Salt Water vs. Fresh Water Fish Tank
You may be new to fish keeping or you may be a veteran fish expert, either way, many people still have questions about whether they should get a salt water tank or a fresh water tank. Many people also have misconceptions about upkeep for their fish tank. Make sure you read this article if you are trying to decide between a salt water tank or a fresh water tank.
Salt water tanks are very beautiful thanks to the colorful tropical fish that you can stock in it as well as some of the live, organic plants that can thrive only in salt water. The downside of salt water tanks is that they require a lot more maintenance, cleaning and work to keep up. You can get by with skipping your weekly water change on your fresh water tank but not so on your salt water tank. You will need to constantly be checking and accessing the salt and chemical levels in your salt water tank to make sure that the environment is livable for your fish. For even the master fish keepers a salt water tank can be a handful. Besides the slightly more expensive tanks and chemicals themselves, salt water fish can be quite spendy. Some of the more beautiful and tropical salt water fish like blue tangs can cost upwards of $40 to $100 for one fish. Unless you are confident in your tanks water quality and your own skills at fish keeping it is hard to gamble on buying a fish for that much money only to risk it dying not soon after.
Fresh water tanks are much easier to maintain than salt water tanks but also need frequent maintenance and water quality testing. If you are properly maintaining your fish tank, the inside of your tank should be a living, breathing ecosystem. A fresh water tank will need water changes but won’t be as negatively affected if you miss a week or are out of town. I would recommend starting with a fresh water tank if you are new to fish keeping so you can see exactly how much work it is to keep a healthy fish tank. If you think you are ready to move up than by all means experiment with a salt water tank. I would recommend one of the smaller, affordable 10 to 15 gallon salt water fish tank kits which come with all the materials and chemicals you need to start up your salt water tank and not a large fish tank until you have proven your skills. Above all, have fun and happy fish keeping.
About the Author
Alan Lomax is a freelance writer from MPLS, MN.
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