Marine vs Tropical...

Hi everyone.

I have kept all kinds of fish during the last 8 years. It all started with goldfish in a bowl, then tropical fish (2002-2004) in a 1m aquarium, and for the last year I have been keeping marines.

I am thinking of changing from Marines back to Tropical, but I first need advice... I prefer Marines to Tropical aquariums, but it is a very expencive hobby! This is my main reason for wanting to change back. My previous Tropical system was quite basic, but this time I want to go with a decent setup, and a lot of plants (instead of corals). The system I'm thinking about is 1.6x60x60 with a 120x45x45 sump. How will maintenance cost of a system like this compare to a marine setup of the same size?

I know the fish and plants are alot cheaper, but what about lights, food, etc. At the moment I'm spending about 1k a month on the marines, and still it is progressing very slowly...

 

Hello and Welcome to TASA!

Perhaps detail your current marine aquarium and its monthly maintenance costs...

 

Perhaps detail your current marine aquarium and its monthly maintenance costs...[/quote]

My Marine setup:

120x45x65 with a sump.
Lighting: 4x 39watt T5's and 2x 54watt T5.
Filtration: Sump with:
Live Rock and Bio-balls
De-nitrator
Bubble Blaster 3000 protein skimmer.
Supplements: Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, Strontium, Iodine.
Food for fish and corals.

Inverts: 2x Pacific cleaner shrimps, 2 hermit crabs, couple of snails.
Fish: Brown Scopas Tang, Bi-colour Blenny, Clown, Cardinal, Blue-Surgeon, Six-line Wrasse.
Corals: Blue-, Green-, White-, and Brown Pollyps. Cladielia tree coral. Green striped mushrooms.

Basic maintanance cost: Salt, light, supplements and food (monthly avarage) R 500.

Fish are between R 150 and R 500 (and that isn's anything exotic)

My total cost is about R 1000 a month. That includeds basic maintanatce and 1 fish or invert or coral.

I bought the new protein skimmer a while ago and that was 5k... The marine equiptment is very expencive!

 

wow not everyday that a marine guy joins !
welcome welcome to TASA !

man with that 5k you paid for a protein skimmer you could have setup a mean planted tank!

you will spend way less the tropical route !
any idea on the fish you wish to keep ?

 

5k will give you a decent discus setup

 

I love my Marines, but it is just soooo expensive! I got married a motnh ago, and who knew that a wife can be even more expensive than a girlfriend! :bigsmile: I have also been a fan of dutch aquariums for a long time, so I decided to find out a little bit more!

I am still doing a bit of research about the kinds of fish, but I like aquariums looking natural so I want to do something Amazon... tetras, discus, angels etc.

 

I think mine cost about R150 if that much a month to keep a 3ft planted tank.

I cant give a definate cost because I cant really see a difference in electric and water bill too before.

Food from Prof Dirk was cheap and is going to last like forever.

Maybe Henk will drop by and give you a better estimate as he is running a 2.5m planted tank with CO2 and all the funnies.

Way cheaper I think anyway.

 

hows the bryopsis going in the tank louis ?

 

Hi Louis,

I think getting a cost compared to Marine is going to be rather difficult to get, but I can tell you that it is PILE cheaper. The innitial set up will cost you a little, but you have a lot of the expensive parts, so you shouldn't have too much hassle or high costs.

Because you have done the whole marine thing, I feel you are wanting to go with a very good planted tank. For optimum plant growth you will need a good undergravel fertilizer, good water column fertilizer, very high light (Which I think you will have based on a what I've seen) and possibly CO2 injection.

Go to this thread:
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=2499
Here the professor of this forum discusses what is in his own opinion and experience to be the best undergravel fertilizer, that isn't a a high commercial price, and extremely easy to do.

I have also recently written to basic articles on how to go about setting up a basic tropical tank, and how to maintain the water. They are very much for beginners, and even though you have gone the tropical route in the past, you might find a few good ideas in there to help you.
Here are the 2 articles:
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=3305
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=3318

Henk Hugo, one of our more knowledgable members on the forum, runs a fairly large 2.5m well planted tank, and he can also help you out a lot. He isn't much on the site... although he sometimes lurks in the background without anyone noticing. When you have enough posts, you can also send him a Private Message and see if he can assist you in any way.
Just for your information, here is the link to the thread on his own tank:
http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=300

When you have settled on what you want to do, touch base with our sponsors. Dolphin is based in Jhb, and can assist you with some very interesting fish, as well as a wide variety of plants that he imports for the hobby. (A lot of plants at the local pet stores are the basic plants, and nothing really wow about them, mostly because the pet stores don't know how to keep them alive.) Altum is CT based. (Both can ship plants and fish very effectively.)

We also have our very own Professor on the forum, who has developed his own fertilizer for our South African water. What a lot of people don't realise is that the commercially made products are developed overseas, where the water chemistry is very different to our in SA, and although they can be effective, the is a noticable difference between commercial products and Prof. Belstedt's fertilizer. A LOT of people SWEAR by his product, and don't even consider going anywhere else.

