Help me convince the WIFE! LoL

shnabbles

shnabbles

Member
The wife was at first really interested in setting up a salt water tank... I told her to get a 55 gallon off the ground would probally be like 500 bucks.. and she was ok its your money blah blah blah... she even had me drive 45 minutes to her work to check out the tropic store next to her work when she got off....
Next thing i know its to much work and to much money blah blah blah.
What can i do to get her back on the team!
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
My first word of advise- don't listen to bob :rolleyes:
The best thing to do is to show your wife pictures of the tanks that are out there, we have some threads in the photography forum of some of the great tanks there are.
as far as money and time. I will not lie, they can be expensive, but there are things you can do to reduce some costs. and time, I spend an average of 30min to an hour a day on my tanks (some days I do nothing but feed and look, other days I spend several hours doing thins). Try to explain to her that it can be something you can do together (a lot of women would love to have a hobby you would both do together). Let her pic out some fish she likes things like that.
 
goldenboy

goldenboy

Member
Building a tank isn't as hard as it would seem. Their are a lot of threads and websites describing in detail how to do it. If you're pretty handy it shouldn't be to hard. The cost reflects on the price of the acrylic or glass sheets.
 
misskitty

misskitty

Member
I think the best thing is to let her see the pictures of tanks. If she is still not interested, then try a local aquarium. If that dosnt work then I think your out of luck. As for time and money, as for any hobby, thats what hobbys are, TIME AND MONEY!
And if she decides to give it a go, I suggest a nano 10 gal by eclipse bio wheel. And if its still to much, get "fake coral" for looks and buy damsles, since there easy and hardy. And let her know that there always ppl out there to help with any questions.
Best of luck!:cheer:
 
shnabbles

shnabbles

Member
NANO's are smaller right? is that the only difference?
How hard would it be to switch from a Nano to a full size tank..
We could try a NANO to see if we like it and can handle it... then move to bigger if we decide we like it.
 
dav

dav

Member
You know not too long before I finally got my tank I had to go thru this with my husband. Which ment, we looked alot on the internet at different tanks(find all the really pretty ones and bookmark them) and then I took him to the lfs and he found the one fish he wanted. Waaalaaa, sw tank for me and the kids love it. And, if you have kids that's another plus. You can be a "good" parent and get them their very own Nemo instead of just the movie like everyone else.

PS that "together" hobby is a really good one too!!
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
I do not recommend nano's to beginners, I have one and it is the most difficult tank to take care of, and I have about $500 worth of equipment and livestock in this tank, so they really are not much cheaper.
Honestly it is soo much better to start with a bigger tank. I don't really like the 55gal tanks they are too narrow, a 75gallon is the same length but is wider, or the 58gal is wide but a bit shorter (I have a 58 and I love it).
The ways to reduce cost is to start out with a FOWLR, no corals yet (corals require expensive lights and can be costly to maintain water quality). You can use sand from Home depot called southdown, Old Castle or yardright, this is aragonite sand just like the LFS sells. Then you would use base rock such as lace rock instead of all LR, this will be a huge cost saver.
The thing you should spend the money on is RO/DI water, using tap is just setting yourself up for poor water quality.
Above all get a good book, The conscientious Marine Aquarist, and read it cover to cover before you do anything.
 
donmgicwon

donmgicwon

Member

Originally posted by goldenboy
Building a tank isn't as hard as it would seem. The cost reflects on the price of the acrylic or glass sheets.

