Straight To Marine?

[Superspecs]

Hi,

I have been toying with getting an aquarium for some time now and was initially planning to go tropical as I have had some experience maintaining a tropical tank with my Dad when I was younger.

To be honest I had never even considered a marine aquarium before because I had it drilled into me from a young age that it was expensive and alot more labour intensive than freshwater but I have heard that nowadays this isnt as strictly true as it once was.

I recently visited Birmingham Sealife Centre and was totally mezmerised by some of the displays. It wasnt even the fish that caught my eye, it was the corals and live rock! It just looked so alive!

So basically I would like to hear your opinions on a relative newbie plunging straight to saltwater tank with fish corals, live rock and sand? I am limited (space and money wise) to a 200ltr/55 gallon tank.

What are my chances?

Cheers

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You could do it if you spend a lot of time researching first and take it really slowly. However I would not recommend it. I have kept and bred tropical fish for about 8-9 years but still found it difficult to begin with when I started with a marine tank.

There is a lot more to consider in marine tanks and a lot less margin for error. A 55g is a nice size tank though to start off with. Big enough to have a good livestock selection and to not be too hard to maintain (like a smaller tank would be) but not so large that you will have to invest masses of money into buying equipment for it.

If however you can find an experienced marine keeper that lives locally and is willing to help guide you I would say it could be done. I know I could probably talk the average person through it if it was in person and I was there for emergency's and to check up on things but I do think the learning curve is a bit to steep for most people to jump straight in by themselves (and forums can only help up to a point).

Edit:
How much do you know about keeping marine fish already? I read up on the for about a year before getting my first marine tank and it was still confusing to begin with. I must admit though that actually having a tank does make it a LOT easier to understand then just reading about it.

I may get shouted down for suggesting it but I think if you do enough research, REALLY take your time on it and are very careful about stocking you could plunge straight into the salty side. You obviously need to research first on the basics (water parameters etc) but if you took it slowly just adding LR to begin with and then the CUC and maybe leaving it awhile to make sure you can keep the water levels balanced without stock you should be ok (provided you stock slowly with appropriate fish). Would definitely recommend keeping a fish only system (no corals) for a good 5-6 months first though to really get a good grasp on it.

 

[tropic_john]

Start brackish with some guppies, mollies and a violet goby, then move on to marine when your confident enough.

Thats what I'd do

 

[seffieuk]

Trod did it (without any fish keeping experience) with loads of help from the forum, so it is possible - you do however, as Barney said have to do a lot of homework and ask loads of questions and be guided - but i would say it is do-able.

seffie x

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Trod did it (without any fish keeping experience)

Really? I never knew that was her first tank ever, im even more impressed now

 

[seffieuk]

Start brackish with some guppies, mollies and a violet goby, then move on to marine when your confident enough.

Thats what I'd do

that's what i did John but with f8 and knight gobies

Seffie x

 

[VictorMeldrew]

I had very limited experience with freshwater fish before I started with marines, the forum is a massive help, just take things very slow and research every step of the way and you should be fine, I was

 

[ben1987]

i dont see a problem, its not that difficult to pick up. You just have to be aware that there is a lot of research to be done and that a lot of the creatures we keep are quite sensitive. There is a fair bit of time involved in the mainatance of our tanks

 

[bollands]

i kept tropical for i a bit but i dont think there is much simalarity between them exept if ur keeping discus etc i just expected the worst when i jumped in and it hasnt been as bad as i thought. needs TLC tho
P.S. And money

 

[youngfisher]

Well, if you need a hand im here, your from and Leicester and im from Leicester.
Im not the most experianced keeper but will definatly be up for giving you a hand with your tank.
Another marinest near me makes it easier on me as we could trade corals etc.
Where abouts in Leicester are you?
As I say, I'd be happy to help with providing you with good contacts, introducing you to people, and even coming round and helping out if you have problems.

YF

 

[Superspecs]

Well, if you need a hand im here, your from and Leicester and im from Leicester.
Im not the most experianced keeper but will definatly be up for giving you a hand with your tank.
Another marinest near me makes it easier on me as we could trade corals etc.
Where abouts in Leicester are you?
As I say, I'd be happy to help with providing you with good contacts, introducing you to people, and even coming round and helping out if you have problems.

YF

Wow,

Thats a very generous offer youngfisher, I may take you up on that offer at some point but I am still quite a ways off getting a tank at the moment. We have zero free space in my current house so I am waiting till we buy our own place sometime next year. I live just outside leicester in Hinckley.

I have spent the last 6 months or so researching tropical fish keeping, but am starting to lean towards salty-side. To be honest I wish I had gone straight to reading up on marine fish because as I am starting to confuse myself, muddling up which information relates to which fish. I think I need to make a firm decision and get my head straight instead of straddling both fields.

 

[youngfisher]

I kept tropicals for about 3 months then moved on to Marine, lots of research and asking lots of questions and its possible IMO.
I personally think Marine is over estimated, not sure if thats the right word to use but I basically mean its not as hard as everyone thinks. Im not sure if thats just because I have a run of such good luck. I live in Braunstone - so not far from you. But as I say I will be happy to help and everyday more and more people on the forum are turning to Marines, and were all one big family IMO. If you have any questions at all, ask them. We all enjoy anwsering questions no matter how silly they may seem.

YF

 

[bae1994]

got to agree with yf its made out to be alot harder than it is imo and i thin ive got a pretty nice tank (others may say not but hey)

i would say the easiest way is to forget everything you know about tropicals as its different and when /if you want tropicals in the future then re learn it all

also if you stay on this forum you will get a long way

 

[Morri]

I think you will be fine just do lots of research ask lots of questions and just dont try to rush it

There are a quite a few diffrences between tropical and marine I have been keeping fish of all sorts for far too many years too mention and switching to marine is like starting all over again.

The first thing you need to decide if going marine is if you want a full reef (fish and corals) or just fish.

 

[Luketendo]

I do 3 years of Tropical before researching.