Salt Water Aquarium

Been there..done that. I spent a TON of cash on mine. I had some nice fish for a while...but that's about it. I had an African lion fish, clown fish, anemone's,etc...
 
Had one in college, moree eels and clown fish....etc.

Lots of fun and work...went on spring break room mate screwed up tank and killed $500 worth of fish....
 
I used to own an pet store. I guess I still do it has just been shut down for along while. actually thats how we got into it. there was no where in our area to buy healthy salt water fish. so the hobby became a business. if you have any ?'s I may be able to help. if you need anything I still have alot of supplies.
 
Its a money pit like most things....My dad had a huge one in the lobby of our office and we finally got rid of it because of the cost of fish and upkeep plus how much money he put into Coral for it......It was very pretty and everyone liked it but I don't think it was worth the 1,000's and 1000's of dollars it took to have it.....just my $0.02 though
 
Well it's too late, already been bit and already have money tied up in it. I enjoy it but it came about the same time as the rebuild on my TJ. Trying to figure out the best way to unload some extra stuff I have. Cardude do you remember me? You came down to get the hardtop? I need some liverock if you have any....
 
I do now.
no live rock. probably have some base rock. the shop has been closed for years.
 
Fish only tank

This may sound like heresay to some but I had a couple of fish only saltwater tanks that worked well for several years.

If you go fish only (i.e. no corals, no anenomes, no liverock,etc) it's much easier.

I used undergravel filtration only. 10% biweekly water changes, simple flourescent lighting. That's all you need for happy fish. A few DEAD corals or pieces of baserock for decoration/hiding places.

If, on the other hand, you try and recreate a reef in your living room, costs will go through the roof!

The other key benefit of fish only is that WHEN (not IF) your fish come down with a case of saltwater ick (parasites) you can easily cure them with copper. Copper is awesome stuff because trace amounts kill invertabrates but it's harmless to fish.

Oh ya, obviously if you have a simple filtration system, don't overwhelm it with too many fish. I had a 55 gallon which was shared by a Triggerfish and a Lionfish. Those two coexisted for over 5 years and were very entertaining. Talk about a feeding frenzy when a hapless handful of goldfish were dropped in.

I throw this out there as an option to consider if you'd just like to enjoy some interesting and colorful saltwater fish w/o going crazy with the expense.
 
I had them for years.Got rid of my last one about 4 years ago. They are fantasic when set up and not as bad to care for as you think. There used to be some good places around here to get saltwater stuff set up but most are gone now. I had everything from 2gal mini for dwarf seahorses to a custom built 280gal. I just ended up heading off into other "pets".
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I know it'd be a bit of a drive for you, but theres a nice little shop here in Boone called Reef Magic. They have just about everything you need.
 
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