Saltwater tank maintenance vs planted tanks
- Hello
- Thread starter wannabesalty
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Slocke
I’m pedantic, ignore me
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Photo of the Month
Article Contributor
My Tank Thread
My Aquarium Showcase
Hey!!
Glad you made it over here. You’ll get a lot of good advice!
Mr. Mojo Rising
7500 Club Member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2021
- Messages
- 7,612
- Reaction score
- 8,632
- Location
- Toronto
- What state or country do you live in
- Canada
Ive done a planted tank before, it is somewhat similar to a reef tank in the way that lighting and parameters are very important.
But overall a freshwater tank is still pretty easy competed to salt, its a complete 180 to go from freshwater to salt, its much more expensive, time consuming, and just so much more to learn and understand.
But IMO its worth it, once I tried salt, I forgot about fresh and never looked back. I like the challenge, the colors, the variety of animals, its all so much better than freshwater.
But overall a freshwater tank is still pretty easy competed to salt, its a complete 180 to go from freshwater to salt, its much more expensive, time consuming, and just so much more to learn and understand.
But IMO its worth it, once I tried salt, I forgot about fresh and never looked back. I like the challenge, the colors, the variety of animals, its all so much better than freshwater.
wannabesalty
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2022
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 42
- Location
- lodi
- What state or country do you live in
- California
Cool to hear you also have high tech planted tanks! A 20 gallon is probably the largest I can comfortably accommodate right now in my apartment, but if it works out I'm sure I'll go larger when I get a bigger place!
Jimbhoy13
7500 Club Member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2018
- Messages
- 9,323
- Reaction score
- 68,675
- Location
- Derbyshire
- What state or country do you live in
- Other International
Welcome to R2R and the salty world Jared. Salty can be expensive and time consuming but when running well it can be so much more rewarding. Take things slowly. Lots of knowledgeable and helpful people here who will support and advise you when needed.
Slocke
I’m pedantic, ignore me
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
Photo of the Month
Article Contributor
My Tank Thread
My Aquarium Showcase
I'll add my two cents.
It's as hard as you make it and I don't think its all that different then fresh. Different pests and algae but still it's about keeping good water and most freshwater equipment works in salt. The difficulty is in what type of tank you want. Fish only is pretty easy and easier than a planted freshwater however a good sps acro tank is far far more difficult.
It's as hard as you make it and I don't think its all that different then fresh. Different pests and algae but still it's about keeping good water and most freshwater equipment works in salt. The difficulty is in what type of tank you want. Fish only is pretty easy and easier than a planted freshwater however a good sps acro tank is far far more difficult.
vetteguy53081
Well known Member and monster tank lover
Partner Member 2024
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
RGB
Article Contributor
Tampa Bay Reef Keepers
West Palm Beach Reefer
Hospitality Award
Ocala Reef Club Member
305 Reef Club
Wisco Reefers
Midwest Reefer
Fish Medic
MAC of SW Florida
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
R2R Secret Santa 2023
My Tank Thread
My Aquarium Showcase
Algae is easily triggered in a marine tank when:
lack of maintenance leading tto inorganics
too much light or light intensity
Phosphate buildup ( overfeeding, use of tap water)
Tank near a window
vetteguy53081
Well known Member and monster tank lover
Partner Member 2024
Excellence Award
Reef Tank 365
RGB
Article Contributor
Tampa Bay Reef Keepers
West Palm Beach Reefer
Hospitality Award
Ocala Reef Club Member
305 Reef Club
Wisco Reefers
Midwest Reefer
Fish Medic
MAC of SW Florida
Rock Pool Reef Keepers
R2R Secret Santa 2023
My Tank Thread
My Aquarium Showcase
rwreef
Valuable Member
- Joined
- May 15, 2020
- Messages
- 1,038
- Reaction score
- 1,835
- Location
- Louisville
- What state or country do you live in
- Kentucky
I've had both planted aquariums and saltwater reef aquariums (started with reef). IMO planted is very easy compared to saltwater. I took down my large planted tank because I got tired of trimming it. My daughter's small 20l tank does great with plants and a beta fish. You can go as complex or as simple as you want in either hobby. Good luck and welcome!
LisaMarie
Addicted to Reefing
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2019
- Messages
- 467
- Reaction score
- 2,522
- Location
- Roan Mountain TN
- What state or country do you live in
- Tennessee
You'll do great! I hope you'll share your progress here in the build thread forum. It's a great way to get feedback from the community and help others.
