Suave

Hello. I was wondering what all the differences would be between SW and FW tanks.
Considering the tank would be 55g.
The SW would be a reef tank and the FW would be live planted.

I am mainly wondering what the price difference would be between the two tanks. Also, I was wondering what would be different setup wise. Thanks in advance.

Allie

It cost us $1000 to set up a 30g tank with corals, live rock, shrimp, urchin a breeding pair of clown fish and some hermit crabs. Everything is very expensive especially the fish. To have a healthy sw tank I'd go with at least 55g...smaller tanks are much harder to care for. There is a lot more work in sw too.
Freshwater is much cheaper.

Suave

What do saltwater tanks need that freshwater tanks don't? as far as equipment goes

Allie

A protien skimmer, a power head and lots of products to keep the water good.

Tom

And depending on the coral you keep, if at all, the lighting is a huge factor and can cost a huge amount. I know my little 10gallon nano has cost something around $500 so far, with all the lights, the tank(custom made), the LR, the corals, the fish, the salt, the filter, the powerhead and the sand. But in the terms of money, the saltwater is more expensive, but when everything is done, for both types of tanks, the saltwater can be far more amazing to watch then any planted aquarium.

But if you wanted to go freshwater, you could get a really nice big school of tetras, or even a nice bunch of African cichlids, like some from one of the different lakes. But it is really up to you, and we can only be here to guild you in the right direction.
Tom

Bishop169

I've been debating the FW vs SW in my head for awhile I have an awesome FW set up now but I have a strong urge for a SW tank

So pick wisely I'm kind of regreting not going salt

I shy'd away from the up front cost but I still find myself leaning to going salt....

Just dont want to large tanks

Allie

Lighting should go without saying. If you research what you want to do first you should know all the basiscs.
I prefer freshwater over salt any day. It looks fake to me.

Slug

You say reef. And for a 55gal, i'd look to budget about $500 on lighting alone. May have $100-200 leftover but its still going to run you $300+ unless you get a deal. The skimmer is another $100-250 for a decent one.

Depending on your source your LR will be very expensive as well, being sold by the pound. $9/lb here. Your coral are also expensive.

$1000 FW will take you further then $1000 salt, which will get you setup and running. Its more expensive. I wouldn't say its harder to care for really. Having both FW and SW tanks, my SW is even a 10gal! I find it more enjoyable then taxing really. It was probably the most fun i've had setting up a tank in my 11ish years in the hobby.

SW like Allie said, can eat up the water products pretty fast. Stuff to buff calcium, or remove phosphates, or to filter feed the coral, etc. Theres a whole dosing system, but i'd equate that to the same as monitoring your CO2 on a planted tank (if you use it) or using fertilizers for your plants.

I could add up my SW costs, but it won't be pretty.
Tank - $10
LR - $100
Fish - $40
Coral - $700 (Probably a low estimate)
Lights - $400
Total - $1250

For a 10gal...but i'm also a coral nut. Its all worth it to me. The life in a SW tank is nothing like you'll ever see in a FW tank i assure you. Like the others said, upfront costs scare people. Once its running its almost like autopilot!

Tavel

there is one other thing that may be important to you, because it's very important to me. Every specimen in a SW tank is wild captured, which is very damaging to ecosystems. The coral and liverock harvesting is especially damaging because they don't replenish quickly like fish do, and chemicals are used to aid harvesting.

Now, that's just me. It's obviously not that important to a lot of people or the industry wouldn't exist. but that's why I would NEVER get a SW tank.

btw: I know i have some wild captured fish in my tanks too, but I'm convinced the captors are practicing good conservation. Its the law in most places, and the fishermen themselves see the futility of driving their money makers extinct.

People don't generally practice conservation in the ocean, they think it's resources are endless.

Slug

Agreed!

Most of my corals are aquacultured. I have quite a bunch from ORA.

Iluvatar

Saltwater all the way even if it is a lot of work.