Saltwater vs Freshwater?

[Michigan Reefer]

Can anyone please explain the difference between running a reef tank and freshwater tank?
I've been reefing for almost 10 years now, but don't know the basics about keeping a planted freshwater tank, filtration, lighting, water parameters, and husbandry. Thank you.

 

[sfin52]

Can anyone please explain the difference between running a reef tank and freshwater tank?
I've been reefing for almost 10 years now, but don't know the basics about keeping a planted freshwater tank, filtration, lighting, water parameters, and husbandry. Thank you.

That's like explaining reef tank to a freshwater person. It can be very complicated with co2 diffusers to like mine two hob gravel fish and 20% water changes 2* a month.

 

[Sinibotia]

Really it depends on how high tech you want to go. High tech planted tanks are a lot like reefing, while low tech planted can be very very simple(but extremely enjoyable)

 

[leedsrhinojohn]

It can get very complicated depending on what you want to achieve, a good place to start is https://www.ukaps.org/

 

[symon_say]

It can be really complicated if you need to add co2, I prefer simpler plants that don't need anything special.

Right now I have a 15 gallon tank for my betta, is planted with lucky bamboo and anothee short plant I can remember, I just complete evaporate water and add some plant supplements once a week, I don't even change water because of the low bioload, everything is in check.

 

[Auquanut]

I keep 3 low tech planted tanks. There's some dosing involved (iron, carbon, etc...), but nothing too precise or involved. It's like anything else, go slow and do your research. If you're going hi tech, the complexity and expense goes up dramatically. Of course most of the really awesome planted tanks you see pictures of are hi tech. One thing I would have done differently on my 125 is to have started with a sump right off the bat. Started with canister filters. Hated them. Currently running HOB's. They do a great job, but high maintenance and too visible in the tank. I really love my planted tanks though. Well worth the investment in time and $. Just my .02.

 

[LadyMac]

What are you wanting to achieve? You can go very simple, by having a tank with the right light spectrum and growing things like cryptocornes, java moss and fern, and other lower light plants. To those that have to have a plant based substrate(rooted plants) higher light and CO2 injection and weekly fert dosing.

 

[AdamB]

I have 2 tanks and both tanks were mixed reef tanks until this year after my medical ordeal in May. Due to my medical ordeal I decided to make life a little simpler and I decided to convert my 90 gallon with 30 gallon sump to a Malawi cichlid tank. I did not need a skimmer ,doser, strong lighting for. Cichlid tank I found that the the peacock and hap cichlid have almost as brilliant colors as my fish in my reef tank but I can pack them heavy in my 90 in the way I set up a ton of media for bacteria to grow. In saying this after doing fish less cycle I stocked 35 fish at once in my tank. So much movement and I really enjoy. Malawi cichlids like a high ph so you can use argonite material for substrate. My last water change was over 2 weeks ago and my nitrate is still below 10! So this tank has been much less maintenance for me than my mixed reef tank.

 

[X-37B]

I converted my 25 gal nano cube that was a reef tank for 2 years to a freshwater. Its only been up for 3 weeks.
Only have 6 cory cats at the moment and plants.
Its easy to maintain. The corner overflow and sump make maintenance simple.
Used my black box led running white channel only.
All rock and corals are now in my 120

 

[Sump Crab]

It may seem to counter common perceptions but IME freshwater tanks, specifically low tech planted IME, require a lot more maintenance than reefs. I feel like the naturally occurring ecosystem in a reef is much easier to manage than planted. I have found plants are much more fickle than coral. Nuisance algae is also more difficult to control in freshwater. Maybe I just suck at freshwater.

 

[X-37B]

It may seem to counter common perceptions but IME freshwater tanks, specifically low tech planted IME, require a lot more maintenance than reefs. I feel like the naturally occurring ecosystem in a reef is much easier to manage than planted. I have found plants are much more fickle than coral. Nuisance algae is also more difficult to control in freshwater. Maybe I just suck at freshwater.

Different plants require different methods. Just pick simple starter type plants like Anubias.
I would never have any type of tank again unless it had an overflow and sump. Makes life easier.
I could do an AIO though.

