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Hello!
I would like to know if someone knows about these acrylic aquariums.Is these aquarium the best?
I'am going to buy one..looking for aquarium around 50-180gallons.i would like to have salwater fish..but also interested in freshwater fish...can not decide what to buy!
if saltwater fish..what fish should i buy..and freshwater?
AND WHAT ABOUT PLANTS AND CORALS..STONES ETC.!!!
And what about cleaning the acrylic aquarium..i heard it can be easy scratched.

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

The biggest problem with acrylic, is as you mentioned that they can be easily scratched. However, it just means you'll need to get special cleaning pads for scrubbing algae. I actually just use an old piece of fish net for scrubbing the sides of my acrylic.
From what I've heard, acrylic is better @retaining heat, and also offeres a clearer view of the inside. While they do tend to be a bit more expensive, they're also lighter than glass....if I remember correctly :%).

As for what to pick, freshwater or salt water....other than experience and how much time you have for the tank, you may want to compair prices of setting up each FW or SW. I know that in my area FW is alot cheaper than SW.
Welcome to the site robby1619
HTH a bit .

^_^

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Welcome to fp Robby!
Personally I would take glass over acrylic, especially with bigger tanks, because it IS easily scratched.
Saltwater aquariums take A LOT of time, effort and money and are not for beginners. You will need to buy things like UV sterilizers, RO units, live rock, and if you want corals, special and strong lighting. You need to test the salinity with a hydrometer, and feed special supplements, you cant typically just put a pinch of flakes in. IMO if you are beginner you should start out with FW, and if you really want the colors of saltwater fish, you could get cichlids, which is like saltwater with the price chopped in a million pieces.
You will need to buy many things, especially for a big tank like you suggested. A good filter and heater, some sort of substrate, gravel or sand, or something different depending on whether or not you are going to plant it and how much money you want to spend. Depending on what fish you put in your tank you might want different decor, but there are many choices. Rocks, caves, driftwood, and of course plants. What you put into it is really up to you.
As for cleaning, weekly or biweekly gravel vacs and water changes are a must, along with things like scraping algae off the front and testing your water params (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH). Saltwater needs even more testing I believe.
Once you determine your decision, it will be a lot easier for us to help you. HTH
~FF~

EDIT: posted with Babel

[span class="edited"][Edited by ferretfanatic 2004-09-01 09:20][/span]

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

If money is a problem, I would definitely go with the freshwater tank. There are fewer things you need to buy for the tank that way. As for plants, rocks, etc., that would depend on personal taste, and how you want to decorate the tank. It is always helpful to have some hiding places for fish, though. If you are a newcomer to the hobby, some hardy fish would be good choices for your tank, but again, it really depends on personal taste. By the way, welcome to Fish Profiles!

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

HEY.. ty all for the info.
Just one more question...if i buy fw fish,shall i put them wright away into the tank or...?i have heard that you may leave the fish inside the bag in the tank for half an hour before the release or the fish might die..is this true?

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

What you're asking about is a process called acclimation. First I want to make sure you understand a much much more important process called cycling.

Here is information about the cycle. Basically it's the process of growing benificial bacteria that will keep the fish from dying within a few weeks.

As for acclimation which you asked about. It's important to do it slowly so that the fish can ajust for differences in the water that they were living it to the water they will be living in. It's not just temperature and ph differences either. What I always do is:
Rinse and dry the bag off.
Place the bag in the tank for 15 minutes
Open the bag and begin to remove some of the water from the LFS (local fish store), placing the LFS water in a housplant.
Slowly pour in a small ammount of tank water in with the fish.

Wait for 15 minutes.

Add some more tank water, and as the bag becomes full, slowly pour out some of the LFS water making sure that none of it gets in the tank (it can carry disease and who knows what else ).

After an hour or two (sometimes as much as 6 depending on what fish it is) I will gently net the fish and place them in the tank.

^_^

I do basically the same thing as Babel. With more sensitive fish its sometimes necessary to use the drip acclimation method, which there are a couple ways of setting up. You should probably be able to use Babels method with the fish you get, but maybe someone with a good drip acclimation set up will post.
~FF~

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish