Please help someone starting out

[lennon]

Hi everyone. I am new to this whole hobby. I wanted to do this for a long time but always debated between fresh and saltwater. I know there is no comparison with how beautiful saltwater tanks can be..BUT...reading through these message boards..Im FREAKING out!
I want to do the right thing and my question is..is it really as difficult as it sounds to maintain the tank..OR is the initial setup period the difficult part. Once all is well and everything is ready for fish..is the maintenance something I will have to worry about on a weekly or monthly basis?
I have gone to a few aquarium stores and they have different things to say. Some say maintenance is monthly minimum. Others say every 10 days is best. I would dedicate the time to it if I had it...but with 3 kids and another on the way...I want to make sure that I am not starting something that will take too much time and dedication. I just want an honest answer since you all do it and are the experts.
I will be getting either a 54 or 72 gallon tank with the wet/dry system, uvlight and all the best things that I can buy for the best filtration. So I was hoping that it would cut down on the maintenance. I am hoping some of you with alot of experience could help.
Hopefully I can do saltwater since I prefer the fish than the freshwater.
I thank you all for your time and hopefully I will share this wonderful hobby too

 

[reefnut]

WELCOME TO SWF.COM Lennon.
A lot will depend on the type of setup (FO or Reef) and how much you put into it. You can automate a lot of things to help lower the daily maintenance but some maintenance will always be required. Water changes, glass cleaning, filter cleaning, etc. I currently spend more time on my 55g than on my 110g (both reefs) because the 110g has a lot more features like a auto topoff, calcium reactor, etc.
I would say in general you need to plan on weekly activities and also monthly activities.

 

[indigorn]

Lennon,
I am also new to salt water and I have found the hobby quite addicting. It takes a lot of time and patience. I started with a fish only tank which was easier to maintain but soon moved to some live rock and corals. A "reef" tank is like a garden, it needs knowledge, dedication, and patience to thrive. There will be mistakes made along the way but give yourself some leeway, ask alot of questions to people that are knowledgeable (which may or may not be your local fish store (lfs) ) and you will find that salt water husbandry is a great way to spend time. ....and of course $$$ :happyfish

 

[fishmamma]

Hi and welocme! I posted this long reply and then lost it....so here is a shorter version:
It is time consuming, especially in the begining. Once you have your tank established and get your maintanance routine down your time spent keeping things on point will decrease significantly. For me the most time consuming event is preparing water for changes. This process is spread out over a number of days, but the actual syphoning off and addition of new water takes very little time at all. In the beginning you will need to be testing every 48 hours or so but this will drop to a weekly chore once your tank has been running for a few months and no more additions are being made. And I use the word chore loosely......I love to spend time on my tanks. It will be challenging to get it all done with all those little ones around, but well worth the effort when you are gazing into the tank and watching the beautiful life within.
Also, larger tanks may be more work to set up intially but in the long run they are easier to maintain. I have a 16 and a 29 gallon so daily fresh water top offs and weekly- bi-weekly water changes are a must. I run skimmers on both tanks which allows me to stretch my water changes to every two weeks if I have not added anybody new to the tank.
This site is wonderful for educating yourself, let us know if there are any other questions we can help with. :happyfish