Should You Start Out With a Saltwater or Freshwater Fish Tank?

There are a number of reasons to choose a freshwater tank over saltwater for your first tank. The care and maintenance of saltwater aquariums is more complicated than freshwater tanks, but you have a better choice of fish to pick from. It can take a few months to get used to keeping a saltwater tank going – there is a learning curve here, for sure. If you’re up for a challenge, you can of course choose to start with a saltwater tank.

One reason is the ease in set up and maintenance of a freshwater over a saltwater tank. The equipment also costs a lot less. In addition, marine fish that live in a saltwater tank will cost you more than freshwater fish. Saltwater tanks are more likely to use live rock.

For your saltwater fish, the live rock is a section of live coral reef including marine wildlife like sponges, sea urchins, worms and algae to help provide a natural ecosystem. This environment helps waste products to be reduced. In essence, you have to create a natural environment for your fish where food, oxygen and cleaning are part of the natural ecological processes. A good product to help maintain the levels of bacteria and to keep organic waste out of the water would be a protein skimmer, which is highly recommended for a saltwater tank.

Lighting for a saltwater tank also costs more than lighting a freshwater tank. It is extremely important to keep the lighting right; as this will keep the growth and behavior of all of the tank's inhabitants natural. Through photosynthesis, your lighting will also be essential in helping proper oxygenation.

Unlike a freshwater tank, you have to create a complete, working ecosystem for your fish with a saltwater tank. To ensure the survival of all of the organisms in the tank, all of the elements are important and depend on one another to stay in balance. You’ll need the right plants and animals to create a healthy environment for your fish; if you prefer live fish to dead ones, that is!

There are a lot of costs involved and the maintenance is much more complicated; by comparison, freshwater aquariums are great for beginners - if you are new to keeping an aquarium , you might want to think long and hard about that saltwater tank. You’ll learn a lot about keeping your freshwater tank as you go along and build the skills and knowledge base which will eventually ready you for a saltwater tank.