Aquarium fanatics help me out

Im thinking of getting a 55 gallon hexagon aquarium should I go with an all-glass aquarium or acrylic aquarium? What are the pros and cons of each type of aquarium? Also since my surface area is limited in a hexagon aquarium what are some good saltwater fish to put in it? Im new to aquariums so want a nice setup but not something way to difficult to maintain. Also anyone have personal experiences with hexagon aquariums I need it to save space in my apartment but all the stores tell me not to get one.

go to the library and get a book on aquariums. If I am not mistaken beginners shouldn't mess with salt water aquariums.

Originally Posted by Effing_Psycho

go to the library and get a book on aquariums. If I am not mistaken beginners shouldn't mess with salt water aquariums.

salt water isn't that bad, just takes like 3 months of prep with bag salt and damsel fish. about 3 months before you can add other fish and dump the damsels back to the store.

glass is by far heavier but acrylic tends to scratch like b1tch if you are not careful.

Glass - doesn't scratch, cheaper

Acrylic - 2x lighter, stronger (can flex alot more), holds heat in much better, scratches easily meaning you have to use certain cloth to clean it.

If you get a tall aquarium that doesn't have much surface area, don't put in too much fish. goto like www.monsterfishkeepers.com or something and ask them there. many informative people on that site

Originally Posted by np2004

Im thinking of getting a 55 gallon hexagon aquarium should I go with an all-glass aquarium or acrylic aquarium? What are the pros and cons of each type of aquarium? Also since my surface area is limited in a hexagon aquarium what are some good saltwater fish to put in it? Im new to aquariums so want a nice setup but not something way to difficult to maintain. Also anyone have personal experiences with hexagon aquariums I need it to save space in my apartment but all the stores tell me not to get one.

You answered your question right there. A salt water tank is a major pain in the ass. You have to make sure the PH level of the water is perfect, and that there is enough salt for the fishes, a freshwater tank is MUCH easier to maintain. If you want something simple, get a 55 gallon rectangle tank (make sure it's thick glass, I cracked my feeder tank and water went everywhere). And get a 100 gallon filter. Which fish are you planning on getting? I use to have Piranhas, they were very chill, and cool. It was also great to see them hunt. The Piranhas got pretty big, and my old tank that they were in was too small, so I gave them to my cousin. I have Oscar's right now, and they are great fish.

I think a senegal bicihr is the best fish to start with thats still interesting, easy to care for, and is a decent hunter

A saltwater tank is a lot of work, and if you're not careful with your selection of fish, you'll just be throwing your money away. pH, nitrate, and salt levels have to be checked regularly, and cleaning the salt that builds up on the sides is a pain. With that being said, its not impossible for a beginner to own a saltwater tank. But I would not recommend it... I miss my saltwater tank If you want something more interesting try Cichlids.

Originally Posted by KrzyBum420

I think a senegal bicihr is the best fish to start with thats still interesting, easy to care for, and is a decent hunter

yeah... definitely go for a bichir... it's so fun to watch them swim ... arowana's are fun to keep to but might not be a good idea in a small tank... oscars are pretty nice but they eat and poop a lot... get a placotomus to help you eat the algae... upside down catfish's are pretty interesting too.... so are archers.... there's also barracudas and puffer fish.... if you want something that has a lot of color go for some discus

Get freshwater tank first. When I started off I killed so many fish. But they were only 1-3 bucks each. Saltwater fish are more expensive. And saltwater is so much harder and you need a muc more expensive filter.

Get salt but get a bigger tank the bigger the tank the more forgiving it is, especially since u can have more bio-life in it. I love my nano reef it's a 12 gallon tank extremely hard to maintain because everything you have to stay on top of but by staying on top of i mean making sure you put everything in a q-tank before u put it into the show/main tank. Nothing like getting some parasites. The big thing is mix your salt water in big buckets then pour in everything right salt water and sand wait for it to settle then throw in a **** load of live rock. Buy big pieces they add more visual then a whole bunch of little rocks. This is going to be expensive about $4/lb For example my 12 that i keep has about 15 lbs of live rock in it. Live rock will add for a filter also a ref would be good to have it as an additional filter. Let that sit for a while while everything levels out. Then add a damsel but don't do it while stuff is still leveling out, damsel cycling is pretty ****ed up. Also add stuff slowly. If you want coral get something that is easy maintaine get some hammer head and frog spawn grows quick and hard to kill then you can also get yourself some rics. Find yourself a local fish group so u can go to coral swaps and get yourself some frags because coral adds up quickly from abour $50 for something the size of a half dollar coin to $100's. I had to get out of the bimmer scene for a while to do this. Or get yourself a dog.

I had a hex, never buy one again. Too much vertical area and not enough horizontal area for the fish to hang out in. Plus you really need to match your pump well to the tank, I ****ed up and had a pump that was rated for the gallonage but it was still too powerful and created a whirlpool effect in the tank, I killed the fish by overexertion having to swim constantly. It took about a day to kill them off so by the time I realized when I got home from school, it was too late.
If it's your first tank, i'd avoid saltwater too unless you have enough time/dedication to really take care of it. Freshwater is more easily maintained and less hassle too.
I'd also recommend getting yourself a second tank to use temp to house the fish when you're cleaning/maintaining the primary tank.

You can always hire your LFS (local fish store) to come and do the maintance.

Saltwater generally takes some time and concentration. Even some studying, freshwater while still isn't easy, should be easier and more fun unless your an advanced fishkeeper. Another good, easy and fun fish are guppies. Nothing like watching them give live birth

If you dont know what SG is, then dont think of getting a Salt tank.

Hell I don't know what SG is

yea whats an SG? never heard of that term.

don't know much about the types of tanks to get but i've had many fish tanks before and dealt with freshwater.......if your starting out i wouldn;t do salt water.......way harder and the fish cost more as well and you don't want to kill expensive fish off.......get started, get freshwater and learn along as you go......there are a few forums that can help, i can't remember what they were but i learned how to deal with water changes, ick, lighting and what not

don't get a hex, hard to clean, hard to aquascape. A standard 55 would be much easier, more swim space for fish too. Personally I would get a All Glass 90g or 120G. just get a good skimmer and some live rock and metal halides and your are pretty much set. See if you can find someone breaking down their tank, buy rock from them and you can have it up and running in a few days. Or else you have to cure the rock for about 3-5 weeks depends on how cured the rock is. hope that helps. Oh yeah, the bigger the easier, but more $ as well.

E

Originally Posted by KrzyBum420

yea whats an SG? never heard of that term.

I think its specific gravity. Salinity right?

Originally Posted by Red Ryder

I think its specific gravity. Salinity right?

Yup. pH is another factor, but SG should be logrithmically proportional to pH