Okay, so there you are staring at the amazing, interesting, and fascinating fish in the saltwater section of your local fish store. You ask yourself, am I ready for a saltwater tank? Many freshwater hobbyist find themselves at this position after keeping freshwater aquariums for awhile, but are unsure if they should take the plunge into keeping and maintaining a saltwater tank. Well, ponder no more because I have compiled a great check list for you, the freshwater hobbyist, to see if you are a ready to tackle a saltwater aquarium.
1. Am I comfortable with maintaining my current aquarium setup?
This is an important aspect of determining if you should start a saltwater aquarium. If you are having problems keeping up with water changes, cleaning filtration and maintaining the equipment of a freshwater aquarium then saltwater is going to be twice as much work. Freshwater aquariums can handle missed water changes and upkeep while a saltwater aquarium can't. Frequent water parameter checks and constant upkeep are a must when maintaining a saltwater aquarium.
2. Do I fully understand the setup of a saltwater aquarium?
Before even spending a dime, make sure you have educated yourself on the equipment, tank setup, and how to properly maintain a saltwater aquarium. There are large and small differences between a freshwater aquarium vs a saltwater aquarium. Do not rely on your local pet store associates for information, mainly because there is just too much information for them to tell you. The more you educate yourself, the more your saltwater tank or freshwater aquarium will benefit.
3. Can I afford a saltwater aquarium?
I am not going to lie to you, saltwater aquariums are expensive. It is hard (impossible?) to correctly set up a saltwater aquarium for the price of a freshwater aquarium. Many saltwater hobbyist switch to freshwater again after having a "bad" experience with saltwater. Usually this happens when hobbyist try to cut corners by buying low grade live rock, shorting the cycling period and by overstocking their aquariums, not to mention not having a quarantine tank. I would recommend to prevent from easily losing $1,000 in a saltwater system is to educate yourself on saltwater setups and on what you want in your aquarium before you buy anything.
With this quick questionnaire hopefully you can evaluate yourself to see if you are ready to tackle a saltwater aquarium!
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