Need Advice/help For Starting Saltwater Tank

Hello saltwater world currently I am a freshwater keeper specifically discus if anyone knows about discus fish keeping. From what I hear saltwater is easier to keep and maintain then discus keeping. I am looking to upgrade my tank this month and I am thinking about saltwater, discus are very nice fish but not very interesting and active my thoughts about going to saltwater is that it will be more entertaining and more selection for color inside he hobby

Any advice or suggestions from saltwater keepers

 

HI there!

Hmm, I'd say if you're keeping discus, then you're used to keeping super clean water, yes? That's about the extent of my knowledge on discus. What I mean to say is, the first thing to think about when going salty, is how you're going to provide saltwater for the tank?

That begets another question... What type of tank are you thinking? You could go FO - Fish Only, which would need your standard filtration, FOWLR - Fish Only with Live Rock, in which the live rock handles the bulk of your biological filtration, or a Reef tank, which works much like a FOWLR, but also includes corals. A reef tank will require a reef light, as well as the management of additional parameters like calcium, alkalinity and magnesium... it's really not as difficult as they say though.

 

what type of saltwater tank are you thinking? How complicated saltwater is can really be determined by you imo. My previous tank was pretty simple, 40b, HOB filter, HOB skimmer, lr, a coral, and some clowns, a very simple setup. Personally I'm not a fan of the HOB skimmers/filters, mine were leaky and I personally wouldn't have recommended my setup to someone, but it may have also been the cheap skimmer I had. The first thing is going to be determining what type of tank you are going for (fowlr, reef, etc.) this will determine what type of setup you will require, I would recommend a skimmer and RO or RODI water to anyone, but if you were going for a fowlr with simple fish, you may not *need* it, whereas a reef tank would likely fail without it, a reef tank will also require special lighting, which can be very expensive. I would personally recommend starting with a fowlr, I found mine to be very easy to maintain… think freshwater tank but with a skimmer basically haha, and you can always upgrade lighting and begin keeping corals later on if you choose. The next steps you take will really depend on what you are going for with your tank, I personally prefer sumps or tanks like mine with a built in sump system, although you don't always need one, and of course, start with the biggest tank you can, bigger tanks will be easier to maintain and if you're like me, you will likely want to go bigger shortly after starting

 

HI there!

Hmm, I'd say if you're keeping discus, then you're used to keeping super clean water, yes? That's about the extent of my knowledge on discus. What I mean to say is, the first thing to think about when going salty, is how you're going to provide saltwater for the tank?

That begets another question... What type of tank are you thinking? You could go FO - Fish Only, which would need your standard filtration, FOWLR - Fish Only with Live Rock, in which the live rock handles the bulk of your biological filtration, or a Reef tank, which works much like a FOWLR, but also includes corals. A reef tank will require a reef light, as well as the management of additional parameters like calcium, alkalinity and magnesium... it's really not as difficult as they say though.

This is what makes me nervous about saltwater the different parameters and the fact that people fail initially at starting saltwater. Also I think to start I will do FO with live rock and overtime I want to add corals as I am not in a rush as I do not want to make a lot of mistakes

what type of saltwater tank are you thinking? How complicated saltwater is can really be determined by you imo. My previous tank was pretty simple, 40b, HOB filter, HOB skimmer, lr, a coral, and some clowns, a very simple setup. Personally I'm not a fan of the HOB skimmers/filters, mine were leaky and I personally wouldn't have recommended my setup to someone, but it may have also been the cheap skimmer I had. The first thing is going to be determining what type of tank you are going for (fowlr, reef, etc.) this will determine what type of setup you will require, I would recommend a skimmer and RO or RODI water to anyone, but if you were going for a fowlr with simple fish, you may not *need* it, whereas a reef tank would likely fail without it, a reef tank will also require special lighting, which can be very expensive. I would personally recommend starting with a fowlr, I found mine to be very easy to maintain… think freshwater tank but with a skimmer basically haha, and you can always upgrade lighting and begin keeping corals later on if you choose. The next steps you take will really depend on what you are going for with your tank, I personally prefer sumps or tanks like mine with a built in sump system, although you don't always need one, and of course, start with the biggest tank you can, bigger tanks will be easier to maintain and if you're like me, you will likely want to go bigger shortly after starting

I plan on starting Fowlr I feel as though it will help build my confidence and I cane like you said add a better light and corals later with saltwater it is endless things you can do with your aquarium and it takes more time and is more rewarding my freshwater set up it nice but for the price I pay for discus they just do not do enough for me.

 

I plan on starting Fowlr I feel as though it will help build my confidence and I cane like you said add a better light and corals later with saltwater it is endless things you can do with your aquarium and it takes more time and is more rewarding my freshwater set up it nice but for the price I pay for discus they just do not do enough for me.

