# Thinking about switching to salt



## J-Lo (Feb 2, 2006)

Hey all i thinking about trying out salt because i always wanted a small shark and i love how salt water fish look. I was just wondering if its expensive hard to keep and do i just ad salt. Any tips


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## waldron (Jan 15, 2007)

lol heres some words of advice (not really).. Enjoy seing your money going away quickly lol ... its expensive (very) to start....... but ti pays off.. if you do enjoy and post some progessive pictures







..


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## J-Lo (Feb 2, 2006)

waldron said:


> lol heres some words of advice (not really).. Enjoy seing your money going away quickly lol ... its expensive (very) to start....... but ti pays off.. if you do enjoy and post some progessive pictures
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks for the words of encouragement


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## waldron (Jan 15, 2007)

sorry


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## Hater (Apr 21, 2006)

Salt water tanks are very expensive to get started. I'll put it to you this way, you will need live rock. It's recommended that you use a pound and a half per galong of live rock and the good live rock will cost you anywhere from $5.99 a lb to 7.99 lb. If you have a large tank, do the math.

Hater


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## J-Lo (Feb 2, 2006)

Hater said:


> Salt water tanks are very expensive to get started. I'll put it to you this way, you will need live rock. It's recommended that you use a pound and a half per galong of live rock and the good live rock will cost you anywhere from $5.99 a lb to 7.99 lb. If you have a large tank, do the math.
> 
> Hater


Yea and i see that i can't even use my fx5 filter i would need a protien skimmer. I already give up ill just go catch some native fish and throw them in my tanks and save $$


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## fishguy1313 (Feb 19, 2007)

I had no idea salt tanks were so expensive.


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

I thought you could do a "FO" (Fish Only) tank and use canisters for filtration?


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## sharkfan (Oct 22, 2004)

All the cool sharks require HUGE tanks. The small cat sharks that you see around really are boring, not worth it.


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

I didn't think my fish salt tank was that expensive. I still used my penguin filter along with a tetra whisper for more filtration. The only thing I had to buy was a skimmer and salt... Honestly I didn't lose alot of money because having that tank was well worth it. I do not regret buying the skimmer, salt, live rock, or fish. Depending if you want corals or anenomes, you will need powerful lights. Other than that I think you should look into it more because I don't regret having my salt tank.


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## J-Lo (Feb 2, 2006)

Puddjuice said:


> I didn't think my fish salt tank was that expensive. I still used my penguin filter along with a tetra whisper for more filtration. The only thing I had to buy was a skimmer and salt... Honestly I didn't lose alot of money because having that tank was well worth it. I do not regret buying the skimmer, salt, live rock, or fish. Depending if you want corals or anenomes, you will need powerful lights. Other than that I think you should look into it more because I don't regret having my salt tank.


Thanks i might give it a try. whats the best skimmer out there and how much is it. I have a 125gal


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

The best skimmers out there are probably the Octopus Skimmers..Bubble King's and definitley Deltecs. 
Check out the prices of the Deltecs..they are from about 400$ to 10k lol

Marine is very expensive but it's totally worth it in my eyes. I was into P's so much and now I'm sorry to say but I don't really pay much attention to mine anymore. They get fed and waterchanged..but all my attention (and money!) goes to the salt. It's a whole new world, its great!


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

talk to Nismo Driver, i believe he is a mod now in the SW tank forum, and he is the man when it comes to salt water tanks.
Coldfire is also very knowledgable with saltwater as well. i am also about to start a SW tank, and have been talking to CF and reading Nismos posts. except, im about to move in June/July, so im waiting until i move to do it.
look in the sw forums too, there is much info there.


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## kfreeman (Feb 14, 2008)

J-Lo said:


> Hey all i thinking about trying out salt because i always wanted a small shark and i love how salt water fish look. I was just wondering if its expensive hard to keep and do i just ad salt. Any tips


Yes salt water is bueatiful but...............if you have a full time job get ready toget another one. They do require lots of cash! My uncle used to breed seahorses, and also had shark and octopus. They are relaxing to watch. Hell if I had the money I would set up one myself. Goodluck on whatever you decide.


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## waldron (Jan 15, 2007)

kfreeman said:


> Hey all i thinking about trying out salt because i always wanted a small shark and i love how salt water fish look. I was just wondering if its expensive hard to keep and do i just ad salt. Any tips


Yes salt water is bueatiful but...............if you have a full time job get ready toget another one. They do require lots of cash! My uncle used to breed seahorses, and also had shark and octopus. They are relaxing to watch. Hell if I had the money I would set up one myself. Goodluck on whatever you decide.








