It's not.

Even petstores seem to think its hard.

It makes me sad, because either I was really lucky or I must have been smarter then them... my tank has had zero problems in the last two months, and I'm a newbie at this. (tanks been setup for two months).

WACKO PEOPLE OUT THERE I SWEAR!.

its frustrating if anything. also very tedious and expensive.

once u get a tank up and running u should be fine. its like a plane once ur in the air everything else is pretty much easy.

It's only hard if you run into a problem at some point, in my opinion

I usually get "isn't it just so much work to keep one" asked a lot. Even from people who have dogs. I mean, I don't ever have to wake up early to take my reef for a walk etc.

for the most part I agree, it is much easier than the common miss-conception of "SALTWATER !? ooooh nooo, thats so much maintenance !" I usually reply, "why?" of course they don't know why they think that, they just do.

BUT

algae and aiptasia are a PITA, other than that, its great :-)

You just jinxed yourself!!!

The only hard part of salt water is learning all there is to know to get started and the diligence to stay focused.

The hard part for me was stopping myself in setting up another SW tank. The first time, I had it FOWLR, so I put aggressive fishes, then I thought about corals, but the stuff I learned from setting up my first tank paid off. If I would look back money involved I'll feel bad. So I thought about, in our hobby it's best if someone can afford it not to cut corners (quality matters, if not mistakes will cause money). I thought about getting a nano tank, bought an 8g, then I ended up getting a 29g because there's just flexibility there. (my 2 cents)

But, yeah its that desire to expand and upgrade.

just wait until you get a terrible algae/cyano/flatworm outbreak and then you can comment on how "easy" the hobby is.

Then why have I answered so many of your questions?

Short list of things I could see that people would consider difficult about it:

1 - You have to be willing to read a fair amount.

2 - There is math involved.

3 - There is basic chemistry involved.

4 - The equipment is not cheap.

5 - The livestock is not cheap.

6 - You have to be willing to spend time regularly to maintain the tank (WC's if nothing else).

Consider that, right or wrong, your reef tank is compared to a freshwater bowl with a goldfish and you can see how one might seem significantly more difficult than the other.

Dogs and cats are harder.

Fish and corals don't crap and piss on the carpet and chew up the drapes.

I suppose a lot of it is set up.
And a little/lot knowledge.
While I advocate weekly water changes...
You could ostensibly leave a running cycled tank alone for a month, topping off when it blows bubbles, and it will be just fine in the end. Try that with a cat or dog. You'll get arrested.

Cmon, if it isn't hard, then why must we spend every day gathering information and sharing experiences in order to protect our investments? Imagine how hard it would have been before the advent of the interwebz. It's not rocket science, but it's certainly science and trial and error. And at two months, you're really jumping the gun. Problems occur later - when your equipment has lost its "new tank smell" or when you add that last coral that sends off a chemical war with the rest, or you add that pesky fish that's eating all your prized corals and you have to tear down everything to get it out.

Talk to me in another 25 years when you really have the experience to make that statement. Not trying to be hostile, but you have a ways to go before you can make a catch all statement like that.

Because you're a nice guy.


Just like
Someone answered your stupid questions when you were a noob.

This made me laugh a little.

Hard in most peoples eyes i think relates to cost and survivability. These animals are more sensitive than your general FW species (not general i am not talking about discus or the like)

You need to know more and spend the time and money to establish it, and its a Mcdonalds world.. everyone wants things NOW taking their time to do something makes it hard.. hence so many quick cycled tanks and dead fish from early addition etc. Its HARD to keep up woth all the questions and posts that more reading would cure on its own.

He does have the experience to make that statement.
It is a conditional statement.
He's lucky or smart.

At two months, you and I both know what the answer is.

this site makes things MUCH easier, and like I said, there are hassles.

Goldfish Easy>>>>Reefing moderate>>>>Dog moderate+>>>>Conseived difficulty of SW- Hard

anyone agree with this ?

maybe we should start a poll, what do you spend more time taking care of, your reef or your dog? I definatly eff with the reef tank more time than letting the dog out and dumping some food in her bowl... but do i HAVE to ?

I had 0 major problems for like a year, then i encountered dinos, a fish on a rampage etc.
Set up a second tank, encountered aiptasia, bubble algae, colonial hydroids.

I vote for lucky, my one tank is pest free, my other one is just scary at all the bad stuff i got hit with.

Also, take a dive into SPS, even more maintenance.


Still less trouble than a dog for everyone who mentioned that. I dont have to wash my fish or take it outside to do its business (maybe i can strap a protein skimmer to its butt.....)

You will make the news with that. Funny!

Might even catch on, hey nemmy I think you have just made your millions.

Some people think effort = difficult.

It isn't easy, but it's not as hard as people make it seem to be. But, I do read obsessively.

I have two lazy french bulldogs and a "pet loo" set up on my balcony. I just need to empty the tray of urine every other day and pick up the poo with a baggie. They eat once a day and get their water change (i.e., bath) once a week. I definitely spend more time fussing with the tank than fussing with the dog - but that's MY obssession, as the tank would do fine with 5 minutes a day on most occasions.

Most people wouldnt think of joining a forum like this.
And they never properly cycle the tank.
I met someone whos been trying to build a tank for the past 6 months, and has gone through over 600$ in fish.
He had never asked questions, and never seen a forum.
His salinity was 1.10 for f()@#$ sake.

