Seriously Considering a Salt Water Tank

I am seriously considering getting a salt water tank so I can get some salt water native fish - but I'd love to know from those of you who have fish - what is best for hardware and fish!!!!!!!!



I really like BIG fish and different fish. I don't like the little minnow size ones.

www.aquaria.info -join this website!!! It's like TCS for fish! I'm a member there (same username) I have learned soooo much valuable information from these wonderful folks! Read through their forums on fish care/etc and tanks before you even start thinking about buying a fish tank.

It takes a long time to properly cycle a salt water tank - it takes a lot of patience, but it is SOOOO worth it! You can't add your fish all at once eithor- you have to cycle the fish in depending on the type you get. And keep in mind- certain fish are ranked according to aggression/etc....so be careful when selecting. This website could recommend some good combos!

I'm planning to set up a 100 gallon salt water tank within the next few yrs. at our new house (I had an 80 gallon and two 10 gals. at my old house as well as multiple betta tanks/etc - i LOVE fish!) (i say i'm planning to set up a new one in a few years because they're NOT cheap! Gotta save up! )

Whatever you get, keep in mind the more spacious the tank, the more the fish will flourish- invest your largest amount of money in a good quality good sized tank (I would do at LEAST a 60-80+ gal. if you're considering salt water and want a good variety). Also consider what filters and all you will need and how you will need to maintain the water.

Once you get your salt water tank cycled and established- it's really not too much more trouble to maintain than a fresh water. Definitely go for it! Just be sure to do your research first!!!

what do you mean by cycled?

I saw this beautiful striped fish and an anemone (sp) and star fish all in the same tank and a clown fish in another tank, they were SO beautiful!

do I really need to worry about Luxor?

Several years ago I had a beautiful salt water tank. I had 2 puffer fish, several clown fish, beautiful coral, an eel, several anemone, a few angel fish (if I am rememberng correctly, they were vibrant blue and yellow), a few butterfly fish and a few more, with those cute tank cleaners on the walls.

Salt water fish are so vibrant and so beautiful. The things you can fill your tank with are unlimited, but research the fish and make sure they can all live with each other.

And as Nikki said the bigger the tank the happier the fish.

You need to cycle new fish tanks to get the good bacteria established before you go adding all of your expensive fish... I don't know a whole lot about salt water tanks, as I have yet to have the room or money for a big enough one (but I want one some day)... I'm sure it's more involved than setting up a smaller freshwater tank though

I bet that site suggested will have plenty on how to cycle a new tank, but when I set up a new freshwater tank, I take substrate, water and/or filter media from an already established tank and put it in the new tank to start up the good bacteria colony... you need this good bacteria to process the waste and left over food from your fish and other sea life... you would let the tank run fish-less for awhile to make sure this good colony is established (I know with freshwater tanks, you can add certain fish close to immediately to help cycle it... again, I don't know the specifics for salt tanks though)

Keep us updated on what you decide to get!

thank you everyone, I'll start looking into all this - and let you know what I come up with!

Originally Posted by Renovia

thank you everyone, I'll start looking into all this - and let you know what I come up with!

Click to expand...

Good luck hon! If you have any questions let me know and i'll try and help!!! Definitely check out the link i gave you- there is SOOO much valuable information on there too! I've really learned a lot from that site!

Luxor should be fine! Just make sure you have a very sturdy tank with a really thick lid when you're choosing one so that in case Luxor tries to go fishing, it won't happen! I bet Luxor is going to really enjoying watching his fish-tv Mine LOVE fish tanks

(ps. there is a huge section on there devoted to cycling tanks/etc and how to do it properly- check it out )

My ex and I had a saltwater tank years ago. We started the tank with Damsel fish which are cheap, hardy fish that are are very resistant to the buildup of nitrites which are a common problem when adding fish to a new saltwater tank. Our tank was 125 gallons and we had a small tank for guppies to feed to the lionfish. If you have room it would be a good idea to keep a small saltwater tank setup with damsels to use as a quarantine tank. We got a hogfish from a place that we had bought fish from before that looked fine and he infected the tank with a disease called ich or whitespot.

Yeah, a strong lid is a good idea (or have NO WAY for the kitty to get to the top of the tank haha)... Oliver loves watching the fish and my aquatic frog... I used to have an overgrown feeder goldfish that loved to be pet, so he'd come to the top of the tank and wait for you to pet his head... he started coming to the top of the tank when Oliver would get on the nightstand next to the tank (when I was at school) and Ollie would put is paw in and pet Shark Bait

Good luck with them. I was never into salt water tanks as they are a PITB to keep up and have the salt content just right. The fish are also out of my price range too. Since its hard to keep them healthy, I could never justify the price tag.

I will admit they are a lot more impressive then fresh water tropical fish and admire those that have the time/patience and knowledge to keep a salt water tank.

I wanted to include this in my post last night, but for the life of me could not remember the word (you'll see what I mean, keep reading lol)

I have my degree in German language and there is a colloquial German term for fish tanks or really any tank that houses small critters - it's not a term you would find in any dictionary though so I had to ask a friend living in Germany to refresh my memory and she did today lol

The German word is "Katzenkino" (cat-zen-kee-no) and literally translated, means "Cat's movie" - in other words, the tank is there for the cat's entertainment! I think it's one of the funniest terms and hopefully my mind won't blank on it the next time I want to use it lol

Anyway, not really helpful in your quest to begin a salt tank, but relevant to your kitty's interaction with the possible tank

oh that's really great!

I wonder if there's a book on salt water tanks, I love to read DIY or How To books (that's how I taught myself to hand code HTML)...... anyone know of any?



Katzenkino


that's rich!

Glad you liked it!

It's so true in my house too! Ollie loves the tanks!

I actually have never read a book on fishkeeping... I always end up doing things the hard way haha and find out after I buy a whole bunch of stuff that I should've gone a different route... I'm sure there are a lot of books out there on the subject though - check out the library or a B&N

I agree to read a LOT about salt water tanks before you invest the money and time