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New To Saltwater Hobby New To Saltwater Hobby? Introduce Yourself And Ask Your Noobie Questions Here.

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Old April 30th, 2009, 04:15 PM   #1
SwordsRule
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Default Getting started in 2009

I am an experienced freshwater fish hobbyist, and I've keep saltwater fish in the distant past (circa 1970's). I know a lot has changed in the saltwater arena in the last 30 plus years but where do I begin? Are there any resources to help a new s/w hobbyist? Do I go fish only, reef tank or some blend of the two?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

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Old April 30th, 2009, 07:20 PM   #2
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Default Salt water tank

Yes alot has changed, but for the better.
I too have been keeping salt since the 70's.
A few things that have changed, are protein skimmers, they are much more effecient now. Not the little cup that used to sit a top of the riser tube on your undergravel.
Also not many people use undergravel filter anymore, in fact most would probally advise to stay away from them. Lighting has changed filters have changed even pumps, but all for the better.
There is also the use of live rock, and live sand. Which helps cycle your tank much faster.
It used to take anywhere from 6-12 weeks on average, now with the use of live rock and live sand it can be done in days.
As far as reef or salt fish only, that depends on how deep your pocket are and how far you want to stick your hand in.
Reefs are in my opinion beautiful, but fairly expensive. Also a little more involved.
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Old May 4th, 2009, 11:01 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SwordsRule View Post
I am an experienced freshwater fish hobbyist, and I've keep saltwater fish in the distant past (circa 1970's). I know a lot has changed in the saltwater arena in the last 30 plus years but where do I begin? Are there any resources to help a new s/w hobbyist? Do I go fish only, reef tank or some blend of the two?

Any guidance would be appreciated.

-SwordsRule
a lot has changed of course as with anything else. As to getting help and educating yourself, you've come to the right place, just ask questions and someone will always answer them. Best of all, you get responses from real individuals who love this hobby.
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Old May 4th, 2009, 11:36 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by alazandv View Post
...Best of all, you get responses from real individuals who love this hobby.
Good point
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Old May 6th, 2009, 04:30 PM   #5
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Default Getting started in SW

To get my feet wet again (sorry for the pun), I'd like to start out on the less expensive side. Once I've gotten the hang of some of the new technology, I would like to expand to a more elaborate system.

With that said, which of the three choices (fish only, reef tank or blend) would be the least expensive and easiet to set-up and maintain?
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Old May 6th, 2009, 05:57 PM   #6
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Default saltwater

Fish only would be the cheapest, reef is the most expensive.
If you are loking to start we will have live sand for sale at the next couple of meeting for $ 20.00 a bag. that's cheap!!!!!!
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Old May 7th, 2009, 11:49 AM   #7
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Yeah when it comes to saltwater setups, FO (Fish Only) setup would be the cheapest, followed by FOWLR (Fish Only with Live Rock) and REEF as the most expensive to both setup (stock) and maintain.

This doesn't meat this hobby has to be for rich people only. Lots of equipment can be bought second hand and corals (frags) can be obtained or traded from fellow hobbyists.

When I setup my first reef tank I spent about $2000 for the whole setup but I did a lot of research and didn't pay full retail prices. I bought some things used while others I build myself saving me hundreds of dollars. One day we sat down with my now fiance and estimated that we would have paid over $4500 if we had just bought everything outright.

Start small and take it from there but buy equipment that can be reused in bigger setups. example. If you setup a 55 gallon tank buy a skimmer that can handle 100+ gallon tank so that if you decide to upgrade you can still use it.
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