There are a number of reasons to choose a freshwater tank over saltwater for your first tank. Keeping a saltwater tank will give you a lot of interesting options for fish, but the care and maintenance of saltwater aquariums is more difficult than freshwater tanks. It can take a few months to get used to keeping a saltwater tank going – there is a learning curve here, for sure. You can, of course, opt to begin with a saltwater tank if you are ready for the challenge.

One reason is the ease in set up and maintenance of a freshwater over a saltwater tank. The equipment also costs a lot less. Additionally, the marine fish which you would need for a saltwater tank are much more expensive than freshwater fish. Saltwater tanks are more likely to use live rock.

For your saltwater fish, the live rock is a section of live coral reef including marine wildlife like sponges, sea urchins, worms and algae to help provide a natural ecosystem. There is a reduction in waste products with this live rock environment. You have to create a natural environment for you fish where food, oxygen and cleaning are part of the natural ecological process. However, you’ll also need a protein skimmer for a saltwater tank; this will keep organic waste out of the water.

A more expensive lighting system is required for a saltwater tank compared to a freshwater tank. It is important to get the light balanced right so you keep the growth and behavior natural for all of the tank's inhabitants. You will need the right lighting in order to promote the necessary processes of photosynthesis and oxygenation.

When you have a saltwater fish tank you are creating a working ecosystem for you fish unlike when you have a freshwater tank. Each element is important and dependent on the others to maintain balance, which is a necessity to the survival of all the organisms in the tank. You’ll need the right plants and animals to create a healthy environment for your fish; if you prefer live fish to dead ones, that is!

There are a lot of costs involved and the maintenance is much more complicated; by comparison, freshwater aquariums are great for beginners - if you are new to keeping an aquarium , you might want to think long and hard about that saltwater tank. You’ll learn a lot about keeping your freshwater tank as you go along and build the skills and knowledge base which will eventually ready you for a saltwater tank.