Is having/maintaining a SW tank harder/more demanding than a FW tank??

[fishfrenzy]

I might buy my bosses 75g bow front tank. Its set up right now as a SW tank, but honestly its kind of nasty. there are 2 fish in there and a ton of star fish and other little critters. But he does nothing to maintain it. Whenever the water evaporates he just gets a bucket and fills it up and every now and then feeds the fish some flakes.

Now given, if i buy the tank I dont know if i want to keep it SW or convert it to a FW Cichlid tank with rock structures.

I guess It all depends on how much harder maintaining a SW tank is than a FW. I have read about it quite a bit, and it seems that once you get past the inital setting up and the water/salt right, its just as easy if not easier then a FW tank. a few gravel vacs here and there and topping off the tank when the water evaporates. Only thing is, I know what can go wrong with a FW tank as far as algae and other probs go and I know now how to fix them for the most part. I am still having a BBA prob in my 29g tank that just wont go away.

However, how hard is it to keep a 75g SW tank pristine and almost perfect. no algae, no unwanted growths, etc etc. I basically want it to be an awsome show "like" tank that ppl with gaulk over when they come into my apartment!!! ( i know keep dreaming)

Another thing pushing me away from SW is the price of the fish and that all the LFS's around here dont offer any type of garauntee on SW fish, if it dies that night then ur screwed. On FW fish they have a 3-5 day guarantee. Oh well.........

Please let me know what yall think I should do...... thanks....

[icp]

you can't really say sw is harder than fw or the other way because discus are harder to keep alive and maintain than tangs but starfish are harder to keep alive than bettas and bigger the tank in sw the more stable it will be but the more it will cost and more of a pain it is to change water ... what skimmer , filter and light is on it ?

[fishfrenzy]

im not sure about the skimmer and filter. ****I know he has a huge HOB filter with like 3-4 power heads under the water, He has a big protein skimmer but doesnt even use it. ****and he has a Twin tube 4ft light. So theres 2-40watt 4ft bulbs. ****

As far as lighting goes, when they say live rock need medium to alot of light, exactly how much do they mean?? ****He has live rock in the tank now, but i dont know specifically what kind it is and how much light it needs. **** ****

Also, when I purchase it, if I were to keep it SW, is it possible to to leave some of the crushed coral on the bottom of the tank, then cover it with sand. ****When we transport it we are going to remove all the rock and the 2 fish etc. so when I set it back up i figure the already established crushed coral will help in speeding up the new cycling process. ****Also, Is it possible to clean the live rock he has in there so all those little creatures and weird looking growths die off, and the rock starts off new. ****If i spend the time and money on a SW tank, I want it to look GOOOD, like no weird growths or creatures coming out of nowhere and taking over the tank. Like the snail problems I have with my FW tanks, I HATE IT !!! ****

Also, If i just decide to keep the tank SW but dont want the ugly, gross looking live rocks. Is there anyother type of non-live rock that is good for stacking and decoration in a SW tank. Like Lace rock or holey rock etc?? Also If anyone knows of any good links, as to where I can read and learn about live rock Please post them. I would greatly appreciate it!!

P.S I am going to take alot of pictures of the tank tomorrow when I go to work. And will try to post them on here tomorrow night!! ****

Thanks again and again for the help!!

[clemsonfrk11202]

lol you hate snails... well in a sw tank you want them they help control the alge in the tank

[hail_sniper]

well basicly, you WANt all the icky stuff, keeping a sterile tank is hard, if you just want to have it look clean with only fish, take everything out, put in some decorations, and run a wet/dry system w/ a good skimmer

[Fishboy93]

In my opinion I think SW tanks are harder. Don't use the snails you should try shrimp if you plan to make it a community tank.

[Damon]

While saltwater cost more initially, they are about the same. There are aspects of both which can be difficult. Stocking takes on new rules in a saltwater tank. But with the right equipment, it isn't difficult. It requires no more matainence than a FW (not including mixing saltwater). Waterchanges, cleaning of equipment. Its the same for both.

[TheOldSalt]

A lot of us think that SW is actually a lot easier in many ways than FW.
( worldwide uniformity in water chemistry and habitat, fewer diseases easier to treat etc.. )
The differences are like the differences between baseball and softball. Essentially the same, but just a few little rules changes make a whole new game.
Wow, this is an old thread. Whatever happened to clemsonfreak?

[Damon]

Good question. We're still missing a lot of old faces.

[Osiris]

FishFrenzy, main thing is cost, i noticed you mentioned "or cichlid tank" you could easily make it into a beautiful peacock/hap tank and have some of the world's most colorful fish in there that are FW.