Thats what I kinda thought but how much can you get the materials for? I wouldn't think you could save any money. The cost of manufacturing (All-Glass, Teneco, etc.) the aquarium is mostly the glass or acrylic, very little labor (probably why they are still made in the USA) and shipping. So once you figure in the "volume discounts" on material that the big manufacturers get, they could probably do it cheaper.
My 90 gallon cost $90.00 new from ***** (some kind of $1/gal. special they had). I didn't even buy it, my old room mate did, he never even used it. So when he moved out of my house (stiffed me on 2 months rent) he left it (and the stand) lets just call it collateral.:happy: :hilarious
 
shnabbles

shnabbles

Member
I think her bigger beef is the maintenace over the cost.....
Her attitude changed cause we couldnt find a regular clown at the LFS... they had clowns but they werent the one she apperantly wanted....
Im not done harping working her yet... we are doing easter eggs tonight... we will talk mor :yes:
maybe watch alittle finding nemo also lol... or at least leave the virtual aquarium on. lol
 
dav

dav

Member
Get her to look at the ones on the net. She can find lots of stuff on here. And there's a good chance they will be cheaper and possibly healthier.
 
shnabbles

shnabbles

Member

Originally posted by beaslbob
Actually my wife and I got much more enjoyment from finding nemo because we had 55g for months before viewing the movie.
If you establish plant life as the first thing maintenance can be much reduced. I have done nothing to my macro algae culture tank for 8 months except replace evap water. By setting up an in tank refugium, circulating water through a calcium source, and buying a larger tank to begin with, most of the maintenance is no longer needed.
So your saying with the plants you dont need to vacuum anything out of the tank?? Just replace the evaporated water?
 
jgonier

jgonier

Member
Or you could just tell her that it's your money and your time, so your going to do it anyhow.
Of course this could cause rough waters (LOL), but then again, making up is the best part. Right?
 
dav

dav

Member
PLEASE read alot more before you just take his word as gospel. Plant life is not the cure all. If you do not do maint. plant life is not going to fix all your problems. Before you get started (INHO)spend the extra money and get a ro/di system (off e-bay for $100-$150) it will save you alot of headaches and trips to the store for water. "He" will also tell you tap water is the only way to go. Wrong again. My tap water was adding nitrates into my tank - ro/di water changes - surprise, nitrates finally almost gone. Just read, and read somemore before you start up your system. This will take time, & effort but if you really want this tank it will save you $$$ in the future to do all the research you can first!!
And if you have any questions in general, go to the top of the page, in search, type in topic, or question. There's tons of information on here. Good Luck:happyfish
 
shnabbles

shnabbles

Member
thanks for the input dav.....
Are RO/DI's something thats permentnly set up behind my tank? or to my sink? Or is it something i pull out of storage when i need to filter 10 gallons of water or more?
 
dav

dav

Member
Ours is under our sink. It took about 30min to install and could be taken with you when you move. The one we got has a 3gallon holding tank with a drinking water attachment for above the sink. The only reason I suggest this is....I live about 45min from the nearest store that sales ro/di water and I figure if this is a lifetime investment I might as well do it right the first time. That way I wouldn't get burned out with all the little stuff and get discouraged before I can get to the awesome tank I have always wanted!! Just a little advice, I'm new at this too but am looking forward to all the cool stuff I can enjoy in the future.
<"
>< (They just changed my sign in name)
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
I have mine set up in my laundry room, there is a T off of my cold water line that feeds the RO/DI unit and then a trash can to collect the water, the waste water from the unit goes into my washer so as not to waste water.
Please take everyones advise with a grain of salt (including my own) Read Read read, and develop the plan that works best for you. beaslbob has very odd ideas on what a saltwater tank should look like and I would hate for you to feel like throwing some plants in your tank will cure it all, because that is not true. Here is a list of recommended books:
1. The Conscientious Marine Aquarist
2. The New Marine Aquarium
3. Natural Reef Aquariums.
All of these have the basic ideas, then it is up to you to research the newest and best methods out there. Natural filtration with plants is a good addition to a tank, but it is not the only thing you should do, and I never recommend plants in the display.
 
shnabbles

shnabbles

Member
I currently have the book The simple guide to marine aquariums by Jeffrey Kurtz... has been very benificial..but i dont think any book is going to be as good as a forum as populated as this.
 
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