The professor also produces a wide range of dry food, and as has perfectly put it, in my opinion, it is also one of the best on the market. Unfortunately the Professor's food and fertilizers are only available directly from him, and are not available in any store.

In South Africa, our Pet stores all carry frozen food (Ox heart, Bloodworm etc) which is also a major benefit to the Tropical fish. However the stuff available locally (I believe it is from Campcon) also carries Pathogens. With this in mind, both Dolphin and the Professor import frozen food from elseware in the world (I believe Europe), and if you are planning on keeping more delicate Tropical fish, I would suggest getting the stuff from them rather than the local stuff.

Other than that.... keep asking questions.


Oh, and welcome to the forum. May you be infested with MTS (Multiple Tank Syndrom), the only known disease I know that is transmitted through the net.

Regards
Zoom

 

Its driving me insane!!! But I'm waiting for a new supply of Ultra Algae X to kill it. My Scopas took care of all the other algae, but nothing eats briopsis...

 

hi and welcome to TASA. Tropical all the way :blink1::blink1::blink1:

:withstupid: (I mean Zoom...)
Zoom also deserves a pat on the back for his planted tank... Check it out

 

Why are you dosing so much and changing water so often in a softie tank with such a big skimmer?

 

The skimmer is quite new, was planning on getting a bigger tank... I only change 10% water a month (5% every second week). I stopped dosing Iodine and strontium a while ago, and everything seems fine (but I have read that the inverts need Iodine). The Calcium, Magnesium and Alkalinity is only dosed to keep the water conditions as they should be. This is tested every week.

Thanks for all the good info. I do want a very good planted tank, something to the likes of this: http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2009.cgi?&op=showcase&category=0&vol=3&id=178

It seems like I will have to use about the same amount of light for a well planted tank, as in a reef tank... so there I wont save a lot. How much does the water column fertilizer cost? What about the CO2 is that expensive?

Marine animals are quite expensive... I don't know if I'm mistaken, but can it be that the maintenance of the two could be about the same (except for the salt :smile1: )

 

Nope.. I doubt it. I still rate keeping Tropical will be cheaper. The Fertz from Prof vary according to what you take. It's best to consult with him. Basically he'll ascertain the level of plants you have, based on your maintenance regime and your area, he will advise you. I think I paid R190 for the 3 bottles I bought from him, and I've only used about 20-30 mls out of each bottle. (each bottle is 500ml). Been using them for 6 weeks now! So you really can't beat that price.

CO2 would be expensive if you go that route. Don't even bother with DIY CO2, rather go the pressurized system.

 

I think you would also save a lot food wise. The fish might also be easier to breed so you can recall some of your cost that way, if you
keep some decent discus.

 

Hi Louis,
You could copy that scape and only use low and medium light plants like Java fern(Microsorum pteropus),Anubias(Anubias barteri),Hairgrass(Eleocharis acicularis) and Java moss(Vesicularia dubyana),all easy to get,grow and maintane.You can also get away with medium light,so the two 54w T5's is perfect.
These plants are slow growers,that means the ferts won't be added in as great quantaty as in high tech set ups.
Do a 50% water change every 2 weeks and you've got a nice relaxing schedule that won't break the budget.
P.S.
CO2 is always optional and not a must for set up I described above,but if you want it,go all in.Go presiurised,i.e.Co2 tank and regulator.Co2 fire extinguisher and regulator will set you back about R1000 -R1200.
Post questions in apropriate sub-forums to get more details.

 

Hi and welcome to TASA.....

 

Been there. Marines is very expensive and too much work.

I gave it up because of all the extra costs. Salt, RO filter replacements and more difficult to do water changes.

Another advantage is that tropical fish will survive a power outage much longer than marines. As far as I remember it is because of more oxygen because water density is lower in fresh water.

I also keep my planted tank temperature at 24c instead of the 25 - 26 in marine so evaporation is less.

It is also much easier to get your system in balance for minimal algae and glass cleaning.

I loved my marines as well, but in the end there is quite a bit of advantages fresh water have over marines.

I would really recommend pressurized co2. Initial cost is a bit high, but nothing like marine equipment. If I remember correctly it is between R100 - R150 to fill my bottle(2kg I think) and last 2-3 months usually.

 

Hey Louis,

I have both, a 12G marine (up for about 5 months) and a 9G planted (up for a month).

This was the guy that inspired me. Not that my planted tank looks anything like what he has on show but baby steps

http://www.aquatic-eden.com/search/label/planted%20aquarium%20basics

With regards to cost and maintenance, Marines are definately a lot more expensive and a lot more work but imo they are also that much more gratifying. Also the fish are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more interesting. If I were you, if you are definately wanting to move to tropical, then rather look at a really cool planted rimless cube, they are amazing and nearly as beautiful as a marine nano, nearly

 

Well planted tanks can be something very rewarding and great eye candy.
International sites do have a better standard but no reason for us not striving towards these.
Algae Wizard might be a guy to get hold of louis if you want some expert advice locally and a tank that would
look awesome.
There are planted tanks that can rival any marine any day, fish is a other story though like fly said