So I have been floating around the forum in and out today during breaks and lunchtime and I am not entirely sure where to start. I am sure my story reads like most that started with a freshwater tank and has now evolved into wanting saltwater. I started with a betta tank a few years back and while he was cool, he just didn't have the pizzaz that I wanted. I had always wanted a saltwater tank but never made the jump because of difficulty of keeping it, as a lot of folks I talked to had to remind me every time I mentioned it. I even had the cash in hand at one point to invest quite a bit of money at an unnamed establishment, +- $2,000, but the person working there really disuaded me because I was new to it and he kept telling me how hard it was to do. I ended up leaving the store wondering how in the world anyone gets started if its so hard, and really got a bad taste in my mouth for saltwater and gave up the dream and settled for trips to Bass Pro's restaurant to look at salt water fish.
Fast forward to current day and a trip to a buddies house who just happens to be a saltwater fish aquarium keeper and now my views have changed. He has somewhat showed me that its not as hard as it used to be, as long as you keep up with your maintenance. He showed me his biocube 32 and it really seemed like that was the setup for me, compact and easy to work with, but it seems after research there are mixed reviews about whether they are big enough, worth the investment over building a tank from scratch, etc.
My question is where should I start? Should I steer clear of the biocube and go with something different? I know a lot depends on what I want in the tank, which as of right now the only thing I can say with certainty I would like are some clownfish, I ran across a picture of a really awesome looking black and white variety that I would love to have. After that I am not sure what I would like and not too sure what plays nice together, and what size requirement I am looking at for fish, as I have heard 1 inch of fish per gallon, and I have heard 1 inch per 5 gallons.
If someone could give me a hand getting me pointed in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it!
Fast forward to current day and a trip to a buddies house who just happens to be a saltwater fish aquarium keeper and now my views have changed. He has somewhat showed me that its not as hard as it used to be, as long as you keep up with your maintenance. He showed me his biocube 32 and it really seemed like that was the setup for me, compact and easy to work with, but it seems after research there are mixed reviews about whether they are big enough, worth the investment over building a tank from scratch, etc.
My question is where should I start? Should I steer clear of the biocube and go with something different? I know a lot depends on what I want in the tank, which as of right now the only thing I can say with certainty I would like are some clownfish, I ran across a picture of a really awesome looking black and white variety that I would love to have. After that I am not sure what I would like and not too sure what plays nice together, and what size requirement I am looking at for fish, as I have heard 1 inch of fish per gallon, and I have heard 1 inch per 5 gallons.
If someone could give me a hand getting me pointed in the right direction I would greatly appreciate it!