As much as I hated to do it....

[forestsofkelp]

"hate to do it"? think of all the livestock and money you prevented from being wasted!

I would never recommend a saltwater tank unless someone REALLY wanted to take care of it and had proven knowledge. It not that its difficult (its not really) it just not very forgiving of errors/easy to fix unless you know what you are doing. The cost of an error/initial setup is much higher. Cycling and getting saltwater is much more work.

Honestly a large chunk of people I see with SW tanks probably shouldn't have them either...I have a few forums where I basically have to bite my tongue.

Getting into saltwater tanks is like having a baby. I would never tell someone to do it, if you want to do it you should considering all the ramifications, and if you do it, power to you.

 

[forestsofkelp]

YOu say deep buy 20g XDD. I bought my first tank a few months ago ,20g SW, and thought it would be pretty cheap. I made lots of calculations and everythign was perfect. But then stuff happens, you need to kill off cyano and buhy cleanup crew, etc. So I know live buy "If you want SW, plan out how much it should cost you, then double that XD" Ive spent at least 2000 CAD on my NANO. I almost feel like it wouldve costed the same amount, if not slightly more for a bigger tank.

Honestly it would have. The main costs with a bigger tank are the tank (a couple hundred more) and the light (whatever you want). Everything else is chump change plus whatever you spend on corals.

The main cost is that a screw up is much bigger...if your 150 crashes its a lot worse than if your nano crashes. Also, I can move my 20g to a few buckets/ change 100% of the water in a weekend. Not in a big 150!

 

[jphilip813]

Considering I want to tell a lot of people that are already doing it that they probably shouldn't be, I tend to err on the side of no recommendation

The....SHADE

 

[Dark_Knightt]

"hate to do it"? think of all the livestock and money you prevented from being wasted!

I would never recommend a saltwater tank unless someone REALLY wanted to take care of it and had proven knowledge. It not that its difficult (its not really) it just not very forgiving of errors/easy to fix unless you know what you are doing. The cost of an error/initial setup is much higher. Cycling and getting saltwater is much more work.

Honestly a large chunk of people I see with SW tanks probably shouldn't have them either...I have a few forums where I basically have to bite my tongue.

Getting into saltwater tanks is like having a baby. I would never tell someone to do it, if you want to do it you should considering all the ramifications, and if you do it, power to you.

I think maybe a small 10g clownfish tank could work for a 10yo but dont add to it until they acc know smth.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Honestly it would have. The main costs with a bigger tank are the tank (a couple hundred more) and the light (whatever you want). Everything else is chump change plus whatever you spend on corals.

The main cost is that a screw up is much bigger...if your 150 crashes its a lot worse than if your nano crashes. Also, I can move my 20g to a few buckets/ change 100% of the water in a weekend. Not in a big 150!

Ig ur right. U do know you arent discouraging me in anyway from buying a 120g or + tank when i graduate highschool, university, med school and buy my own house XD. long way ik XDDD haha

 

[mfinn]

I absolutely would recommend a freshwater tank to such a young beginner.
First off there is nothing wrong with freshwater tanks.
It's good training ground.

 

[KenO]

FW planted tanks can be very expensive and just as complicated like SW tanks. I use to do FW planted tanks for years. I had CO2 tanks, pH controllers, Mazzei injectors, etc. I would make mineralized soils which took months to create. I grew plants in separate tank just like Frag tanks, to sell and support my addition. FW lighting systems were terrible back then. I learned how to build DIY led lighting systems to provide the correct spectrums for plants to grow and flourish. I did sunrise and sunset routines and did daytime blasts. I had high PAR levels of 150 to 200 at the substrate levels. I could bring out red pigments in different plants, which was the holy grail of FW planted tanks. I made RO/DI water and added supplements to get the proper water conditions to grow different soft water plants. I dosed various products like KNO3, phosphates, etc.

Yes as a kid my Dad had FW tanks with plastic plants, guppies and swordfish. It planted the seeds in me to go further as I got older. Now I can hold my 1 year old grandson in front on my SW tanks and see the excitement in his eyes as the fish swim by. So suggesting a FW tank is wholly appropriate to get someone started in a life long hobby.

 

[forestsofkelp]

Ig ur right. U do know you arent discouraging me in anyway from buying a 120g or + tank when i graduate highschool, university, med school and buy my own house XD. long way ik XDDD haha

Well thats the point. If someone can convince you to not have a reef tank (or a kid) your probably shouldn't have done.

Im in the process of upgrading my 20g to a 150 or 180g, and no one can convince me otherwise

 

[mkwarner77]

for me it depends on startup cost and time. recently a good friend wanted to start a 55 gl. He asked about my tank and I told him about my startup cost and the time invested in the first year. he wanted a reef but didn't want to sink the time into getting it established. I recommended fresh. Now he has a gorgeous angel tank.

 

[Stigigemla]

For a tank to a small child the parents must be ready to do the maintenance when the child dont want to do it.
I believe the age where a child can have the responsibility of having a tank totally of their own is 10 to 13 years.
They have to do the feeding and more even the days when nothing is fun.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

Well, I would consider available funds, time and if the person is obsessive enough to make it work.
Most people really aren’t geared towards the constant commitment a reef requires, another reason that the failure rate is so high amongst new hobbyists.

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Well, I would consider available funds, time and if the person is obsessive enough to make it work.
Most people really aren’t geared towards the constant commitment a reef requires, another reason that the failure rate is so high amongst new hobbyists.

yeah i have only had one fish before i got my SW tank and it was a goldfish that died within 10hrs of purchasing it. Then i forgot about keeping fish, didnt really care. Then i wanted a snake but my mom wouldnt let me, so she let me get fish, if i kept my room clean for 2 weeks and did lots of chores. I did extras. Then the night before i was supposed to buy my tank my dad somehow didnt know i wanted clownfish and he told me i wasnt allowed. Me, whos a "go big or go home" guy, made a freakin PowerPoint to convince my parents to let me get clowns. And it worked. Then a few months later on my 15th birthday i got my first corals. Ive now owned corals for about 3 weeks now. So yeah i think if the child is acc obsessed with keeping a saltwater tank, get them a 20g clownfish pair tank. Plus its good to have a parent who knows about SW tank keeping and has experience. None of my parents did so i spent at least 3 hrs a day doing research.