MoshJosh
2500 Club Member
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2022
- Messages
- 3,968
- Reaction score
- 4,419
- Location
- Grand Junction
- What state or country do you live in
- Colorado
I find saltwater/reef keeping more challenging.
“Can’t” use tap water, more parameters to worry about, more equipment (generally speaking), more expensive inhabitants (generally speaking), etc.
“Can’t” use tap water, more parameters to worry about, more equipment (generally speaking), more expensive inhabitants (generally speaking), etc.
ScubaShane
MENTAL REEF DISORDER!
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2013
- Messages
- 1,110
- Reaction score
- 3,031
- Location
- Honesdale, PA.
- What state or country do you live in
- Pennsylvania
DO IT! Reef2Reef, Do It!
TheReefDiary
Valuable Member
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2022
- Messages
- 1,000
- Reaction score
- 844
- Location
- United States
- What state or country do you live in
- New Jersey
Algae control is not easier. Cost is definitely more than planted tanks and so is the time invested to reaching a successful tank. Saltwater is more rewarding when you get it right in my opinion. Both are great, I just prefer salt water.
Manny’s Reef
2500 Club Member
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2020
- Messages
- 3,072
- Reaction score
- 8,933
- Location
- West Jordan
- What state or country do you live in
- Utah
Hello and welcome to R2R. We are excited to have you.
afrokobe
Valuable Member
I came from the planted tank scene. I ran high tech with CO2, dosing, high intensity lights all that jazz. I will say that reefing is definitely more complex than planted tanks even high tech. Especially in the sense of the things that you have to worry about (there's a lot more, algae/parameters/pests/disease). But maintenance on a high tech planted tank is just as much work or more when you get your reef into a groove. Starting a reef tank is definitely hard, but I think if you can get past the initial stage and learn everything you can. I don't think its much more complicated or difficult than a planted tank.
TheReefDiary
Valuable Member
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2022
- Messages
- 1,000
- Reaction score
- 844
- Location
- United States
- What state or country do you live in
- New Jersey
Yeah it's moreso the initial year or two. Once your tank is up and running and you know what's going on iylts about the same level of maintenance.
tbrown
Nominated Cronie Intern - Might be failing?
Welcome to Reef2Reef! The estimates are going to be determined similarly to planted tanks. There are plenty of very successful reefs on here that are pretty hands off but they're a bigger investment because they require more equipment. There's plenty of high tech, high maintenance tanks as well, and there's plenty of low tech, high maintenance tanks that are very successful. It's up to you how much time vs money you want to invest. If you go too low tech though, you might end up investing lots of time and lots of money trying to make it be successful.
ColonelCrow
Active Member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2022
- Messages
- 153
- Reaction score
- 192
- Location
- Orlando
- What state or country do you live in
- Florida
I ran planted tanks years ago and ive never seen anything in my life that required more maintenance.... or less at the same time.... and at the time i was scared of saltwater and reef tanks for this reason. I didnt need filters which was great but i needed scissors daily. The way a reef tank filters is very similar and there are loads of low tech success stories.
So glad i made the swap. I now keep a 125 fake planted fw and a young growing reef tank. My fake plant fw requires 4x more maintenance than my young reef(at the moment-fully expect this to change as it ages and corals grow)
But i honestly dont expect my reef(55g) tank to ever require as much or as frequent maintenance as my planted(55g) ever did though i have(or will have)invested more into the reef in terms of automated testers and dosers but thats because corals cost a lot more than plants.
But the amount of life you get to watch from your tank will never compare. In a sw tank youre constantly watching the system evolve. There is no set it snd forget it and get bored because every day is something new. Every week something new has evolved. And youre going to learn and appreciate so much
So glad i made the swap. I now keep a 125 fake planted fw and a young growing reef tank. My fake plant fw requires 4x more maintenance than my young reef(at the moment-fully expect this to change as it ages and corals grow)
But i honestly dont expect my reef(55g) tank to ever require as much or as frequent maintenance as my planted(55g) ever did though i have(or will have)invested more into the reef in terms of automated testers and dosers but thats because corals cost a lot more than plants.
But the amount of life you get to watch from your tank will never compare. In a sw tank youre constantly watching the system evolve. There is no set it snd forget it and get bored because every day is something new. Every week something new has evolved. And youre going to learn and appreciate so much
