ok my girlfriend is wanting to try saltwater now!

[skirrby]

she has a 2.5 gallon minibow for her betta and some little albino catfish(freshwater duh). she was telling me she wants saltwater.. she cant get a big tank.. 10 gallon would be the most. she lives about 45 seconds from the indian river here in titusville florida. i was thinking this could be a simple experiment for her before we go spending alot of money. i was thinking it would be cool to make a tank based off the river.. get all the stuff from there, water,sand,little fish, snails or whatever.. water changes could be done weekly/daily by just going down to the river and getting new water. i know this isnt recomended but would it be worth the time to experiment. and get her used to some of the maintence while keeping it very simple. she doesnt have the money to really start a reef tank.. i would help the most i can but im still getting my tank up and running, so i need to save my money for my addiction lol. no corals oviously so the lighting could be simple... anyone think this experiment would work. just using simple filtration.,, like a biowheel.. maybe a small skimmer? any imput would be cool.. thanks

 

[skirrby]

Originally posted by spslover
im not familiar with this river, does it flow into the ocean?... if you want to get her used to doing maintence... have her start doing yours....

LOL :hilarious i like that idea... but even i gotta get used to the maintence once my tank is up. yeah the river flows to the ocean.. the beach is only 15 min from her house. i know the river water isnt the best.. but it could be changed alot.. and if the fish or whatever come from there.. they are adapted to it.. i trust the river i eat redfish and trout from it on a regular basis(my dad loves flats fishing). would the experiment me worth it? :thinking:

 

[skirrby]

well she already treated her beta to some new homes.. from a cup(how cruel) to a 1/4 gallon 11 dollar tank lol( better) now to a 2.5 gallon mini bow and she gave him a friend (much better the fish is way more active and happy and likes his friend) i even got a little flouresent 6500k bulb for it instead of the stupid yellow as anything bulb it came with. she addicted to.. she just wont admit it

 

[psychoskater]

I am kind of familiar with your area and i wouldnt use river water. In Florida most of the rivers have phosphates and other chemicals that flow in from farms in florida.

 

[skirrby]

hmm i dont think you guys are getting the idea. i thinking of it being a all natural tank.. taking and useing everything right from the river.. fish and all(if i can even find small fish there that stay small) it wont be a reef at all.. just fish only. trust me i know the water isnt the best there. i wouldnt never let it touch my tank. my tank is being done the right way as i plan on it being a reef tank. i see what your saying as in that the river water may lead to huge algea problems though.

 

[psychoskater]

oooooooooo, a local tank, i once had one of those...

 

[skirrby]

yeah a local tank.. how did yours work out?

 

[goobernif]

actually that cruelty you call a 1/4 gallon for a betta is just like home, in fact if you could throw some mud in there it'll feel even better. strange how we sometimes feel others are confined... anyway, yeah, my wife is obsessed with swf. and it all started with a beta for a birhtday present and is now blossoming into obsessive compulsive disorder... talk about the worst, or best addiction ever.... Saltwater fish keeping... who would have thought..

 

[skirrby]

the betta is in a 2.5 gallon, trust me its much much much happier in there.. the look on its face the day it went into that was like.. "omg thank you so much!". its way more active and its colors are coming out alot more.. also looks alot more healthy.. ive heard the larger tank you put them in the more active they are.. he makes full use of his swimming space. but then again we may just have spoiled him.

 

[goobernif]

i guess he's a domesticated beta then... could be the water quality is better, and did you say the look on his face.... lol, mine always just look like they want to kill.... but that is their true nature
i'm glad your beta is happy.... and spoiled, maybe i'm just afraid if i put them in a fw community tank, they'll kill every small fish and grin at me through the glass... hum...:thinking:

 

[skirrby]

hes been pretty nice to his other tankmate.. dunno exaclty what fish it is.. some albino catfish thing. my girlfriend loves it.. its to boring to me.. any more info on local tanks

 

[firefishspike]

Starting a local tank is fine. That's what I do for a living. Make sure the sediments settle before using the river water. Give it a day or two. I'm sure you do not have a sand filter so just use a normal w/d or a strong hot. Sometimes hots can clog do to sediments that remains in the water. When you catch a fish, make sure you do it as humane as possible. Fishing them out is a bad idea. A seine is usually your best bet. Other nets causes narcrosis and kills them before you can enoy them. Since you have a great source of fish, always alternate them. Freedom is the best.

 

[jedininja]

Its true that many wild bettas are found in small puddles, but a little cup is still way too small. This fish in the wild are found in puddle caused by rain and irrigation in areas such as rice fields. There they get a lot more water than a few gallons. It is muddy, and thats why it can take in air. But a tiny cup is cruel. It can hardly even turn around in those things. The only reason they are sold in this little cups is because they fight amongst themselves and can not be stored in the same tank. So they keep them in individual cups until they are sold. I would never keep a betta in anything less than a gallon of water.
Sorry, that was a bit of a tangent. But even for a local tank, the problem with using that water is that there are tons of pollutants in there. Now at the river, that water is always moving and the pollutants are pushed out to sea. in a 10 gallon, they will build up more and more. Yout tank will not be happy and you will go though hell trying to work with it. I say get a sample of water from the river and test it. Then match the parameters with your own mixed water. You can then keep the local species. I agree about swapping out the fish. I doubt to amny fish caught would be happy in a 10 gllon for an extende amount of time.

 

[skirrby]

yeah i agree with alot of you.. and i do see how polutants would build up. (sad we even have to worry about that at all isnt it). my dad said that there are a few fish around there that stay pretty small. (he knows the misquito lagoon and indian river like the back of his nand) if it came down to it ill just make her mix her own water