Hello from the Gulf Coast

[JMP]

Hello fellow fish keepers. I’ve been into fish keeping from a very young age and love it. I started with fresh water then moved to salt water and now I’m back to freshwater planted tanks. My main focus now is Cory Catfish. I’ve been successful at breeding different fish species over the years. I’m looking forward to learning more and sharing info on the hobby.

[Schuyler]

Welcome!

I have basically no experience with salt water tanks but they seem more difficult. Are they actually that much more difficult?

[Theplatymaster]

welcome to this forum! Cories are awesome! 

[JMP]

On 1/4/2023 at 1:16 AM, Schuyler said:

Welcome!

I have basically no experience with salt water tanks but they seem more difficult. Are they actually that much more difficult?

If you are a fish-keeper that is good with scheduled maintenance tasks, water testing, and water changes, then its not difficult if we're talking about a fish only tank. There is additional expense with the salt mix and typically the fish / Inverts are more expensive. With Saltwater (as with fresh) the bigger the tank the better. Keep in mind that the water environment of most saltwater fish is very stable compared to freshwater as in Ph, Temp, and nitrate levels due to the volume of water. There is a higher level of attention to the details when maintaining one. There are loads of good books (free info) on the internet for beginners.

Most of the filters these days will work in fresh and saltwater. So if you already have an aquarium setup with filtration, heater, and lighting you have the basics of the equipment you'll need. You don't need to go high tech to start with for just keeping fish. Other than the normal equipment you'll need a Salt water Aquarium Water Test Hydrometer. This is a simple device for measuring the specific gravity of the water when mixing in the salt mix. They have good ones for under $10. You'll need a test kit for Ph, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates that works with Saltwater. For substrate, different materials can be used as in sand or crushed coral (which helps buffer the water) or even a bare tank bottom. I've kept quarantine tanks with nothing but larger lava rocks. Anything that bacteria will grow on just like in fresh water tanks.  Keep it simple to start with and progress as you feel more comfortable with keeping harder species.

I kept my first saltwater tank when I was 8. We lived on the gulf coast and had clean saltwater readily available for filling the tank (10 gallon) and water changes. I used an air powered box filter with crushed oyster shells, carbon, and floss for filtration. I caught a few small fish for the tank at the beach. After the summer I turned the fish loose back where I caught them and continued on with just freshwater tanks. I got back into Saltwater Aquariums years later when I had a regular 9 to 5 job.  

For starter fish I would recommend Damsel fish. They are hardy and look nice. They can handle the stress of cycling a tank. Some freshwater fish like Sailfin Molly can be converted to living in a saltwater tank. These Molly live in brackish water at the mouths of rivers / streams and have been observed well out into full salt water in the wild. I converted my Mollies to salt water over a period of days so the transition was gradual.

Bottom line is read up on keeping Saltwater aquariums and you'll do fine if you decide to go that direction. There is a lot of information on the subject. 

 

[JMP]

Thought I'd add a couple of tank pics. First is a 29 gallon and 2nd is a 75 gallon. Yes I do like my plants. I got the 75 gallons as my Columbia Tetras spawned into too large a group for the 29. 

 

[Patrick_G]

Nice looking tanks! Welcome to the forum.

[PlaneFishGuy]

Awesome rundown on the saltwater @JMP

[TheSwissAquarist]

Welcome to the forum! 

[Levi_Aquatics]

Welcome! Thanks for sharing pictures, your aquariums look awesome!