Hi folks,
I'm a freshwater/planted tank guy who's never gone saltwater before, and I have a few questions. My parents are retired and have a few (IMO) boring goldfish, but I think a saltwater/reef tank is something they'd really like and could spend a lot of time watching. So basically I'd like to set up a tank, but not for me - for them. The problem is, they are a 'bare-minimum' type of people in terms of learning, who don't like to learn a lot of extra stuff. So I want to know if it's realistically possible to set up a hassle-minimized tank and what the pros/cons are for setting up a tank for someone else, when I'm a beginner myself.
Background:
They have tried a few planted setups before and so they already have some tanks lying around - a 10g, 30g, and even a 60g w/stand filled with new goldfish (that we could probably get rid of easily and convert to saltwater). We also have some canister and hob filters as well. They keep all their tanks in a sun room, but not directly near windows. They both do the regular water changes and feeding on their current tanks.
There's an issue with my dad, though. He is (annoyingly) an experience-based type of person, and in his home country they kept fish in (I know now) pretty bad conditions (they didn't know better), but to him they seemed okay; so now when I try to tell him anything wrong about his goldfish tank (i.e. that he had 4 in a 30g, which seemed too much), he balks and says, 'Trust me, they're fine - they look okay, we did it like this back home and nothing happened." So he doesn't take a scientific approach, and I can't get him to change his mind. He only looks online to learn when something is already seriously wrong with his fish- he doesn't get understand that by that time, it's too late. He's had some fish die, but others have lived, so I don't want to discount him completely. He's stubborn, but I figure since saltwater fish are more expensive, he's more likely to listen to me. So I wonder if there's anything I can do to change this mentality, or if I should abandon this idea altogether if he's really not the type of person to take care of fish!
So here are some issues:
Money:
I know that this is an expensive hobby, especially up front, so I've already taken that into account. I hear a lot of hobbyists say this hobby really eats up their wallets in the long run too, but I figured that is because most of them are passionate about wanting to keep expanding/collecting more. But for me, if I do a 'once-and-done' deal, where I set up all the fish and/or corals and don't plan on buying any more (because I'm not as passionate about it as most ppl here), would that at least minimize my(their) costs in the long run? In other words, once the tank inhabitants are set, can I keep long-term monthly costs (i.e. for food, salt) low?
Know-how:
Assuming I do research myself and get a proper setup/equipment, and study about which corals and fish mix together, temperaments, food, etc., how much knowledge will my parents need to keep the tank running in my absence? If they learn the bare basics about feeding, tank cleaning, quarantining/illnesses, and stick to a regiment, can they keep a salt tank without becoming fishoholics?
Vacations:
They do travel at least 3 weeks (at a stretch) a year to their native country, and other varying weekend-trips to see old business friends. With their planted/golfish tanks they didn't really have to worry because they could keep their nitrates low and hired a guy to come change water once. I'd imagine with a salt tank it's a bit more stressful/on your mind when you're gone?
Recommendations:
If you think I can do it, I'd love to hear some recommendations; Fish, corals, anything. Of course, less expensive alternatives are always welcome.
Thanks. And honesty's always welcome - I'd rather know a hard truth now than suffer it later.
I'm a freshwater/planted tank guy who's never gone saltwater before, and I have a few questions. My parents are retired and have a few (IMO) boring goldfish, but I think a saltwater/reef tank is something they'd really like and could spend a lot of time watching. So basically I'd like to set up a tank, but not for me - for them. The problem is, they are a 'bare-minimum' type of people in terms of learning, who don't like to learn a lot of extra stuff. So I want to know if it's realistically possible to set up a hassle-minimized tank and what the pros/cons are for setting up a tank for someone else, when I'm a beginner myself.
Background:
They have tried a few planted setups before and so they already have some tanks lying around - a 10g, 30g, and even a 60g w/stand filled with new goldfish (that we could probably get rid of easily and convert to saltwater). We also have some canister and hob filters as well. They keep all their tanks in a sun room, but not directly near windows. They both do the regular water changes and feeding on their current tanks.
There's an issue with my dad, though. He is (annoyingly) an experience-based type of person, and in his home country they kept fish in (I know now) pretty bad conditions (they didn't know better), but to him they seemed okay; so now when I try to tell him anything wrong about his goldfish tank (i.e. that he had 4 in a 30g, which seemed too much), he balks and says, 'Trust me, they're fine - they look okay, we did it like this back home and nothing happened." So he doesn't take a scientific approach, and I can't get him to change his mind. He only looks online to learn when something is already seriously wrong with his fish- he doesn't get understand that by that time, it's too late. He's had some fish die, but others have lived, so I don't want to discount him completely. He's stubborn, but I figure since saltwater fish are more expensive, he's more likely to listen to me. So I wonder if there's anything I can do to change this mentality, or if I should abandon this idea altogether if he's really not the type of person to take care of fish!
So here are some issues:
Money:
I know that this is an expensive hobby, especially up front, so I've already taken that into account. I hear a lot of hobbyists say this hobby really eats up their wallets in the long run too, but I figured that is because most of them are passionate about wanting to keep expanding/collecting more. But for me, if I do a 'once-and-done' deal, where I set up all the fish and/or corals and don't plan on buying any more (because I'm not as passionate about it as most ppl here), would that at least minimize my(their) costs in the long run? In other words, once the tank inhabitants are set, can I keep long-term monthly costs (i.e. for food, salt) low?
Know-how:
Assuming I do research myself and get a proper setup/equipment, and study about which corals and fish mix together, temperaments, food, etc., how much knowledge will my parents need to keep the tank running in my absence? If they learn the bare basics about feeding, tank cleaning, quarantining/illnesses, and stick to a regiment, can they keep a salt tank without becoming fishoholics?
Vacations:
They do travel at least 3 weeks (at a stretch) a year to their native country, and other varying weekend-trips to see old business friends. With their planted/golfish tanks they didn't really have to worry because they could keep their nitrates low and hired a guy to come change water once. I'd imagine with a salt tank it's a bit more stressful/on your mind when you're gone?
Recommendations:
If you think I can do it, I'd love to hear some recommendations; Fish, corals, anything. Of course, less expensive alternatives are always welcome.
Thanks. And honesty's always welcome - I'd rather know a hard truth now than suffer it later.
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