# Ease of getting into saltwater hobby



## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

I've been keeping a freshwater tank for about a year now, and I've gotten the hang of it. My tank is a heavily planted 30 gallon hex, and is a community habitat for a dwarf gourami, a shoal of 13 neon tetras, and 3 albino corydoras.
I use DIY CO2, and run an airstone at night.

When someone with the experience level that I am at decides to start a saltwater tank of lets say 20 gallons or so, how difficult would it be to get started, and follow through with it? What are the procedures that need to be regularly recurred in order to be successful in the long term?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Procedures that would occur each week would differ tank to tank, but for the most part.
Weekly 10% water changes
Water testing
Cleaning glass
Feeding (fish and or corals)
No filter to clean, your not going to use one, no skimmer to clean, your tank wouldn't be big enough to need one. Thats about the size of it. Not anymore than you already do with your FW tank.
Heres the list of what you'll need though:
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f67/what-you-might-need-start-your-41978.html


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## tbub1221 (Nov 1, 2012)

you could do it with very little head ache ,i did just what your talking about doing but a bit tinier really (im keeping corals and inverts) bare in mind the no head ache rout does not come cheap , salt water is cool very rewarding but comes with a price tag compared to FW.., iv only been messing with it a short wile myself but once its up and cycled it requires very little maintenance. there is another world out there that you will be open to with salt. at 20G you obviously wont be able to do some things , but that would be a great size to play and learn with. the great part of the smaller size is not requiring skimmers and filters etc if you have the aquarium and heater etc you wont need a whole lot...
A warning of caution though , it does take a good bit longer to fully cycle a marine tank , took about 35-40 days to 100%
good luck friend there are a whole lot of very knowledgeable people out there with the marine aquariums.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Good info from both above.It's a bit demanding through the cycling(can still do fishless which makes cycling easier like FW),but once up and running(and you get the hang of testing) it is as easy if not easier than fw.You just need to keep the system balanced(keeping water parameters correct) and be more particular about stocking correctly.Mistakes cost a little more, but so does sucess.Always many people here to help,and answer questions.


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## briandeeds13 (Jan 17, 2013)

Im new to the SW world as well just started about 6 weeks ago with a 40 gallon tank. It is very cool all the little things you get to see your tank go through and all the options there are out there. As said above it can get a little pricey but there are ways around that like using craigslist and amazon. A lot easier to get live rock and stuff like that from a local reefer. Also use this forum if you need help...Reefing Madness and Coralbandit have helped me out immensely over the past six weeks along with a lot of other people...Good luck


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## gone fishin (Mar 4, 2013)

yes i agree, craigslist rules!!


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## kicksilver (Aug 9, 2012)

My mom's boyfriend has a few SW tanks, and he gets his live rock straight from the coast. The last time he went out, he brought back a passenger, and within a week, his tank's sand was infested with little pink worms.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You can easily get "hitchhikers" from rock at lfs also.They are part of the "game".Some are good ,some are bad,even some"bad" may not cause to much trouble but time ultimately tells the whole story.Many of what people think are undesirable are actually great scavengers of detris and such,but depending on what you stock may cause trouble for your tank.


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

kicksilver said:


> My mom's boyfriend has a few SW tanks, and he gets his live rock straight from the coast. The last time he went out, he brought back a passenger, and within a week, his tank's sand was infested with little pink worms.


Sounds like normal Bristle Worms to me. Over feeding the tank?


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