Start up cost

[Busapro2013]

i dont get how you guys spend so much,i bought a used acrylic tank 300 gallon craigslist 500 bucks tank stand top and all paid 100 bucks to re polish,went to miami bought 200 pounds of base rock $1 pound 200 bucks, bought 75 pounds base rock 2.50 pound
5 bags live sand 18 bucks each,skimmer bought used rated for 400 gallon 100 bucks

sump made it my self cheap cheap,couple more hundred for some other stuff

and i dont see how people want to spend over 2-3k for a new tank if you can buy acrylic your self for few hundred and build your own tank,i dont do glass too heavy cant remove scratches

people are saying they spent $5500 on a 29 gallon cube that is crazy where??,i dont see a cube 29 gallon fitting enough fish and coral for anyone to spend 5500 dollars..

[leviburns89]

Originally Posted by Salty168

Do you know the name of the video?

Originally Posted by Salty168

Do you know the name of the video?

Watch the full vid. It's super informative.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...2jqQmV7W2AxBTg

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[leviburns89]

Originally Posted by Busapro2013

i dont get how you guys spend so much,i bought a used acrylic tank 300 gallon craigslist 500 bucks tank stand top and all paid 100 bucks to re polish,went to miami bought 200 pounds of base rock $1 pound 200 bucks, bought 75 pounds base rock 2.50 pound
5 bags live sand 18 bucks each,skimmer bought used rated for 400 gallon 100 bucks

sump made it my self cheap cheap,couple more hundred for some other stuff

and i dont see how people want to spend over 2-3k for a new tank if you can buy acrylic your self for few hundred and build your own tank,i dont do glass too heavy cant remove scratches

people are saying they spent $5500 on a 29 gallon cube that is crazy where??,i dont see a cube 29 gallon fitting enough fish and coral for anyone to spend 5500 dollars..

$5500 is a bit much. But you listed almost 2k not including testing supplies, and ongoing maintenance costs. So round that up to 3k for the full year.

Still the cost of a small car. If you don't go big, go home.

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[E46er]

Originally Posted by Busapro2013

i dont get how you guys spend so much,i bought a used acrylic tank 300 gallon craigslist 500 bucks tank stand top and all paid 100 bucks to re polish,went to miami bought 200 pounds of base rock $1 pound 200 bucks, bought 75 pounds base rock 2.50 pound
5 bags live sand 18 bucks each,skimmer bought used rated for 400 gallon 100 bucks

sump made it my self cheap cheap,couple more hundred for some other stuff

and i dont see how people want to spend over 2-3k for a new tank if you can buy acrylic your self for few hundred and build your own tank,i dont do glass too heavy cant remove scratches

people are saying they spent $5500 on a 29 gallon cube that is crazy where??,i dont see a cube 29 gallon fitting enough fish and coral for anyone to spend 5500 dollars..

My 120 tank was 550 my lights were 600 my 2 snapper pumps 700 my oowerheads were 400 my sump was 100 my plumbing supplies were 300 my controller and auto feeder were a 1000 my skimmer was 500 couple heaters mixing powerheads 55gal drum say 200 rocks and sand say 300 wood stand and slate stone were 500 RODI 200 dosing pumps and auto top off were 350. Test kits were 250 refractometer 50

Doesn't include salt coral fish ongoing maintenance I'm at $6000 and I did everything myself. That's my current equipment and it doesn't include the MH fixture and 20 bulbs I've gone through the endless pumps powerheads heaters salt ect.

[exsequor]

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.

Holy cow. I'm from california, but even where I'm from I can't imagine it being that high. Must be a San Francisco thing lol. I mean, afterall, for what you can get a studio for, I can get a mansion.

So there's bound to be a price difference for reef gear especially livestock.

I have $500 maaaaybe invested in my LED/PC 29g BioCube with 60 pound+ live rock. That is also including all gear and live stock including a 55w Orbit LED with remote control.


Heck, I've got a fully stocked 36.25x24x13 tank with around 80-100 pounds of live rock and 40+ pounds of live sand (probably more). I've got over 40 types of coral in the tank and 9 fish. 35 or so hermits, 12 turbos, 5 misc purchased snails, 6 nar snails, 4 emerald crabs, CBB shrimp, christmas tree worm, 3 large F.D., and I've got maybe $3,000 into it. Probably closer to $2,000. I'll have to tally all my receipts for it.

The tank is 6 months old, so I didn't just buy small frags, either.

Here's a quick pic:

[Ou8me2]

Honestly if I was you why not plan your build and buy a little at a time spread out over several months? It may take you 6 months to get everything, but it's a good way to not have to throw down all the money at once. I actually know several people here that are doing it, including myself.

I see killer tank deals for larger tanks in my area. There has been someone trying to sell a 220-gallon reef ready tank and stand for $400.00 and no it's not junk. It just needs cleaned up a little. If I had the room, I'd jump on it myself. I just honestly don't have the space or place for it.

I'm a firm believer of planning a build and don't get cheap stuff you know you will just eventually replace. You just increase the cost and waste money that way. I'm talking absolute necessary things and a Apex is not a must have. I plan on having one, but the tank will fine without it.

[gigamanx]

I'd like to think I'm frugal, not cheap and this is my second tank setup. I am cycling now, so my start up costs are pretty much over. I craigslisted the 135g tank with stand, built a sump using a petco 40g tank and bought the rest. I am moving liverock from my other tank, so I didn't need to buy that.

