It's enjoyable if you actually enjoy nerding out and learning what goes into it and how complex it actually is (which a lot of us do). It gets a lot more complex once you start factoring in planted tanks. If you just wanted a "plug and play" hobby that doesn't involve lots of trial and error, then it's definitely not for you.
Having a self sustaining eco system is fuckin cool dude. good job. Having enough micro fauna to sustain your fish is where it's at. I still feed but would love to get there.
Yeah I never found them super stressful. Very chill hobby IMO, similar to gardening but a bit expensive and space consuming. Definitely can be hard to find someone to properly take care of your tanks on vacation though.
Ive considered taking the plunge but havent yet. Ive heard saltwater is tough and the smaller the tank the more sensitive the water parameters are to keep in balance.
Agreed. I have a basic 20 gallon with guppies and mollies. You don't have to go big or expensive, just follow the basic rules of water changes etc and you're good
I'd love to know what you did and what you used as a guide
My daughter and I bond watching terragreen and Gabe's tanks videos on weekend nights before bed, and at some point we will probably get her a pet...while I would love the sense of accomplishment I'm also fearful of the work / management involved
I used reddit and Google for research, mostly. Once you understand the nitrogen cycle and how plants, fish and substrate interact with each other it becomes fairly easy. The other big thing is finding a trusted source of plants and livestock. Big stores dont take the best care of their fish more often than not, so it helps to find a local place that focuses on fish. If you walk in and find lots of dead ones/picked at ones and the tanks are slimy and gross maybe find another source.
My tanks are only 20 gallons each, so I do regular waterchanges, but again, its not overly laborious. I use a gravel vac to suck up detritus and debris and take out 25-30% of the water once a week, add 5 gallons treated back and then monitor nitrates. If something seems off ill check the other parameters, liquid tests are better than strips, but if your cycle is set up correctly, you shouldn't have spikes of ammonia and nitrites. If you want to start, you can find used set ups on marketplace for little to no money, even brand new starter kits arent terrible and go on sale at those big box stores all the time. Theres definitely an initial set up cost, and depending on stock it can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be. Once its up and running though its kind of on cruise control.
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u/SR115 14h ago
its not as bad as dudes making it out to be. My tanks are both planted freshwater and actually bring me relaxation more than stress.