Anyone know anything about salt water aquariums?

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Well I was thinking I need something else to throw money into. I've got a emag and a cocker on the way with all the gear I need so I think I'm covered there.

So does anyone have or know anything about a saltwater aquarium? My dad has one, but he didn't have it running long but it was really cool and I have always been intrested in salt water fish. My ultimate goal is to own a small shark but I don't want to pay $200 for one and in two weeks it die, because I don't know what I'm doing. So anyone got any info? There is a store rite in my town so it want be to much trouble to get the stuff.
Thanks in advance.


Also if anyone would like to teach me how to spell aquarium your welcome to try

[Archangel Kid]

ya... they're extremly expesive... and u need to know what ur doing with em

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Well there are not that expensive, tank wise. The fish is were it kills you. Thus takeing 2-4 months to get a full aquarium up and running.

[ASDadam]

You will need more than 1 tank too bud. If you want to keep the fish that is, First you'll need the regular tank to put the fish in and keep in. Second you'll need a hospital tank to put sick fish or new fish who need to adjust to the tank in. Then you're looking at upkeep of the salt water tanks, etc etc. My cousin and i have 4 200 Gallon Tanks mounted to a homemade wall mount with 2 200 gallon Hospital tanks. We had live coral etc etc. Ended up selling all that stuff for well over 5k. But it was a btch to keep clean and to maintain.

[punkncat]

Don't let these guys scare you.
I managed and maintained a store for a sea life importer for several years.We had a 1000 gallon reef system and about 1500 gallon fish system.
First go and buy a few books. Anything by "Roe" will be quite informative but he gets a bit scientific.
It is very important that you be patient when dealing with salt water.Decide what you want before you start creating the tank.In other words are you going to build a reef tank or a fish tank...
I can certainly help you through a lot of it if you need.
I would suggest getting a larger tank rather than smaller.Larger volumes of water are more stable.Get a tank with a spillway and sump system.That way you can add dosing systems , uv sterilizers , protein skimmers and other equipment you need to the sump w/o taking from the beauty of the visible parts.
Buy a good quality tank from the get go.I suggest Oceanic.Make sure and get a wooden stand.Salt water will corrode the typical iron/steel stand in no time.
It really helps to have had experiance with some sort of fish tank before you start.
Hit me back with any questions and I will be glad to offer any assistance I can.

[Blennidae]

I kept a fish only salt water aquarium for a few years awhile back. Certain varieties of fish are more able to stand the stresses of aquarium conditions. I learned a lot the hard (expensive) way. Its good to do some research to decide what you want to keep.

It is more expensive than a freshwater aquarium, and if you decide to do a full blown reef tank, be prepared for some serious expense.

The idea of keeping a shark is ok, but the reality of it may not be, depending on your amount of space. The ones I remember seeing were small leopard sharks. Small being around 2ft. But they still grow, and soon you have a large fish that even in a 200 gallon tank looks cramped.

For me, I originally was amazed by the really colorful fish, but what I ended up buying were the really odd fish. They were usually not very colorful, but looked very alien. Look up the various types of "box" fish for example.

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Well I want to start small, well not real small. I have been reading up on it and it says the best tank for a beginner is a 20 gallon. However, I think I can get my hands on a 30 Gallon tank, with wooden stand, Biological filtration, Light, Heater and themoeter. I don't think I can really afford a reef tank rite now. Also yes I know that will not be stuiable for a shark. I also know its going to take around 2-3 months before I have the aquaruim up and running so I'm not going to be pushy. One of the things I'm really conserend (sp) is Ammonia, it seems to what is going to kill my fish. Can Ammonia be effectivly takeing care of with biological filtration and partial water changes? Also if anyone knows were there is some good information or forums on the subject please let me know, I have been getting all this from about.com.

[MicrOMag]

Originally posted by SpongeBobSquarePants
Well there are not that expensive, tank wise. The fish is were it kills you. Thus takeing 2-4 months to get a full aquarium up and running.

Nono, they're expensive and hard to maintain.

Salt water takes a lot more work than fresh water.

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

More expensive sure, alot more work maybe. Is it worth it in the long run? With out a duobt. It doesn't seem to hard if you just take care of your stuff. Change your water have the rite filters etc. I think it will be fun

[Blennidae]

Its been awhile since I started a tank, but when I was doing it, you started out with damsel fish. They are very hearty little fish and seem to be well suited to start the biologic cycle of the tank. They were the cheapest fish, at about $3-4 per. I was told that after a few weeks when the damsels start dying off, you are ready for the regular fish. Seems odd, but this is what worked. Not all mine died, and I had one of my original damsel fish, for more than 3+ years.

My tank was a 55 gallon, and once you have your cycle established, it isn't really that hard to maintain. Water changes, substrate cleaning, filters etc.

I only kept fish and had a coral banded shrimp. He was the only invertebrate I kept.

One thing to keep in mind is fish interaction. A lot of fish are very territorial. And since the tank is not that big, they defend the territory they have. I had a algae blenny (no bigger than my finger) nip my hand whenever I had to move his rock for cleaning. This becomes really important at feeding time, since I had fish starve, because anytime they tried to eat, another fish would chase them away.

I would love to start it up again, but I don't have the time to properly do it at the moment.

I'm sorry I can't help with the forum advice. If you find one, I'd be interested in the address. Its been awhile, and I'd like to see whats new out there.

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Thanks for the info, I checked my local fish store and a 30 gallon set up with EVERYTHING is only 289 pretty good I thought. I can also get them used for really cheap from the Iwanna paper for like a hospital tank as mentioned above. I found a good deal on 125 gallon for 350 but I don't want to start that big. Thanks for the help if i find a good forum I will post it up.

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

Here are a few pics that really make me want one even more

Yellow Tang

Pretty Predators

Very Nice Tank

[SlipknotX556]

Why would people pay for fish and sharks.


Get on a plane and fly into Palm Beach Airport, I will pick you up and we a gonna go fishing .


Ill get you the fish you want for a price .

[SpongeBobSquarePants]

hahahaha, I don't want any flounder

[SlipknotX556]

Na, I will get you a lemon shark, those are only about 9 feet where I am.


Its not hard to get the fish you see in the pet stores, just get on a boat, go about a mile off shore, just throw a cast net in the water, BINGO!


You can get alot of cash doing this down here, pet stores pay lots of cash for certain fish.