[/quote]

I find the seahorses look beeter on like movies then in real life.. sorry offtopic but lol


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## midnightmadman (Dec 13, 2007)

waldron said:


> Hey all i thinking about trying out salt because i always wanted a small shark and i love how salt water fish look. I was just wondering if its expensive hard to keep and do i just ad salt. Any tips


Yes salt water is bueatiful but...............if you have a full time job get ready toget another one. They do require lots of cash! My uncle used to breed seahorses, and also had shark and octopus. They are relaxing to watch. Hell if I had the money I would set up one myself. Goodluck on whatever you decide.








[/quote]

I find the seahorses look beeter on like movies then in real life.. sorry offtopic but lol
[/quote]

I had saltwater for years.. over 10. But once I had my first child I gave saltwater up and went back to fresh. It is way to time demanding in my opinion. I keep telling myself as I spent hours making up RO water and doing water changes, this time should be spent with my baby.. this is useless wast of time. 
Freshwater is now a nice compromise for me.


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## J-Lo (Feb 2, 2006)

midnightmadman said:


> Hey all i thinking about trying out salt because i always wanted a small shark and i love how salt water fish look. I was just wondering if its expensive hard to keep and do i just ad salt. Any tips


Yes salt water is bueatiful but...............if you have a full time job get ready toget another one. They do require lots of cash! My uncle used to breed seahorses, and also had shark and octopus. They are relaxing to watch. Hell if I had the money I would set up one myself. Goodluck on whatever you decide.








[/quote]

I find the seahorses look beeter on like movies then in real life.. sorry offtopic but lol
[/quote]

I had saltwater for years.. over 10. But once I had my first child I gave saltwater up and went back to fresh. It is way to time demanding in my opinion. I keep telling myself as I spent hours making up RO water and doing water changes, this time should be spent with my baby.. this is useless wast of time. 
Freshwater is now a nice compromise for me.
[/quote]

Yea i think your rite. I just came home from the pet shop and man salt water is $$$. A piece of small coral cost about $60 and the fish are about $90 and up for the some good looking ones. Im sticking with fresh water


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

See thats the thing. Some peoples wants for salt water make it expensive. If you want corals yes it can and will be expensive due to the expensive inverts, and the cost of the lighting needed for the corals to live. In my tanks I had some clowns, fuzzy dwarf lion, puffer, tangs, and triggers. I do not remember spending over 40 dollars on a fish. What can get expensive is live rock. I got addicted to buying a piece every time I went to the store because I found a new piece that was nice.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

depending on whos aroud your area into the hobby and how well you can search the various forums you can piece together a tank with out stepping into a LFS except maybe for a bag of salt.. but no matter how you do it the cost is atleast double your typical freshwater set up and what most consider to be large fresh setup, like 125 gallon tank is really relatively small.. although nano tanks and advancements in equiptment have really opened up a whole new world of reef keeping..

puffs tank is a fantastic example of what can be accomplished with a all in one type nano with so choice up grades, i doubt hes spent over a grand so far so that pretty good. the real problem is the fact that its super addicting..


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## RBP7 (Oct 13, 2006)

i totally agree with nismo about how addictive saltwater. i have not even set up my tank yet and i can't stop learning about it. wait till i have my tank set up then i will be chasing the saltwater dragon. lol


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## barbianj (Aug 3, 2003)

Go see Ryan at Glass aquatics at 820 E. Locust just west of Humbolt. He has very reasonably priced and VERY healthy fish. Tell him piranha Jerry sent you. He has two tanks full of reds that we traded him. Salt may be a little more to start, but it is well worth it. Start out with a fish only setup and some live rock, and add base rock as you go. (Non live rock that stuff will eventually grow on). You don't have to fill the thing with live rock and fish right from the start. Add some, let it get established, then add more as you go. You don't need a protein skimmer right away. I look at a salt tank as a constant work in progress. Years of reward from it.


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## kfreeman (Feb 14, 2008)

A brackish tank can be just as rewarding as salt and you still get your salt and puffers. Archer fish is way cool too.Scats, catfish, dark plants, cichlids, gobys.

Hell I think I just talked myself into it...........


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