 

[Gareth elliott]

I have kept a mid tech planted tank for around a decade now.
I say mid tech because i do not use a ph controller.
If i had to compare to my reef system would be how i dose and what i dose. On my reef i dose alk, cal mg and occasionally no3. All of these are based on testing or trends. My planted tank i dose based on the plants And a lot of math. I hate testing for potassium it takes forever the test kit is awful, i dont do it. But a planted tank unlike a reef will often be in short supply. So instead of testing for everything i test po4 and general hardness day after i trim plants.
general hardness will creep up because of Normal chemical reactions, the amount of creep determines how much water to change. i use the po4 reading to determine how much N03, po4, k and micro nutrients to dose. using a 30-10-10 ratio.
I also use the same ratio in monthly tablets added to the substrate. Under my sand is flourite to provide iron at even levels. I stay away from plants that are particularly needy like lace leaf.
Like a reef you want to choose inhabitants based on their ability to cohabitate with plants. No diggers, plant eaters etc. i like dither fish(tetras(some are nippier than others), guppies, danios etc), dwarf cichlids(stay away from Aquacultured blue rams), and corys to eat left overs that fall on the bottom.
I also have a giant shrimp colony, if i had to guess there are 2-3 shrimp per gallon. I added 1:1 they bred to their current numbers.

 

[reefwiser]

Here is a simple planted tank that sits on my kitchen counter. I Just to a water change once a week. It has a sponge filter an a light. That is all you actually need to run a tank.

This is my high tech tank with Co2 in line injection and all ADA equipment. Again I just do a water change once a week and trim the plants every three weeks. This tank has freshwater shrimp that breed in this tank.
I have MTS(multi tank syndrome) An my wife like plants so this lets me enjoy my self and make her happy too.
I find the freshwater tanks too be more stress free that the reef. No 200 dollar frags that RTN On you over night. An they are just as much fun to keep.

 

[stanleo]

This is my 110 gallon planted community tank. It's very low tech. I do 50% water changes every two weeks. It has a heater and a filter. After water changes I dose with two plant ferts and never run carbon. It was a process to balance photo-period, ferts, feeding, water changes and number of fish so I wouldn't get black hair algae. That's the biggest pain there is. Another piece is checking what your water is out of the tap cause that determines the type of fish you want. You either have hard water or soft water. Maybe something in the middle but either way that is how you will plan your stocking and from that what you want to do as far as aquascaping, plants or no plants, high tech or low. That's the first piece of advise I always give people starting out. I keep fish, shrimp, snails and even a crab that is 3 inches across. I love freshwater tanks!

I did try Co2 for a while but it was expensive, a pain, and really not much more rewarding than low tech to make the cost and hassle worth it to me. With reef tanks its even more cost and hassle but the payoff is so worth it.

 

[newbie2014]

It may seem to counter common perceptions but IME freshwater tanks, specifically low tech planted IME, require a lot more maintenance than reefs. I feel like the naturally occurring ecosystem in a reef is much easier to manage than planted. I have found plants are much more fickle than coral. Nuisance algae is also more difficult to control in freshwater. Maybe I just suck at freshwater.

I have the exact feeling, even though I kept a low tech planted tank. WC was a piece-of-cake, but husbandry of keeping the tank clean and thrive was a pain.

I really fretted switching to SW since everyone said it would be much harder. To my surprise, my softies/LPS has been much easier. Yes, WC requires more planning, but a weekly WC is pretty much all my tank needs.

 

[stanleo]

I converted my 25 gal nano cube that was a reef tank for 2 years to a freshwater. Its only been up for 3 weeks.
Only have 6 cory cats at the moment and plants.
Its easy to maintain. The corner overflow and sump make maintenance simple.
Used my black box led running white channel only.
All rock and corals are now in my 120

I've been toying with the idea of turning my old 55 gallon into a sump for my 110 gallon fresh water. I love having a sump for the reef and it just makes sense. Makes me nervous though.

 

[mrpizzaface]

Keeping a planted is fairly simple. You are attempting to achieve a balance with light input, nutrient import, and nutrient export. I like to keep nitrates in the 20-40 range. I change approx 50% of the water once a week. If you start to develop nuisance algae, you need to lower your photo period, feed less, or change more water. On smaller tanks sponge filters are the way to go.