kinda frustrated. no cool fish?

I must admit this hobby is decieving. I am a newbie and if I was to give anybody coming in any advice, it would be to find out everthing you can (good or bad) first before you decide to go buy that new aquarium. once you buy the lighting (point of no return)
but then again maybe thats why alot of people that want to do reef aquariums will never experince it if they are over whelmed before they buy.

I found out the first week how expensive this hobby is. I found out the next couple weeks how much work that is required for keeping up with a reef aquarium.
Now I find out half the world is not for beginners.
You just remember yourself starring at the reef tank of somone's home you visited and seeing how cool there reef was! the anemone and host clown. the cool corals, and the strange unique fish. The anglers and the boxfish and the puffers. and thats the whole reason your interested in starting the aquarium.......then you come to this point and find out that most those fish you wont be able to care for becuase your a newbie!!! So instead of anglers or boxfish your stuck told you should pick out chromis and damsels and angels and similar fish that look just like the ones you can have in a freswater aqarium. iii. I still like this hobby but being a beginner sucks!!!!

Sorry, we've all been there. The people that tell you what you should consider are the ones that tried and have failed, and know from experience what it takes to keep certain things. It's not just light, it's water quality as well. It's live food that your system provides on it's own. It's knowing what your looking at in your tank before you take any tests or measurements. That being said, you are by no means stuck with just the things you mentioned. One of the best places to look at to guage what you can handle is www.liveaquaria.com . You can view fish and coral alike, and get the info about them and what they need to survive, what kind of difficulties they might have, and where they can be placed(if a coral) or what they are compatible with.
Relax my friend. At one point or another everyone here wanted to throw patience out the window and get started with their wish lists, just like you. You are in the right place, and you are definately among friends, no one here wants to see anyone else fail in this hobby.

bjohanson1234 said:

there is a 50/50 chance that the clown will go and host your powerhead over an anenome.

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LOL Yeah, my clown has hosted the powerhead and is defending it like crazy from the nosey ass chromis.

I got in this hobby because it was more interesting than freshwater. Nowadays, when I see a freshwater setup no matter how elaborate, I think hohum. I admit the cichlids are very colorful fish, but I just have little interest in that hobby now. I was even going to start up a 10g freshwater for my daughter, but couldn't get back into the swing of it. It ended up being a nano saltwater :) I love the science behind the hobby, really.

I actually don't find it to be any more work than a freshwater once you get everything setup. I rarely had to do water changes in my 45g, and I've set up my 125 so I do as little work as possible -- I don't even do top offs anymore because of the diy auto top off I have running now. The only thing I do is stare and feed once every 1-2 days. That's what I did for freshwater. I do extra stuff because it's fun, but not because I have to.

Yes, the startup is a PITA and a LOT of work...but I actually love figuring out ways to set up the tank, ways to improve the system, aquascaping ;) And yes....more expensive to run in the beginning. I started off with a free 45g...and ended up spending $500 :)

OK How odd is this....I posted a quote from BJ, and yet my posted popped up BEFORE his and PRC's (their post times give today's date instead of "x minutes ago". Odd.

PRC said:

I think having a reef tank is more about the corals and the enviornment in the tank than it is about the fish. The fish are almost a secondary thought. In a FW tank, you get fish and dress it up with some decorations. In a SW tank, you get corals, mushrooms, etc. and dress it up with fish. You can still get some really cool fish, there are plenty of them out there that are beautiful for the beginner.

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Maybe,but for me its the opposite.I knew from day one i wanted a beautiful centerpiece angel,and a trigger or 2 and some sweet looking wrasses!So the corals and such were an afterthought.I do admire those great looking reefs,but after looking for a few minutes it gets boring.I prefer to watch the interactions between fish and the little chase games they play and weaving in and out of all the rock work.Also ,you could just load up your tank with featherdusters,i have about 6 now,and they are pretty neat.....OP ,there are tons of cool fish, i find its harder to decide which cool fish i want next,rather than not being able to find any..
wonton,the posting is alittle out of order

I think having a reef tank is more about the corals and the enviornment in the tank than it is about the fish. The fish are almost a secondary thought. In a FW tank, you get fish and dress it up with some decorations. In a SW tank, you get corals, mushrooms, etc. and dress it up with fish. You can still get some really cool fish, there are plenty of them out there that are beautiful for the beginner.

Also, you can get your clowns without an anenome. They dont require it to live, infact, there is a 50/50 chance that the clown will go and host your powerhead over an anenome. You can go and get some hairy mushrooms instead. They are easy require low light and there is a chance that the clown will host them. You can get Zoa's they are hardy and usually moderate light come in all the colors of the rainbow.

You gotta start out somewhere. Just like driving, you dont go and learn to do it on some 600 HP sports car you start out on that old clunker in the driveway:mrgreen:

I actually think keeping saltwater is easier (maybe because it's more fun), way more interesting and constantly evolving, and even the "boring fish" are 10x more exciting than anything freshwater.

But like someone else said, the fish are almost secondary to the corals. If you are keeping a reef tank and not fish only.

You need to sit back and enjoy the ride...this is about water quality and building up a reef. Once you have an established tank and stable water you can get the fish you want. And ultimately you can go buy any fish you want. it's about keeping the water good for the animals.

When I first started in this hobby,I thought it was gonna be like keeping guppies.
MAN was I wrong.But the more I learned,the more fun it became.
With that said,I still consider myself a newbie and probably always will.

Being a newbie I fully understand what you're saying! I expected higher costs, and the need to be patient (this is HARD for me! I'm hoping the hobby will make me more patient!) The fish are much more colourful and interesting IMO, and the corals are a big advantage.
I was really worried about the need to add better lighting in the future, etc. but when I researched the corals I want I'm not as worried. Know your goals, work towards them and take everyone's advice then make your decision.

Look at it this way......the more patience you have, the more you can research and make better decisions and purchases and not make impulse buys that don't work out and waste money

I agree much more fun to watch a marine tank evolve. we find something new growing almost everyday( not including the algae). I don't find it much more work than a fw. My skimmer dumps into a large container that is emptied 1 or 2 times a week and I add a saltwater to replace it. ato takes care of the water level and helps keep salt level in check. Figure out what you want to do so you only have to upgrade once. I hate upgrading the same type of thing several times. Marine fish are also way more active than fw. Replacing lights is expensive, I am hoping the LED fixtures come down soon. It will get better/easier as the tank matures

Reefrookie said:

Look at it this way......the more patience you have, the more you can research and make better decisions and purchases and not make impulse buys that don't work out and waste money

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Heck ya...

So far...I bought rock...returned that rock bought other rock..
then bought 3 powerheads, hated them, then purchased replacements.. the more research...the less stupid things you do...the more $$ you will not throw away.

I'm a bit of a newbie myself. Just over 6mo. I can tell you that the first few months were the most challenging...for many reasons. Once I came through that initial shock (of all the things you mentioned), I'm now finding it's VERY worth it. Good luck!

Shoot, if I had checked w/ livingreefs prior to purchasing live sand in a bag, I wouldn't have paid the extra $$ for "live" sand. There's really no way to tell how long that "live sand" was sitting in the warehouse prior to it going to the LFS.

Now, I read and read and post and post before I purchase anything.