10 comments to “Should I get a saltwater or freshwater aquarium?”

1. Tio wrote:
   26. March 2008 at 11:24 am :

   go with freshwater alot easier to take care of nad cheaper to maintain.go with 30 gallon minimum
   here is some site to look at.look in your local buy and sell you may find a used tank at a good price

2. Taylor&Zachary wrote:
   26. March 2008 at 2:03 pm :

   Get a big fish tank but not too big you know.
   I would say saltwater because the fish are much more beautiful but freshwater would probably be cheaper.

   dont spend alot of money on plants, get some cheap greenery to put in it.

   Once you get more money but some more plants, fish, etc…

3. elfchick17 wrote:
   26. March 2008 at 8:32 pm :

   Go for a freshwater, they are easier to care for. The size of the tank kinda depends also on if you want a stand, but you couls easily get a 55gallon on ebay. try putting a varitey of fake or real plants, and a few large tank ornaments for hidey holes. As to fish find a happy mix of different compatible fish to make a community tank.

   Hope this helps!

4. ferret wrote:
   28. March 2008 at 10:03 am :

   fresh water and buy a heater it would be good to get the 70L tank and stand called the amazon. the AA range sold in big-W made buy vita pet. plants and accessories are all good i reckon about 6 guppies 1 ghost knife 2 discus and 2 cat fish it all adds up trust me

5. c.dub41 wrote:
   30. March 2008 at 11:32 am :

   You wont be able to if you are looking into saltwater my friend recently spent about1000 dollars on his new 120 gallon saltwater tank so i would go with a freshwater tank about 35-40 gallons and I would get tetra corries platties and danios.Good Luck and Happy Fish Keeping!

6. fuzzy_pink_seahorse wrote:
   31. March 2008 at 10:46 am :

   If you only have $300, don’t get saltwater. Get a 20 or 30 gallon tank and get freshwater tropical fish.
   Though I would normally say saltwater, since you are on a budget, freshwater is a better fit.

7. BIGgourami wrote:
   31. March 2008 at 6:02 pm :

   you could do a larger FW or a smaller SW…
   have you ever kept fish before?
   how long?
   what kinds of fish/tanks?

   for $300 you could do a bare minimum 20long or 29 FO or FOWLR (fish only, fish only with live rock) get all the equipment you usually need, filter, heater, tank, lights, stand, etc.. and buy a hydrometer and enough marine salt to make 2x the tank volume, i like instant ocean, but whatever is availibe near you should work.
   set up the equipment and add like 15-20 pounds of live rock ($60-140 depending on the quality) and about 20 pounds of aragonite sand ($20) set it all up and let it cycle for 3 weeks to a month and a half, buy nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia test kits to track the cycle.
   then you can add fish like small damsels, chromis, clownfish, grammas, gobies, firefish, basically any small hardy fish. and a few hermit crabs and snails.

   you could maybe get a 55 for 150 if you buy a used tank/stand. a good filter should be about 40-60, and a heater should be about 25. some gravel (40 pounds or so) should be like 30-40 bucks. and any decorations you want.
   for fish you could do a lot of things
   a single CA/SA cihclid
   angelfish
   a bunch of small ‘community’ fish
   oddball fish
   african cichlids
   the list goes on and on…

   just some ideas…

8. Ianab wrote:
   1. April 2008 at 8:58 pm :

   If you aren’t sure, then get freshwater. Much cheaper and easier to look after. Your $300 will be enough to set up a medium size community tank with some common (but pretty) easy care fish.

   Wander down to your local pet place with $200 and buy the biggest ‘kit’ you can. Tank, filter, heater, lights, a bag of gravel, some water conditioner and a water test kit.

   Then have a read of this page -

   Set up the tank and cycle it with one of those methods. While thats going on you can look at the various fish and decide what you like. Then research their compatibility and the size they get to. Some fish just can not live together, and others grow HUGE.

   After 2 or 3 weeks your tank will be ready for fish and you can go back to the shop and buy your first ones, and some artifical plants and whatever ornaments you like. You will also need a gravel vac/syphon gadget, a net, some fish food etc. Take your time building up the fish numbers in the tank, do it over a month or so to let the filters adjust to the number of fish.

   Have fun

   Ian

9. Melissa L wrote:
   5. April 2008 at 6:44 am :

   If cost is an issue, don’t go with the saltwater. The equipment, livestock, and mistakes are far more expensive.

   A 20g planted freshwater tank with some unique guppies would be lovely, especially for someone new to the hobby.

10. danielle Z wrote:
    5. April 2008 at 5:23 pm :

    While there are a lot of myths here about the expense of salt water you are only runing a 20 gallon I would go with fresh water. As far as decorations, if you are having a hard time choosing salt and fresh why not get the fake corals for your fresh water with white stone. It will kind of look like salt but be a fresh tank (and personally, Salt water is easier to care for. I have a number of both) Now for the fish. You can start with perhaps a crab or two, no more. If you plan on going with gold fish, I would not recomend more than 3 small fancy no common or comets. There are a number of beautiful fish. I would suggest going to your LFS and looking at them. Write down the names of the fish you would like to have then research, care, water params, and compatability then decide which you would like to have. You can buy a 20 gallon tank with hood stand and filters for under $100. Pets supplies plus usually sell the glass for around $1 per gallon and I think they have a sale going on. Shop around for the tank get the most for your money so yu can spend more on your fish and decor.