Possibly getting saltwater tank?

[fishbubbles]

I have had freshwater tanks for years so I understand the importance of maintaining an aquarium. I was thinking of getting a saltwater tank because I love the way it looks. How much harder is it than freshwater? I was thing of buying a 14 gal biocube because I know it already has a filter inside. I didnt want anything large because I might move into an apartment before I buy it. I really was aiming for dwarf sea horses or the regular size. Ive herd its hard to keep them because of food. What do they eat and does the filter actually have to flow correctly for them to get food? Any helpful info will be appreciated.
Thanks!

[funlad3]

A salt water tank isn't that much harder, and in fact, I beleive it's easier. The cycle is longer (usually no less than two months), the equipment more expensive ($500 lighting for coral???), and the disease more fast acting (QT is absolutely required). All the same though, if you have a larger tank (40+, preferably 60+ gallons), water quality issues are are almost brainless to remedy, and, in my opinion, the fish and animals are much cooler looking that their freshwater counterparts.

Sea Horses, like you said, can be hard to keep. The problem can be feeding issues (you have to train almost all of them to take enriched frozen mysis instead of live BBS) or vibrio. Vibrio is a bacterial infection that is like the plague to the sea horses. The easy way around it is to run the tank at a subtropical temperature, usually 74º-76º.

If you're serious about Sea Horses, this site should have everything you need to know. Their top notch too; I've been to their facility.

http://www.seahorse.com/

Good luck!

[fishbubbles]

Thank you!

[funlad3]

No problem, and keep us posted!

[kay-bee]

Originally Posted by funlad3 ...A salt water tank isn't that much harder, and in fact, I beleive it's easier...

I think SW tanks are some what more challenging than FW. There are more things to monitor, stability of water parameters are more important, depending on how complex a system there are more equipment components (which can significantly increase cost compared to the FW counterpart) and certain live stock demand more or specific requirements; a greater scope of potential aquatic pests, etc. Going reef adds another level of complexity.

Now once all of this is firmly understood and requirements are met, etc, SW can indeed be as easy as FW.

Smaller SW tanks are harder to manage than larger tanks and sea horses are perhaps best reserved for experienced SW hobbyists. I wouldn't recommend them for someone just starting out in SW.