I’ve got a 350ltr freshwater tank and I’ve just bought a 550 litre tank that I’m planning on turning into a saltwater tank with a coral reef and probably some more specialist marine fish. I’m currently researching lots about equipment and such which is scary and costly 
Anyone else have fish, or experience that they can share?
I’m fascinated by it all, for example. This is a slug?! and I’ve not even got onto coral yet 
I haven’t got a reef, but I’ve done lots and lots of research on it and decided to give it a few years before looking at it again. I like a really neat and tidy aquarium without all the accessories showing and it’s quite hard to do that with a good reef, especially when my tanks don’t have sumps. I went with some cichlids instead this time round but maybe in my next house I can squeeze in another tank 
From what I recall, the process of setting up is a faff but of course is only done once - then it’s a case of just regularly monitoring all the levels as you would any other tank. Except the levels are different and you have to be more consistent in maintenance and more precise with any additions (water, salt etc). The trade offs though are the most amazing creatures and beautiful scapes.
This is always in the back of my mind though…
You sound like you’re in a similar situation to what I was before I moved house recently. I can now fit another tank in and I found an amazing one for sale locally on eBay so it had to be done 
My current tank has a canister filter (FX6) but this new one that I’m going to use for marine has a sump and a couple of holes for overflow so there is nothing in the main tank. I can’t wait. Just going to take my time because all the skimmer, lighting and live rock is very expensive so I’m going to buy some equipment each month I think.
Haha, I read that story a long time ago. It was the pulsing xenia coral that did it Because I’m going slow, I’ll be sure to research everything fully before buying 
What cichlids have you got?
Are fish geeks worse than tech geeks? 
Haha I’m both so what does that make me
A fishtech? Will get my coat
Or better yet… a fintech
That’s what I was just typing! 
Don’t know why I didn’t think of it the first time
I have a mix of Malawi cichlids in one, and a handful of white angels with some diamond neons in the other.
I ended up with a few tanks originally because of fish compatibility 
that stupid fighter fish was a costly mistake, then having not learnt from that, some blue rams caused a bit of a headache with my community tank. Now I just keep it simple and have just a few types in each… I’m not sure if compatibility is as bad with a saltwater. Certainly something to look at.
I’d really love a saltwater tank , someone once offered me a 16 foot tank but I don’t have the space (or dough really)
I’ve a fairly large tropical tank and keep considering setting up a marine tank but getting the balance right, the cycle started and the cost in equipment and fish has to date deterred me.
It is expensive and then you have storing the salt water, as mixing up your own and getting the levels right is not easy.
Once you get it setup, you can run it for a few weeks empty to get the cycle started but I’ve always found in any tank, you lose a few fish at start and marine fish are more sensitive and again more costly.
You may also need a more complicated lighting setup with a timer.
They are really beautiful though. Although I’d not heard about the coral story till I saw the link.
Don’t be put off, go for it.
Ahhh we’ve all been there with compatibility. I’ve always had a community tank but had a few issues here and there. For me crayfish and clown loaches and angel fish (separate instances) have given me issues in the past. Have some nice angel fish now though
What happened with your fighters? Did you get more than one male? I’ve never had cichlids, always been told to keep them away from community fish even though they look really nice.
16 foot?!? geeezzz 
I’d hate to think of the cost you’d have in filtering and getting good flow in that
I’d love loads of 2 or 3 foot tanks so I can have different themes / fish in each that normally wouldn’t go together.
What size tropical have you got at the moment?
I’ve had my 5ft one for around 8 years so I think it’s time for a new challenge. I like the idea of tinkering, working with coral and fragging and stuff. I think once I’ve had the initial outlay it will last a long time and like you said, the rewards are greater 
I’m finding that all the salt water fish I want don’t really go with other stuff I’d like 
For example I can’t have a dogface puffer with coral 
Yeah that’s a better option, one fish got ill and killed everything, it had to be run for like three months empty to clean out the diseases, that’s why he offered it to me for free .
Wow that’s a shame, all that hard work ruined by one fish 
Hopefully next time he catches the illness sooner so he can quarantine and treat the fish in a separate tank 
I’ve always assumed the bigger the tank the more “diluted” an outbreak would be so you have a little longer to react before it affects anything else 
He ways paying a company to maintain it I’m sure , one of those people.
Iirc he was away when it happened or something.
But damn , having a huge tank in my place, one day hopefully.
I used to have a fairly big (I want to say 300l) tropical aquarium and loved it, but then I moved into a flat and had to get rid of it. I live on my own again so was thinking about getting one again but i’m not sure i could justify it (and would worry about moving again and having to get rid, again!).
I used to have some great catfish in there, but then I bought fish from a very highly rated aquatic centre in east London (top rated in one of the fish-keeping magazines) and they had whitespot, which of course spreads from pores which fall to the bottom, so catfish get it first. Once I got rid of it (all the catfish died, but I managed to save most of the other fish) I stupidly went to the same shop, and again got diseased fish from them 
Vowed never to go back.
That’s a sad story 
I’ve moved my tank twice now and it isn’t easy transporting all the water, fish, substrate and so on. Even when empty the tank weighs so much too
I wonder if fish insurance is a thing? I can’t imagine your catfish were cheap 