I'm not really into freshwater, aside from my 6 bettas, but I do agree that there is more you can do with saltwater, and I personally like the look of saltwater tanks better, no freshwater tank can even compare to a beautifully done reef tank, and something I have a love/hate relationship with is the constant project of a saltwater tank, it can take a lot out of you at times, but it's so rewarding. I think starting with a fowlr, and making small upgrades/adjustments to work towards a full reef tank (if that's what you want eventually) as you start to gain more confidence is really the best way to go, you can also look for used tanks/equipment to save money as saltwater tanks can be quite pricey (although in the end with some of the fixing up I had to do with the hood, and extra supplies I will need, it will be over $1,000 for this upgrade from my 40b) I found a Red Sea max 250 for $500 in actually really good shape aside from needing a good cleaning, not a bad deal considering these are aio setups, although I may add another sump later on for some small upgrades I wanna do, but tanks like these make awesome starter tanks, good size, and will provide you with a lot of what you'll need. You should start a build thread when you begin the new tank, it's a great way for beginners to get advice and support throughout the process of setting up the tank, wish I was on here when I began mine, as it was a bit confusing at times.

 

I'm not really into freshwater, aside from my 6 bettas, but I do agree that there is more you can do with saltwater, and I personally like the look of saltwater tanks better, no freshwater tank can even compare to a beautifully done reef tank, and something I have a love/hate relationship with is the constant project of a saltwater tank, it can take a lot out of you at times, but it's so rewarding. I think starting with a fowlr, and making small upgrades/adjustments to work towards a full reef tank (if that's what you want eventually) as you start to gain more confidence is really the best way to go, you can also look for used tanks/equipment to save money as saltwater tanks can be quite pricey (although in the end with some of the fixing up I had to do with the hood, and extra supplies I will need, it will be over $1,000 for this upgrade from my 40b) I found a Red Sea max 250 for $500 in actually really good shape aside from needing a good cleaning, not a bad deal considering these are aio setups, although I may add another sump later on for some small upgrades I wanna do, but tanks like these make awesome starter tanks, good size, and will provide you with a lot of what you'll need. You should start a build thread when you begin the new tank, it's a great way for beginners to get advice and support throughout the process of setting up the tank, wish I was on here when I began mine, as it was a bit confusing at times.

Right now I have a empty 10 gallon and a empty 36 gallon I thought about starting with just to see if I could do it I would agree with you I don’t think freshwater can compete with saltwater at all though I have tried and while I am happy with my tank the amount of activity saltwater fish have is amazing this is my freshwater tank

 

I've been keeping discus for maybe 7 years now. From dime sized juvies to my current adults. I actually consider keeping discus to be very easy now. You just have to understand what is required and never fail to do it. It's become a no brainier to me so I've moved on to reef tanks. I don't really like large tanks so I've sort of specialized in nano/pick reefs. You definitely need to monitor/maintain several parameters in a reef tank which makes it a very interesting/rewarding hobby as you provide the proper aquatic environment for fish, corals, inverts and plants. For discus, I just need Prime and water, LOTs of water. For reef, OMG it seems I have laboratory in my office.

 

I've been keeping discus for maybe 7 years now. From dime sized juvies to my current adults. I actually consider keeping discus to be very easy now. You just have to understand what is required and never fail to do it. It's become a no brainier to me so I've moved on to reef tanks. I don't really like large tanks so I've sort of specialized in nano/pick reefs. You definitely need to monitor/maintain several parameters in a reef tank which makes it a very interesting/rewarding hobby as you provide the proper aquatic environment for fish, corals, inverts and plants. For discus, I just need Prime and water, LOTs of water. For reef, OMG it seems I have laboratory in my office.

Interesting I have done the research already as I was going to start one a while back I’m seriously considering my ten gallon tank to get started

 

Since you're keeping discus, you have the discipline to keep a 10 gallon salty tank. But since you've done your research, you already know that it's not big enough for much of a FOWLR setup.

 

Right now I have a empty 10 gallon and a empty 36 gallon I thought about starting with just to see if I could do it I would agree with you I don’t think freshwater can compete with saltwater at all though I have tried and while I am happy with my tank the amount of activity saltwater fish have is amazing this is my freshwater tank View attachment 387894

Your freshwater tank is nice though, discus are beautiful fish! Personally I would start with the 36 gallon, 10 is doable, but it will be more difficult and you will have to monitor your levels more closely, because obviously in a smaller tank things like ammonia can build up much quicker, you also become limited on what fish you can stock in a 10 gallon, and if you decide to go with a reef tank, some may argue that certain corals, like anemones shouldn't be kept in tanks that size, but there are still so many cool options for the pico/nano tanks. It seems sort of reversed because usually in freshwater it's best to start small and then move up, but I would say start with that 36 and if you decide you prefer the look of pico/nano tanks, then you should try those out after you've gained some experience. It's really up to you, if you have space, go for 36, if not go for 10, but just be aware of the things you need to watch out for in smaller tanks. And like it was stated above, you've kept some more challenging fish already, so with the research and precision, you can definitely make the 10 gallon happen.

