Start up cost

[killagoby]

Originally Posted by Salty168

I was hoping to have this a my stocking list. For a 40b or 55, which could go in it?

Yellow Tang (1)

Flame Angel (1)

Sixline Wrasse (1)

Anthias Lyretail (1)

Ocellaris Clownfish (1 or 2) have not decided yet

Orange Spotted Goby (1)

Midas Blenny (1)

For that sized tanks I'd say

No
Yes
Yes
No
One
Yes
Yes

[leviburns89]

I just did a 55g craigslist build.

At the 4 month mark now, and total investment is nearing $1.5k

This is sumpless too.

But yeah, your first year will easily eat up a couple thousand at the very least.

[Honzgrewber]

I spent almost 2k on getting my first saltwater setup. That's only a 29 gallon tank mind you.

[Salty168]

Originally Posted by uncleL

The best way to start a SALTWATER system and you're on a budget is to find someone that has a complete setup for sale. Craigslist Craigslist Craigslist. Starting from scratch my 90 gallon has cost over $3,000

Yeah i have been checking craigslist but i don't really see anything at the moment

[vagrantprodigy]

I bought a 55 gallon with stand on Craigslist for $75 about a year and a half ago. LED lights cost $50. $100 for rock and sand. $150 for livestock. $50 for various macro. Diy filters attached cost around $50 total. $50 for salt. If you aren't one of those people who has to have the newest and best equipment wise, you can do this hobby on a budget.

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[PIPSTER]

Salty, if you're still there, I was where you are at a little more than 1 year ago.

I chose a 40b tank, despite wanting a 75 gallon because I was concerned about the weight on my floor with pier and beam house. I could have gotten one for the same price, but I probably would have to had bought an extra light.

It's just like buying clothes. You can get a walmart shirt that does the job for $10, or you can get a $80 name brand shirt at the trendy store.

I have about $1500 in equipment, and maybe $500 or a little more in livestock.

I'm sumpless, but use an HOB skimmer as sortof a sump.
I have a blackbox chinese light that I retro-fitted leds of my color taste and have plugged into simple cheap timers for both channels.
I started with dry rock and sand, IO salt, built and finished my own stand, and my RO\DI unit was the single most expensive thing, under $200.

The only mistake I made was buying too powerful of power heads at first, but I use them for saltwater mixing for water changes, so not really a waste.

I also had to buy a UV sterilizer to keep my water from clouding from bacteria. The tank will still cloud if I turn it off for a week, and that's 1 year later. (pollen?)

Things like controllers, dosers, wavemakers, lights with sunrises and wifi, super sumps, mechanical filters, etc are where the extra money can be spent, but you don't have to in order to succeed.

Test kits are also a good investment, and again you can spend $15 or $100.

Shopping around and not buying the first thing you see is a great way to find deals.

You can always add bells and whistles as your tank matures and the money comes in.

[Dkuhlmann]

A 40b isn't 40 gallons, it's 47.5 gallons. The dimensions are 36x18x17

Originally Posted by Salty168

NE Ohio

I'm at roughly 1300 for my 60 gallon and I still need a skimmer. I'll send you a message with the breakdown when the website let's me. If I were you I'd go a bit smaller as it should help cut down maintenance costs/yr.

I keep thinking about it. I tell myself a 40b is nice, then with only 15 more gallons i could get a 55 and have a flame angle, but why not bump on 20 more gallons on for a 75 and i could have a yellow tang, but i dont want it be at the bare min. so i add another 15 for a 90 and i could have the tang a little more comfortable. I always stop at the 90 and would not go any higher than that.

I know I should pick a size and stick with it but it is hard.

[Dombake]

I've just added mine up. Tanks & pumps (plus reef tech), LED's comes to around £1,400 (GBP). Live Rock and sand £120. Odds and sods (cleaning kit, water change kit, RODI etc... £300. So say £1900 ($2,600) before salt, livestock, food, test kits. I must have spent £2,500 ($3,500) in the first 4 months. Everything is brand new mind you, but I did shop around for larger items. I'm not sure how different UK market is from US though.... For example we don't have petco with $/gallon sale.

[AquaAdam]

check your inbox. Finally had a minute to send you the breakdown on mine.

[davehead86]

Here is one for sale in chicagoland area. Not sure where you are but worth the drive ...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2572541

[Salty150]

Too bad you aren't in Wisconsin!

http://madison.craigslist.org/for/5502309633.html

[Salty168]

Those are some nice sales.

[Salty168]

I just checked craigslist and found some more stuff was added. I'm just bummed because i cant get my tank until summer.

[Jackson_reef]

My plan is at $3000, and that doesn't include rock, sand, or livestock. This is going to take a while.

[CStrickland]

Yeah. This is a good time for Craigslist deals because a lot of people buy tanks on impulse for themselves or others around the holidays, and after a few months they tap out. But there's always another on the way if you're patient.

