Ready to plunge into the world of aquarium owners? Deciding on a freshwater or saltwater aquarium? Well, it is a confusing decision to make, yet the most important one you’re going to have to make about the fish tank. Let’s see which one would be the best for Aquariums.
Aquariums, in general, are mesmerizing and act as a lively showpiece to your room. They are challenging and rewarding because they require frequent monitoring, cleaning, and maintenance. Understanding which fish species can become one community, which filter and heater would help them remain healthy, how often and which dosage is the best for your water de-chlorinator, etc. Cost and maintenance are two major factors you need to consider besides the aesthetics of an aquarium. However, several aspects differentiate freshwater aquariums from saltwater aquariums and vice versa.
FRESHWATER AQUARIUMS
Freshwater aquariums are a great start to your fishkeeping hobby. They can provide a naturally colorful and impressive visual while requiring the least amount of maintenance with lower operating costs. If you, however, choose to add lighting, a good heater, filter, fertilizers, carbon dioxide, etc., to your tank, it will cost you. Fishes from rivers, lakes, and streams can survive in your freshwater tank. Freshwater fish species aren’t always vibrant and exotic physically, such as saltwater fish species, but they do come in glorious patterns and interesting shapes and sizes. They can add a strikingly luxuriousness to your tank at the end of the day.
Freshwater fish are hardier and usually less expensive than saltwater fish. They require less caring and maintenance in the aquarium because they are more forgiving and less fragile in their environment than saltwater creatures. Moreover, freshwater species are a bit aggressive and carry attitude, some might say, which could make your tank look fiercely healthy. Feel free to add any sort of decorations, plants, sand, and gravel to your tank with these species as they are accustomed to any.
Some freshwater species are yellow discuss, blue discuss, pigeon blood discuss, freshwater pufferfish, black molly, tiger barb, white angelfish, red-bellied piranha, cichlids, blue jack Dempsey and many more. Freshwater aquariums run on the tap water system, require 2-4 weeks of maintenance, and are cost-effective.
SALTWATER AQUARIUMS
Saltwater species are yellow tang, clown fish, regal tang, flame angel, Bengal cardinal, chromes, emperor angel fish, blue mandarin, purple fire goby, copper band butterfly, and many more. Interesting names aren’t they? Well, they look more interesting than they sound. You could spend a whole day staring at them moving in their saltwater ecosystem. While saltwater aquarium offers you exotic fish species, they are just as expensive and usually hard to find just anywhere. A saltwater aquarium, particularly a reef aquarium is a re-creation of the ocean. Vibrancy, colors, fascinating corals, reef fauna, and live rock are the beauty of this environment. This explains to us that saltwater aquariums are more pricey in both the maintenance and creation of the ecosystem than freshwater aquariums. They require additional work, special lighting, and additional equipment comparatively.
A saltwater aquarium requires specialist salt and RO water protection and 1-2 weeks of maintenance. Adding live coral reefs to them will have a dramatic effect as well, but not all fish are compatible with corals, so please be sure to learn about them when choosing tank inhabitants. Salt for marine aquariums is available to mix with tap water to make the ratio comparable to seawater and you may need to purchase a hydrometer. It will help you measure the specific gravity of the water, which indicates how salty your tap water mixture with salt is.
Invertebrates like corals and anemones will require special additives such as iodine and calcium in the saltwater ecosystem. In addition, they are similar to freshwater when it comes to monitoring the water for the right temperature, ammonia levels, and water pH.
EQUIPMENT
For both saltwater and freshwater aquariums, you will need a hood, a substrate like sand or gravel for the bottom, and a filter that will process the water five to ten times per hour. You will need a cover for the tanks so that the water does not evaporate and leave your fish with nothing to swim in over.
A saltwater tank should be at least 30 gallons if you want the best results because fluctuations in water tanks, even the smallest of fluctuations, are amplified in smaller tanks. That would make it difficult to house a marine system, which you don’t want. Most aquarium owners advise using a protein skimmer for saltwater tanks to remove organic wastes. A protein skimmer works side by side with the filter, and this will need cleaning and emptying about once per week, depending on the size of the aquarium.
If you choose to keep corals, you’ll need to buy special lighting for the intensity of the light and the number of lighting hours. Some come with automated light cycles to mimic natural sunlight for example. What else will benefit your saltwater tank is live rock- a porous rock that is inhabited by microscopic organisms such as algae and bacteria; they are both beneficial for your tank and its cycle.
You will need to do several things to keep both your freshwater and saltwater tanks running smoothly. These tasks could include:
Cleaning algae off of the glass
Scrubbing the algae off the decor
Vacuuming old food and other decaying materials off the substrate
Cleaning and maintaining the filtration system
Conducting water changed
Checking the health level of your fish
UNPREDICTABILITY
Saltwater fishes are generally more sensitive to water salinity, calcium, heat, and light than freshwater fishes. Understanding which organisms are compatible with which in the same environment can make you scratch your head. Then delivering an environment where they can all thrive is a complex and delicate task as well. This is something you won’t have to face generally with freshwater inhabitants. There is a high chance that all fishes will not want to share their reef space or the food because there’s less supply of it.
This is where freshwater aquariums come to the rescue to save you from a headache. They are generally a better option for someone’s first aquarium because starting small is an excellent way to develop some fishkeeping skills and understand how the maintenance and equipment of the ecosystem work. It is recommended that you develop some expertise before you go on to tackle the more complicated, pricier, riskier challenge of saltwater tanks. It’s a must to mention, though, that all the effort, extra time and investment you will be putting in a saltwater aquarium will be extremely rewarding. It’s all worth it when your eyes and room get to enjoy the brilliant and active sight of a well-designed and well-maintained saltwater aquarium. It’s a conversation starter as well among friends, family, and guests!