Is saltwater harder than freshwater

The short answer is YES! However, let me explain why and give some examples from my experience. I started with Freshwater and exclusively kept and bred freshwater fish for about a year and a half. Once I started my journey into saltwater, it became quite the learning curve and a slew of trial and error I had not yet experienced with saltwater.

Differences I Learned

• Freshwater - when it comes to freshwater outside of cycling there’s few things we focus on, on a basic level

  • Nitrates

  • PH

  • TDS (if your into particular species)

    • This can go further if you have gotten into CO2 tanks and heavy plant propagation; however, if you are at that stage, you still have learning to do about saltwater.

• Saltwater - Fish only system

  • Nitrates

  • PH

  • Salinity

  • Phosphates

    • Although this is not a lot more than freshwater, it's likely this is not what most people imagine when it comes to getting into saltwater.

  • Saltwater - Beginner Coral

    • Nitrates

    • PH

    • Salinity

    • Alkalinity

    • Phosphates

      • As you can see, the list continues to grow. These things need to be continuously monitored and precisely kept. If not controlled strictly, they can cause catastrophic failure.

  This list continues to grow as you advance in your coral collection. However, it isn’t about the length of the list but rather the precision that things need to be kept in the list. For instance, if PH is too low, corals will suffer, if PH is too high, they will suffer; too inconsistent same will occur. For fish only, letting salinity drop too much fish die; too high fish die. As you can see, there’s quite a common occurrence here. On some occasions, the same can be said for freshwater; however, at the same time, I have seen Chilids do fine in 72-degree water with 7ph and 82-degree water with 8ph. The same can’t be said with salt water. Then add in when you’re talking about a fish costing $5 compared to one of the cheapest in the saltwater hobby costing $20. There’s quite a different level of risk in relation to your wallet.

Now lets address the largest difference from fresh to salt

• You CANNOT USE TAP WATER!

  I’m not going to talk about special occasions, however, understand due to the complex chemistry of saltwater, it is pertinent that you exclusively use rodi to top off and or mix your salt into. By not doing this, you will see significant issues

  • Fish Struggle

  • Algae Growth

  • Corals Die

  It’s not a matter of if but rather when.

  Therefore, you either have to set up a RODI system or source RODI and Saltwater from a local shop.

  Again if you are an advanced freshwater aquarist, you might be familiar with this. Fortunately, I was familiar with this requirement due to keeping cardinia shrimp.

RODI

Equipment

When I started saltwater I thought I could use similar equipment to what I used in freshwater. Oh was I wrong.

My original saltwater set up consisted of:

• 60 Gallon Cube Rimless

• AI Prime Light

• Oversized Canister Filter

  • Overtime I added to this because I struggled to keep coral and maintain healthy nitrate levels.

    • Additions

      • HOB Filter rated for 75 gallon

      • HOB Protein Skimmer

      • Radion XR15

  • Unfortunately, this still didn’t solve the issues, I this had insane algae growth and high nitrates. I was doing 30% weekly water changes and spending nearly $20 a week on water alone.

Fast forward to today, I upgraded to a larger system with a sump (RedSea 425XL). This change drastically changed the game for me. It allowed for better filtration, easier top-off to maintain salinity, and overall fewer water changes.

• Equipment current set up

  • ReefMat 500

  • OCTO 250 protein skimmer

  • Carbon Reactor

  • GFO reactor

  • UV sterilizer

  • Doser (dosing Part 1&2, neo nitro)

  • T5 Hybrid Lighting

I can finally say I feel successful with this set up. My corals are growing and my fish are thriving.

Tank from February 2023 (check IG for updates its grown immaculately)

Alright now for the most stressful part of Saltwater ALGAE, PESTS, PARISITES AND DISEASES.

I struggled with this in both the 60-gallon and the 90-gallon RedSea. Now this is not to say I haven’t struggled with it in freshwater, but there’s a difference when it comes to freshwater fish that cost $10 dying and Coral/ Fish costing $250 dying.

Treating these issues in saltwater is much more tricky due to coral sensitivity. For instance, when I got diatoms, I had to black out the tank for a week, and as a result, I lost a $150 coral. Let's compare issues and struggles treating

• Freshwater

  • Hair Algae

    • pulled it out lowered lighting

  • Green Water

    • added a tempary uv sterilizer

  • BBA

    • Treated with peroxide

    • clean up crew took care of the rest

  • Ich

    • used ich X

I’m sure there’s others but but it was all fairly simple and straight forward.

• Saltwater 60 cube

  • Nitrates

    • water changes (negative)

    • Extra filter (negative)

    • Protein skimmer (kinda)

    • Less feeding (kinda)

  • Phospates

    • Phosguard (accidently used too much killed some corals from lowering too fast)

    • Less Feeding (kinda)

  • Lack of coral growth

    • better light (yesish)

    • more consistant water conditions (for a short time)

  • Algae

    • all the above, however, I took down the tank still struggling with it

• RedSea 425xl

  • Diatoms

    • blackout (worked but killed some coral)

  • Diatoms again

    • blackout (worked but came back a third time)

    • discovered the source was too low of nitrates

    • used neonitro to raise (no issues since)

  • ich

    • rally pro/ ich pro (didn’t work started having coral struggles)

    • UV sterilizer (kinda)

    • ended up leaving the ich in the tank and feeding fish more nutritialy dense food/ vitamin C to elevate immune systems

    • conclusion, its still around but its managed

  • hair algae

    • lowered lights and added clean up crew (worked)

  • Turf algae

    • my current battle (plan to use algae flux

  • Flatworms

    • pulled coral and dipped (just in time)

  • Alkalinity/PH drops

    • water changes (kinda)

    • Doser with part one and two (worked but needs constant dialing)

  • Aptasia

    • filefish (negative)

    • aptasia x (negative)

    • bergia (kinda)

    • still in the battles

I’m sure I’m missing some issues but the fact is, is that the struggle and learning curve is never ending.

This is what tap water and in adequate maintenance does! Trust me I’ve seen it in person.

Now for the last factor COST

Although this isn’t a factor of difficulty, it is a factor to consider. My first 60-gallon was budget-driven; however, when I invested better, the hobby got much better but more expensive. However, the difference was astronomical. My first tank all in, I probably invested about $1,500 in equipment. My current one I’m nearly $5,000 into. This is all without considering fish and coral. So that being said, be prepared for the expense. Unlike freshwater, it adds up to extreme levels. One fish can set you back 100s, and a mistake can cost you a lot.

Feel free to reach out about questions. Saltwater is a wonderful hobby but it’s sure to challenge you and your wallet.