[Salty168]

Found this

https://cleveland.craigslist.org/for/5530891453.html

[WaReefer458]

I'm about 4K into a 40b and I had the sump. I have my fish I want but only have a few corals. Tried to go full blown sps but I can't seem to keep the tank stable enough for them to be happy long term. Lost about 300$ worth of sps frags but all my lps are doing great. It's not a hobby for someone on a budget. I prolly spent 7-8k on my fully stocked 75 I had years ago but after you factor in bulbs and electricity it was probably closer to 10k. My next tank upgrade will be a 200dd and just with the tank, stand, hood, sump, pump, and lighting I'll be right back in it about another 6k

[flooddc]

I don't recalled spending a whole lot of $ on mine.
Anyway, IMO, I think your 1k-2K is achievable if you have the patience and willing to do some DIY.
As other mentioned, CL is best place to look. Since you have you eye on a 90G, don't limit your option to only the 90G. In fact, I would recommend a 120 over the 90G as it is much better for reef application.
In my experience full set-up usually cheaper, but take lot of work tearing down the tank and messy too!
I would start looking and collecting these:
-Tank (used RR 90/120G
-Dry Rock (~100lbs)
-Skimmer (stay away from aquaC, coralife)
-Sump (40 breeder, grab one now at petco's $1) (you can get glass baffles for $10-15 @lowes)

These you can buy when ready:
-lights (2) (can get new black box LED for less than $100)
-wavemake (2) (jebao RW-8 can get them new for $130-150)
-Return pump
-heaters
-live sand or even go bare bottom (much cleaner)
-plumbing
-saltmix
-refractometer

All these should run you around $1100-$1500.

Once you get it running, you can stock fish and corals..WARNING, this is where you can totally blow your budget!!! if mindfully, you can get nice beginning corals and fish for a few hundred bucks. Take your time and grow out and trade/sale.
Save some $ along the way for regular maintenance and upgrade or add new bell and whistles such as controller.
Best of luck, hope you can achieve your dream tank.

[leviburns89]

Agreed with the above poster. Get the 120g over the 90. It will be far easier to work with, and you won't outgrow it.

Looking back, if I had to change anything in my build, it would have been getting a 120 over my current tank.

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[Salty168]

Yeah, I will go with the 120 if I can find one but they dont seem to be for sale as much as the 90's. I guess i just have to keep waiting and looking.

Also, for a heater,powerheads,return pump,and skimmer... I hear one watt per gallon and twice your tank size in gallons,ect. How do you determine how many watts or gph,ect?

[leviburns89]

Even if you have to buy new,, petsmart will have their $1/g sale soon. Totally worth it

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[leviburns89]

I recently watched a very good video. It stated that the one time cost of a tank should be an oversight. The $200-$300 you spend on the right tank will be a drop in the bucket, and once you have it up and running, you will never even remember.

It's like having a kid, once that baby is out, nothing else matters

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[flooddc]

Originally Posted by Salty168

Yeah, I will go with the 120 if I can find one but they dont seem to be for sale as much as the 90's. I guess i just have to keep waiting and looking.

Also, for a heater,powerheads,return pump,and skimmer... I hear one watt per gallon and twice your tank size in gallons,ect. How do you determine how many watts or gph,ect?

Yeah! keep looking, you'll find one. Even if you spend a little bit to get a new tank. It's worth it IF you planned on keeping it a while. I had my 125G tank (FW) for 20 years and then converted to SW and sold it last year due to the move.
Anyway-
for a 90 or 120 (I'd go with 2x150W+100W as a spare/emergency)
I've always undersize and run multiple in case of failure. Seem to me newer heaters failed quite often these day, even the expensive brand one.

powerheads: Jebao RW-8's are cheap way to go and cheap to replace.
return pump: (mag 7 or mag 9) should be plenty for a 90 or 120G. IMO, they are the most reliable pumps.
Skimmer: example, AVAST CS-1, ASM G-2/G-3, ATI bubble master (you can get them used even just the body and get new pump.

[Salty168]

Originally Posted by leviburns89

I recently watched a very good video. It stated that the one time cost of a tank should be an oversight. The $200-$300 you spend on the right tank will be a drop in the bucket, and once you have it up and running, you will never even remember.

It's like having a kid, once that baby is out, nothing else matters

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Do you know the name of the video?

[Busapro2013]

Originally Posted by FindingEmily

You can go as cheap as you want. Doesn't mean things will work or last though. If you go used and DIY, maybe you can get away with an initial start up cost of a few thousand. I decided to jump in with both feet and in the first 3 months have spent around $5,500(USD) for my 29g BioCube. Like people before have said, this isn't a good hobby for those who hate spending money.

you spent $5500 for a 29gallon cube lol,your crazy,i would love to see what u spent 5500 on a cube