i should, the water peramters were fine and on paper they didnt need any work at all.

A well setup tank with the correct amount of cleanup crew will almost look after itself. Sounds too good to be true i hear you say, well dont get me wrong, when it goes wrong it usually goes wrong real fast and can be disasterous (as people who know of my oodinium crash will verify).
I have always stated and continue to stand by this statment that maintaining a marine tank is far easier than freshwater tanks. Less water changes, etc. What you do have to be however is very strict on your tank management. if things look like they need changing etc then do it and dont wait. Its when you wait for the weekend etc and you have more time to sort out problems that disasters can occur.

 

[steelhealr]

Hi...Navarre is right. Perhaps my post was a bit intimidating. During the week, my nano tank doesn't need much more than adding some pure water and feeding either corals or fish. However, if something does go wrong, you must be prepared to take action. But..that isn't different from FW either. Again, a larger tank in some ways is easier. Don't let anyone discourage you from starting up a reef tank. It IS different from FW and is probably one of the more interesting hobbies to have. SH