Freshwater/Sal****er -- how difficult?

[Dan White]

Hi. I've been a poster for a few months in the freshwater newsgroup and had
to ask something here.

Quick background:
As a youth in the 70's/early 80's we had a 55g salt tank in the house
wherein we killed half the known species on earth, or at least in the fish
store. We tried to do everything by the book, but in retrospect it seems
like the book wasn't so good back then. After pulling this same tank out of
mothballs it is serving nicely as a fresh tank for my father. I also have a
friend who is very large into growing corals/anemones, etc. and he had
mentioned a couple of years ago that salt tanks are so much easier to
maintain
now than in the past.

The reason I bring all this up is that I am renovating a deli now and will
have space for a 55 to maybe 75 gallon tank in a prominent area. It will
not be highly exposed to smoke/grease from cooking, but it will be in an
active area. I'm getting the marine itch now that my father set up the old
tank with freshwater. Several questions come to mind though:

1. Has sal****er knowledge/technology changed substantially over the years
so
that it isn't so hard to keep sal****er fish alive without monumental
effort? I want the nice look of sal****er fish, but really need to
concentrate on the business, rather than on a difficult maintenance regime.
2. Are sal****er fish OK in relatively high traffic areas?
3. If I hire maintenance people, what would I expect to pay in Northern NJ
for such service?
4. Is there an FAQ for this group? (sorry if I asked too many things that
are covered there already).

Thanks for any thoughts,

dwhite

[Marc Levenson]

Hi Dan,

There is a FAQ for this group, and it is published once a
month automatically. It'll probably appear around the 1st
of January.

Here's a brief overview of what works:
http://www.melevsreef.com/overview.htm

Your biggest risk is customers dropping things in the tank,
such as pennies or garbage. If you have the tank sealed off
pretty well, you'll have less risk to deal with.

In a FOWLF (Fish Only with Live Rock), you don't have a lot
to do besides clean the glass, do water changes and feedings.

Marc



Dan White wrote:

> Hi. I've been a poster for a few months in the freshwater newsgroup and had
> to ask something here.
>
> Quick background:
> As a youth in the 70's/early 80's we had a 55g salt tank in the house
> wherein we killed half the known species on earth, or at least in the fish
> store. We tried to do everything by the book, but in retrospect it seems
> like the book wasn't so good back then. After pulling this same tank out of
> mothballs it is serving nicely as a fresh tank for my father. I also have a
> friend who is very large into growing corals/anemones, etc. and he had
> mentioned a couple of years ago that salt tanks are so much easier to
> maintain
> now than in the past.
>
> The reason I bring all this up is that I am renovating a deli now and will
> have space for a 55 to maybe 75 gallon tank in a prominent area. It will
> not be highly exposed to smoke/grease from cooking, but it will be in an
> active area. I'm getting the marine itch now that my father set up the old
> tank with freshwater. Several questions come to mind though:
>
> 1. Has sal****er knowledge/technology changed substantially over the years
> so
> that it isn't so hard to keep sal****er fish alive without monumental
> effort? I want the nice look of sal****er fish, but really need to
> concentrate on the business, rather than on a difficult maintenance regime.
> 2. Are sal****er fish OK in relatively high traffic areas?
> 3. If I hire maintenance people, what would I expect to pay in Northern NJ
> for such service?
> 4. Is there an FAQ for this group? (sorry if I asked too many things that
> are covered there already).
>
> Thanks for any thoughts,
>
> dwhite
>
>
>

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[Dan White]

"WayneSallee.com" > wrote in message
...
> And when you do set up your salt water tank, be sure to post here so that
you
> can be guided along, as you will find so much conflicting information,
that
> posting those concerns here will help level things out.
>

Thanks. I've found that even with freshwater tanks there is much
conflicting info. I can only imagine what goes on with sal****er.

dwhite

[Billy]

"Dan White" > wrote in message
...
| "WayneSallee.com" > wrote in message
| ...
| > And when you do set up your salt water tank, be sure to post here
so that
| you
| > can be guided along, as you will find so much conflicting
information,
| that
| > posting those concerns here will help level things out.
| >
|
| Thanks. I've found that even with freshwater tanks there is much
| conflicting info. I can only imagine what goes on with sal****er.
|


Right you are. Remember the phrase YMMV. "Your mileage may vary."
Much of sal****er lore is based on personal experience, and may or
may not work for you.

[Dan White]

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> "Dan White" > wrote in message
> ...
> | "WayneSallee.com" > wrote in message
> | ...
> | > And when you do set up your salt water tank, be sure to post here
> so that
> | you
> | > can be guided along, as you will find so much conflicting
> information,
> | that
> | > posting those concerns here will help level things out.
> | >
> |
> | Thanks. I've found that even with freshwater tanks there is much
> | conflicting info. I can only imagine what goes on with sal****er.
> |
>
>
> Right you are. Remember the phrase YMMV. "Your mileage may vary."
> Much of sal****er lore is based on personal experience, and may or
> may not work for you.
>

Let's say you are busy with your business, want a marine tank in store, but
don't want to have to babysit the tank in order to keep $500 worth of fish
alive. Can this be done for, say, 1/2 hour per week? 1 hour?

dwhite

[j]

No...no you can't possibly imagine - it's definitely something you have
to experience (cue the blood curdling screams and horror movie music)

Dan White wrote:
> "WayneSallee.com" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>And when you do set up your salt water tank, be sure to post here so that
>
> you
>
>>can be guided along, as you will find so much conflicting information,
>
> that
>
>>posting those concerns here will help level things out.
>>
>
>
> Thanks. I've found that even with freshwater tanks there is much
> conflicting info. I can only imagine what goes on with sal****er.
>
> dwhite
>
>

[Billy]

"Dan White" > wrote in message
...
| "Billy" > wrote in message
|
| Let's say you are busy with your business, want a marine tank in
store, but
| don't want to have to babysit the tank in order to keep $500 worth
of fish
| alive. Can this be done for, say, 1/2 hour per week? 1 hour?
|

Not initially, no, IMO. My 75 reef is at that point. All I NEED do is
top off water daily, (5 minutes) and run my MagFloat over the glass
to remove algae buildup (diatoms really). 3-4 min for that. However,
the tank is over a year old, and much more time was needed in the
first few months. Plan on some babysitting, at least for a while. See
my reply to your new thread. :)

[Marc Levenson]

Plan on tinkering 15 minutes a day at first. One hour a
week is what I used to spend each weekend.

Now it is a minute here, a minute there. :p

Marc


Dan White wrote:

> Let's say you are busy with your business, want a marine tank in store, but
> don't want to have to babysit the tank in order to keep $500 worth of fish
> alive. Can this be done for, say, 1/2 hour per week? 1 hour?
>
> dwhite
>
>

--
Personal Page:
http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html
Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com
Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com

[MadMACin]

well its best to take it slow and Read Read and read some more then go for it
Salt is the way to go

http://www.reeftanksonline.com