sean the prawn Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 Hi everyone My name is Sean hayden Im from Upper Hutt and am still doing my research as to what sort of tank and species I will be starting up.I have always had a facination with salt water aquariums and would really like to start a redsea max tank but have a few questions still.I also really like the Malawi cichlids and wouldnt mind setting up a tank with them in it.What to do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 2, 2008 Report Share Posted October 2, 2008 If you have lots of money, go marine. If not, stick to tropical 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 4, 2008 Report Share Posted October 4, 2008 Hi & welcome! Descisions...descisions...descisions 8) Now, keep us updated as to what you decide. Take care & have fun, Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Belated :oops: but.....Welcome to the forums :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Welcome! Marines are awesome, very beautiful fish but IMO, expensive and harder to get right. You can always start with tropicals, and then move into marine later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Welcome. I have never kept a marine tank. But looking around the difference seems to me to be this. On a good sized tank you will spend more for salt...skimmers etc. But if you want a big tank and big fish then piece for piece there is not that much difference...IMO. The big difference is time. Supposedly you can have a fresh tank planted or not up and running in roughly 8 weeks. It however is rapid to ripe and rapid to rot. So does require at least weekly maintainance of some sort. Salt it seems is set up much more slowly, with simular costs but the end effect is spectactular. Maintainance is less often but can be costly. I am sure if you add up my annual expences and that of a salty they would be quite close. Good luck with your choices Navarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Good point Navarre; I was just thinking - fresh water is cheap in terms of livestock if you're buying fish that are $5ea. However, as soon as you're purchasing $100+ fish, or 100 $12 fish, it adds up very quickly. Since it's your first go, you might want to see if you can visit some tanks; there are heaps of people in Wellington on the forums who have stunning tanks, and have lots of knowledge that they are willing to share too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted October 7, 2008 Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Looking at a nice discus 150-250 and then a nice coral or angel/tang etc 150-250...and thats from the LFS not from some of the good guys in local clubs who can slip you the odd frag for half that sometimes...so cost of livestock not really an issue All the best Navarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean the prawn Posted October 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2008 Awesome thanks for the replys,I am still no closer to deciding what I am going to settle for but I have narrowed it down,I am either looking at a African cichlids(awesome fish) tank arond 300 - 500ish liters or a red sea max unit but I think I know what will happen, I will end up with both.Having the space to do this is a factor at the moment but hopefully for not to much longer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 marine... go to the dark side .... I wouldn't say maintenance is less on a marine tank though and you need to keep an eye on more parameters than in a fW tank, e.g. salinity, calcium, mag, kh.... It really comes down to personal opinion, mine is hat if you can afford to go marine then you probably won't regret it... Alot of ppl go from FW to SW but i don't know of many that go from SW to FW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted October 8, 2008 Report Share Posted October 8, 2008 Hey Sean, one of the staff at the local petshop told me that there's a lady in the Hutt that actually breeds 'Nemos' (cannot remember it's latin name) - I'd say go for the marine if you want something different, challenge is the fun part - given that you don't kill too many fish that is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted October 14, 2008 Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 'Nemos' (cannot remember it's latin name) Don't know Latin name either but the "Nemos' are called clown fish. Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean the prawn Posted October 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hey guys looks like I have caught the marine bug How things can change in a matter of a week,I have given up on the cichlids and fresh water and decided to do what I have always wanted to do and thats is a marine aquarium.I have read a few storys from people about there cowfish and they sound awesome and look really freaky so I think thats what Id like to own.Does anyone own one and can you post some pics of your fish and its tank setup?Suggestions on tank size say 400L min Is this true?Is that way to big to start your first saltwater tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 Hi and welcome Congrats on your decision.. From what ive read on here the bigger the better for marine tanks they're more stable.. I hope you've got some serious $$'s to burn as thats another thing that ive read is you have to buy descent gear to begin with and marine fish corals proper lights etc aren't cheap Ask any of the marine guys what their tanks and stock owe them and then ask someone who has fresh water.. Well worth it to have an amazing setup in your house to be proud of. Make sure you do your research and it would be awesome if you knew someone else locally who has success with marines and followed their advice, maybe join a club? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 cowfish are great if you only want one fish ... problem is that if they are stressed they can release toxins killing everything else in your tank. Thats not to say you couldn't have one if you wanted but you'd need to be aware of the risks involved, there are some marine ppl out ther ein nz who have a similar experience with boxfish/puffers. i'd say 400l is a good size, at that size your water parameters are able to stay fairly stable, thats the size of my current marine tank and i find it pretty good maintenance wise. Most important this is to get a good skimmer, general rule of thumb is usually to get one that is rated for twice the volume of your tank. Lighting and water movement are the next biggest things, usually MHs or a lot of T5s if you want hard corals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 Exciting! Don't forget to post pics as you start getting the stuff. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaide Posted October 23, 2008 Report Share Posted October 23, 2008 Hey Sean, one of the staff at the local petshop told me that there's a lady in the Hutt that actually breeds 'Nemos' (cannot remember it's latin name) - I'd say go for the marine if you want something different, challenge is the fun part - given that you don't kill too many fish that is. Good to know I'd love to go marine - maybe one day it will happen. Was looking up seahorses the other day - they're so gorgeous, one day.....one day..... Welcome Sean! (insert waving smilie here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sean the prawn Posted October 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Good to know I'd love to go marine - maybe one day it will happen. Was looking up seahorses the other day - they're so gorgeous, one day.....one day..... Welcome Sean! (insert waving smilie here) Hey thanks for the welcome and cheers for letting me know there is someone local breeding clowns ,they are cool little fish and being a beginner I will more than likley start out with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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