If you set it up right, which I'm sure you did.
You could leave it for a week without touching it.

You tinker with it because it is more than just a pet, it is a hobby.
You gain pleasure from tinkering with it. We all do.
But most likely, it will do just fine without you tinkering with it.

I guess it is hard. I run an aquarium maintenance business and majority of my customers cannot handle a simple task like keeping the water topped off (for ones that dont have ATO). One customer in particular has gone through atleast 3 pumps because they let the water go so low, for so long. When I have sumps made for customers I take in account that they don't always check the water level- so I make sure theres extra room to fill up.

Most of the people who have trouble keeping the tank topped-off while I am not there, also- for some reason.. refuse to buy an ATO.

Feeding. It's like they do not trust me and can't fathom that their fish do not need to eat a handful of flakes and pellets and 8 cubes 4 times a day.

you've obviously never had a catdogfish. or a manbearpig for that mattter.

I wish!




I'm guessing you dont have a back yard?
My tank is pretty much on auto-pilot besides dosing every other day and water change once a week. So thats still more work than my tank. But you did luck out with them being lazy and good pets. Some dogs are just wild!

It all depends on how much determination and work you put into the tank.

Maybe not a finished success story, but it's a success story. I know my experience is too limited to say this without partially sticking my foot in my mouth, but people who keep saying 'keep X for a year more and then you can call it a success' is just arbitrary nonsense. Sure 2 months of keeping something may not hold as much sway as a reefer who's gone without problems across years and years and several tanks, but starting new and going 2 months without anything significant going wrong is certainly successful.


Anyways.... I think the saltwater hobby is said to be hard because it takes a hell of a lot more work than freshwater and people have no real experience with it. It's expensive because of all the equipment and livestock, it's time consuming because of the longer time to get an established tank, the required water changes, and all the testing, it's brand new to most people - meaning they will need to research quite a bit, and there's a lot of misinformation - from incorrectly labeled species, to people who simply don't know what they're talking about, to myths and tall tales. If you've got a membership at a site like this you're already way past most people who go to petsmart who want to set up a saltwater tank, so the warning applies quite a bit less right off the bat.

yep even after 7 year's I alway's run into small problem's

wait till the pest's/zoopox/redbug/ick/algae/temp/salt or a number of test kit's or equipment fail's lol

Well said

There are reasons why WE don't think its hard:

First, we have done our reading. For me that has included a 4 year honours degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology

Beyond that, we love it. Its never a chore to do something you love. Heck I even get a kick out of gravel washing my goldfish tank!

Its only hard if you don't know what you're doing and you don't like what you're doing. Same with anything.

internal nano

My light just died on my SPS and clam tank. Hard? no. Frustrating? Yes. I want to tear my eyes out.

Reefing isn't hard.

It just takes knowledge, patience, persistance, and wc's. Pretty simple actually.

I walk my reef every morning...

I think it is thought of as hard because it can be harder than a simple FW tank, a planted tank on the other hand it a lot of work

The main thing that is tough about this hobby, money.

taking care of my 1 gold fish is harder than taking care of my 3 tanks . this how i take care of my tank, water change and dosing weekly. and my fishes eats once a day

never did my parameter test and never will
i used my regular hydrometer once only

do some research before you start
think 3times ahead or more

if you can do this youre biggest challenge is....$$$$$

I just have to raise a simple question.

If this hobby was really easy, would any of you be as happy with it?

Its not an outright difficult hobby, but it is very involved. If you don't know what you're doing, then you're going to fail. Since 50% of people don't bother going through the motions of learning what the animals need, they die, and the people who have failed to meet those needs blame the livestock for being to touchy. We're all members of a forum, so we have access to a wealth of knowledge and hard earned experience. If you didn't bother to pick up a book or browse a forum, how well off would you be? This isn't a hobby where simply throwing money at problems will get you results.

Any who, thats just my take on the situation.

because you're a noob (OP).

two months isn't nearly enough time to encounter any significant problem. it's knowing how to handle and fix (and prevent) those problem that makes you a non-noob. dogs, they don't look right, you just take them to the vet. tank, doesn't look right, up to you to fix.

This hobby is a breeze! My tank looks freakin awesome!

How can something so cotton soft and green be so evil...

It seems easy until you are doing 5 gallon water changes every day trying to keep ammonia levels down, watching your corals on the brink of death, all without a conceivable reason. I have years of experience too. I have had other tanks like you describe where everything is a breeze. good luck.

It actually is a hell of a lot of work. I spend so much time working on my tank it's really unbelievable.

You guys are douches hoping his tank crashes just so you can gloat over his misfortune.

I was scared off this hobby for a long time because of how 'hard' I was told it was. Constant fish deaths, complicated chemicals, etc. It takes a lot of work, but it's not the nightmare I assumed it would be and I think that was the op's point. You don't have to be an expert in anything to realize that the difficulty of a thing is often worse in the mind of someone who hasn't attempted it than actual reality.

Enough said

Hello my fellow douche!

i like how people claim its sooooo easy to maintain a reef tank when you will literally struggle to find anyone who had a successful reef tank setup for at least 5 years. Its pretty easy to stock a tank up after two months and claim how easy it was.... I would go as far as to say less than 5% of tanks on this site run any longer than 2 years. Either the reefer quits or some cataclysmic disaster happens to the tank which forces a new setup.

I never said it was easy, now did I?.