Fresh vs Salt

[Good Wolf]

I know that it is a personal choice but I would like to hear about some pros and cons.

I've heard that salt water is harder and more expensive to maintain. I've always know that the fish are more expensive. I also checked out the article comparing fresh and salt water fish based on their appearance so I know you can get a salt water look with a fresh water tank.

I love the corals, feather dusters, and all the other critters that live in salt water.

What are your opinions?

[welchrock]

Substantially more cost, time and frustration with saltwater. My suggestion would be to learn the basics with a medium sized freshwater tank and then explore saltwater options down the road.

For reference, I'd put the set-up cost for a 50G freshwater tank at around $500, and close to triple that for the same tank setup for saltwater.

[TheOldSalt]

Pros vs cons, eh?

FRESH Pros:
- cheaper
- more species readily available
- greater room for error
- more fish allowed per volume

SALT Pros:
- fewer diseases, and they're easier to treat
- all seawater virtually the same; all salt fish have matching preferences
- skimmers work in saltwater, doing half your job for you

FRESH Cons:
- Many different types of water conditions means different requirements for fish & plants
- many more diseases, and they're harder to eliminate

SALT Cons:
- sheer expense
- Not much room for error
- most specimens still wildcaught
- most species still very difficult to breed and raise
- saltwater cannot support as much biomass as freshwater