 

Your freshwater tank is nice though, discus are beautiful fish! Personally I would start with the 36 gallon, 10 is doable, but it will be more difficult and you will have to monitor your levels more closely, because obviously in a smaller tank things like ammonia can build up much quicker, you also become limited on what fish you can stock in a 10 gallon, and if you decide to go with a reef tank, some may argue that certain corals, like anemones shouldn't be kept in tanks that size, but there are still so many cool options for the pico/nano tanks. It seems sort of reversed because usually in freshwater it's best to start small and then move up, but I would say start with that 36 and if you decide you prefer the look of pico/nano tanks, then you should try those out after you've gained some experience. It's really up to you, if you have space, go for 36, if not go for 10, but just be aware of the things you need to watch out for in smaller tanks. And like it was stated above, you've kept some more challenging fish already, so with the research and precision, you can definitely make the 10 gallon happen.

That bring me to my next questions deciding the size of my upgrade. 120,125,150 the 150 is the tall but I think I’m salt water it would add different levels to the aquarium, even though I know ideally the 125 would be the best option since it is 6ft

 

That bring me to my next questions deciding the size of my upgrade. 120,125,150 the 150 is the tall but I think I’m salt water it would add different levels to the aquarium, even though I know ideally the 125 would be the best option since it is 6ft

I think when it comes down to making a decision between 125 or 150, go with either, when it's getting that large the 20 ish gallons doesn't make a *huge* difference, just go with whatever will fit best for you, unless there is a specific reason for wanting to do a certain size, an example being a certain fish you may want needing a minimum of 150.

 

That bring me to my next questions deciding the size of my upgrade. 120,125,150 the 150 is the tall but I think I’m salt water it would add different levels to the aquarium, even though I know ideally the 125 would be the best option since it is 6ft

Height and width do matter, but you are correct that the length is generally considered the biggest factor with a number of cutoffs in terms of which fish you can safely house. I started with a 36 bowfront at the beginning of the year and just upgraded to a 90 gallon. I am personally not a fan of the 30 inch deep 150 tanks as to me they don't really do much in terms of adding real space. I would say that for height and width that 18-24 inches is plenty for most fish and that the length to give them a nice long run is the bigger factor. A lot of it really depends on what kind of fish you ultimately want to have. I also agree with the above that I would go with the 36 instead of the 10 as it will at least let you keep a few smaller fish comfortably (ie Clownfish, larger Blennies, larger gobies, etc.) . Fowler is much easier to start with. The biggest things that cause newbies to screw up with new saltwater tanks is not letting the live rock properly cycle (basically the saltwater version of the nitrogen cycle) as it can take longer than freshwater. As long as you follow the recommended guidelines and are patient it really isn't going to be much of a stretch for you to go from a Discus tank to a saltwater tank.

 

I failed at discus but am succeeding with my little reef tank. I think Saltwater is easier. With that, I have other freshwater tanks that are doing extremely well. I just couldn't keep discus...

 

Yeah I technically I have four tanks up and running right now but I am always looking for ways to do more with the hobby and I have failed at planter aquariums and I’m over it I have mastered fish keeping but I have been keeping Freshwater for 20+ I think moving on to saltwater would be challenging and more entertaining as a display tank I’m going to buy a sump tomorrow and everything to start the tank

 

Yeah I technically I have four tanks up and running right now but I am always looking for ways to do more with the hobby and I have failed at planter aquariums and I’m over it I have mastered fish keeping but I have been keeping Freshwater for 20+ I think moving on to saltwater would be challenging and more entertaining as a display tank I’m going to buy a sump tomorrow and everything to start the tank

Merry Christmas to you! It's really a great hobby. Good luck and don't be scared to ask questions. I recommend a small quarantine tank (QT) and researching coral dips. Those 2 things will save you some head ache and reduce chances of introducing pests and illness majorly.

 

Merry Christmas to you! It's really a great hobby. Good luck and don't be scared to ask questions. I recommend a small quarantine tank (QT) and researching coral dips. Those 2 things will save you some head ache and reduce chances of introducing pests and illness majorly.

Thinking I will use my 10 gallon as a quarantine tank as I have too many tanks and am trying to downsize but with now trying to keep saltwater I’ll still have to keep three tanks up and running ugh my life
Or maybe I will just buy a 20 gallon

 

Or maybe I will just buy a 20 gallon

I use a 10 for a QT. It's on my kitchen counter. Lol. I don't count it when I tell people how many tanks I have.

 

I use a 10 for a QT. It's on my kitchen counter. Lol. I don't count it when I tell people how many tanks I have.

Lol great less money I have to spend