What makes you choose/prefer saltwater over freshwater?

[jayala12]

I love the way a healthy salt tank smells. Is that weird? That might be weird.

That is not weird cuz I love it too. Sometimes I look down on my tank and just inhale. They should make a reefer cologne and perfume!!! Oh yeah and to the question as to why saltwater over fresh. Corals baby!! Corals all the way!! Plus I love spending hard earned money and things that will melt for no reason lol

 

[motortrendz]

Bc you cant put coral in a fresh water tank... I tried it dont work. Haha.

 

[brad shawn]

Kept freshwater for years bred lake Tanganyika cichlids for a while (mostly for myself ) I still have a love for that lake and those fish. Something was missing so I went planted tanks for a bit because of more biodiversity dosing C02 and ferts and cherry shrimp and snails and drab fish lol. Seen My brother in-laws reef tank. I was so drawn to that little tank it’s ama how much can go on in such a small area so here I am... still going to setup a tanganyka biotope .... maybe who knows if I’m gonna get a 240 might as well make it a reef. Just have to finish closing in the 3 season room...

 

[brad shawn]

Sorry the answer for me is biodiversity

 

[Dragon52]

Always loved the ocean, very diverse animals & much more color Than FW.

 

[oldbob50]

I have both. Love both. My corals (softies and LPS) are growing like crazy and I'm beginning to have to sell some to my LFS to make room. My Cichlids are reproducing like crazy and I'm selling the babies to the LFS. I have mollies in the reef tank and they love to eat GHA and hang out with my Foxface and Clown fish. Both tanks are set up with sumps so the maintenance is about the same. The FW (55 gal) tank has a drain/topoff system that puts fresh spring water into the tank at a rate of 60 gal per day. Aside from Kalkwasser in the in my SW top off I don't dose anything. I do a 10 percent WC every week with IO Reef crystals and all my parameters stay very stable. I don't enjoy one more than the other. They are different and unique in their on ways.

 

[Bayareareefer18]

I got into the hobby after keeping discus and planted tanks for a couple years. Discus are amazing and a very rewarding fish but I honestly got tired of large wcs every other day in my 75

What I love about sw is we have a lot of equipment and natural ways to do what wcs are needed for in fw

Sure you can keep fw fish that don't need pristine water quality but with discus there is no alternative

Loving the reef world for just over a year now

 

[W1ngz]

I think it was the gear and the tech that got me originally. I have what is basically an ongoing science experiment in my house, it's far more than just a 'fish tank' which was what my freshwater tanks were.

I've also never been able to keep a houseplant alive. Ever. i've killed everything from cacti to ferns to parlor palms. My freshwater plants were doomed the day I got them.

 

[joseph78009]

I could not decide so I ended up with a 150 gallon reef a 100 gallon salt predtor tank a 120 gallon cichlid tank and a 46 gallon freshwater planted tank.yes I think I lost my mind but my wife knows where I'm at.

 

[Indytraveler83]

I could not decide so I ended up with a 150 gallon reef a 100 gallon salt predtor tank a 120 gallon cichlid tank and a 46 gallon freshwater planted tank.yes I think I lost my mind but my wife knows where I'm at.

That sounds amazing!!!!

I’m pretty sure if I tried something similar I’d be single again though... lol.

 

[MrJay]

I've had so many freshwater tanks. Tropicals to mbunas, Tanganyika cichlids. Bred tons of species. To the point I couldn't even give them away. One of my favorite freshwater was a 20long with Tanganyika shell dwellers. They had some of the funniest antics I've ever seen from fish. Moved into South American cichlids for a few years. My last tank before the switch was a 38 gallon high-tech planted with wild cought breeding altum angels and Bolivian Rams. I always wanted to try saltwater but heard how hard it was. I had various books about reef tanks that I read over and over. I took a trip to Hawaii and went snorkeling. That was the thing that did it. A school of raccoon butterflies circled me forever. The coral, trigger fish, parrots... I knew at that point there was no turning back. Landed back home and within a month I had the beginnings of my first reef.

 

[mrpizzaface]

For a display tank I prefer a reef tank.
i Have a freshwater fishroom in my basement and breed a few different species.
If I could only do one. Freshwater all day.

 

[Deaf clown]

In one word... Corals!!!

I agree! I just love coral.

 

[Reef-junky]

The colors and different varieties of things.

 

[HunterW]

Wait... you like saltwater because it’s more expensive? I’m waiting for the price to come down on some things ;Hilarious

Yea, all the above and I really enjoy getting my hands rammed by demon damsels. I love s/w fish colors and reef behaviours!

 

[ScottR]

Yea, all the above and I really enjoy getting my hands rammed by demon damsels. I love s/w fish colors and reef behaviours!

Hey @HunterW ~ How’s the tank going? Feel free to PM me. Been awhile since I’ve seen your posts.

 

[HunterW]

Hey @HunterW ~ How’s the tank going? Feel free to PM me. Been awhile since I’ve seen your posts.

Will do!

 

[Louie00067]

Hi, I'm not sure if this post belongs to the right section, if it isn't please move it.

I've been doing FW for 5 years and recently tried SW. I'm still keeping my FW tank but mainly investing into SW now. For me SW is much more interesting, not only because of the beauty of the animals (which is subjective I guess?), but because how weird and interesting they are, like the clownfish are born male and how they live with the anemones, etc. How often do you see that behavior in FW fish? I feel like most FW fish species that we keep in the aquarium environment mostly swim back and forth and they don't do weird stuff (correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe there's some exceptions like the oscars, but yeah the majority aren't interesting imo.

Also you can keep a lot more species in SW than you can with FW.

Talking about plants vs corals, I've been keeping plants and don't know much about corals. Live plants are very nice to look at, but for me they are too much work. Trimming, CO2, fert, not to mention you have to do 25% water change every week.....



What are your thoughts?

I started with FW when I was like 8 years old , I always wanted to try SW but has a teen with limited resources & intimidation kept me from trying . years later my LFS owner would convince me to give it a try , that was over 25 years ago. I do like the new aqua scape trend and would love to set up a FW tank also , but I can only have one . I have salt in my blood and there is no going back.

 

[Mastiffsrule]

I just like the taste of the salt water over fresh

 

[phatduckk]

A mix between the fish and the fact that I did FW for a while in HS & college so I wanted something new & different. Once I started researching the “puzzle” of it all grabbed a hold of me.