Tank+Stand = $400
Sump+Glass for baffles = $200
Skimmer = $200
RO/DI = $80
Mag 12 return pump off ebay = $70
Various plumbing, bulkheads, and junk = $150
Sand + Salt = $250
WP40 Wavemaker = $60
A real wavemaker because the WP40 broke already = $150



I have no ATO, no automated systems..I use the cheap $10 wall timers to turn everything on and off and I haven't bought lights yet because I'm using some old Coralife ones. I'm guessing $300 for some black box LEDs before I put any fish in there.

So yeah...$2,000 is pretty accurate and now that I've added it all up, maybe I should never have begun haha.

Edit: I forgot heaters.. +$60

oh, and my current 55g bow front is very soon to be for sale if you want to drive to Harrisburg, PA

[lpsouth1978]

This is the basic costs involved in my current system and all costs are approximate. We did start will ALL new equipment, so going used would save 50-60%, but still a LOT of money invested.

300g DD tank - $1600
90g tank + glass for sump baffles - $400
55g ATO reservoir - $55
ATO system - $150
Return Pump - $150
Wave Makers - $200
Dosing Pumps - $100
Skimmer - $700
Heaters - $100
Temp controller - $100
Lights - $3500 (custom Build LED)
Light hanging system (custom built) - $300
Stand - $2500
Plumbing - $150
320lbs Live sand - $300
200lbs Dry Rock - $600
Testing Equip, nets, lids, food, salt, etc... - $400
RO/DI - $300 (300 GPD)
Fish and corals - $5000
Brute Trash cans - $150
Mixing pumps - $100
QT system - $1000
Electricity and water for the first year - $1700

Total = $19,555

I am sure there are more costs that I have not accounted for, but this should cover a good portion of it. This hobby can get VERY expensive very fast.

[OCReeferr]

If you want to get a good idea of how much your tank is going to cost, you can follow a couple steps.

Step 1: Buy a tank
Step 2: Fill it with $20 bills
Step 3: Pour in gasoline
Step 4: Ignite

That's about how much this hobby will cost you!! It's going to be the most expensive piece of art you will ever own.

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[Protoavis]

It depends on size and what you're doing with it really.
My main tank (3ftx2ftx2.5ft low iron on 3 sides....height for seahorses) was a custom build for $800
built stand myself (puttied joints and sanded many times, then covered several times in pond liner, no visible joints hurrah!) around $70
sump = $190
low profile overflow = $120
dry rock = $300
tunze powerheads + controller = $900
rodi (and around 3 years worth of replacements) = $300
lights (leds) = $300
plumbing = $100
chiller = $500
life (horses, macros, corals, gorgonians ,etc) = approx $500

I think that's about it, so total was around $4080 (AUD)

[Ou8me2]

1500 to 2000 is possible for smaller tanks and maybe less. I remember a while back SC Aquariums had the 50 PNP cube tank for $649.00 free shipping, they raised it to almost 800 now. That is a good starting point because it comes with the starfire glass tank, stand, sump, skimmer and all the plumping and return pumps etc. Obviously, you'll need some lights, sand, test kits, something to test salinity, salt and some powerheads. So you could easily get started for 1500 or under as long as you aren't blowing money on vortechs and high end led lighting.

Also you could go this route for 679.99 for a Nuvo Fusion 40 Gallon Aquarium Starter Tank Kit from BRS.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/nuvo-f...-tank-kit.html

Everything you need to get started with a 40 gallon saltwater tank in one package. Includes:

Nuvo Fusion 40 Aquarium
40 lbs of Reef Saver rock
40 lbs of Special Grade Arag-Alive! sand
Hikari Marine S Pellet Fish Food
HW-Marinemix Reefer salt mix
250ml bottle of Instant Ocean Bio-Spira
500mL Brightwell Erase - CL Dechlorinator
Refractometer with calibration solution
1 HMA-S 150w Digital Heater from Finnex
1 HPS-100 Digital Heater from Finnex
Hydor Koralia Evolution 600
Tunze Care Magnet Nano 0220.010

You would you could save building your own stand. You would need test kits, lighting and a skimmer.

I'd recommend joining a local reef club and you can find buying, swaping and trading groups on facebook for corals.

[Salty168]

Originally Posted by OCReeferr

If you want to get a good idea of how much your tank is going to cost, you can follow a couple steps.

Step 1: Buy a tank
Step 2: Fill it with $20 bills
Step 3: Pour in gasoline
Step 4: Ignite

That's about how much this hobby will cost you!! It's going to be the most expensive piece of art you will ever own.

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I hope it's not that bad.lol

[OCReeferr]

Originally Posted by Salty168

I hope it's not that bad.lol

It can get pretty pricey. Like a lot of others said, when you find out what equipment you want, look on forums and craigslist to find something used or wait until it goes on sale. That would be my best suggestion to keep the cost down. Patience is the key. Everything good in this hobby takes time.

[jstack]

Originally Posted by Salty168

Hello

I wanted to ask you guys what you think the start up cost of a 90 gallon tank if I buy only the necessary things and were to buy the tank and equipment used?(tank,stand,rock,sand,lights,ps,rodi unit,heaters,powerheads,ect) Also what would be the maintenance cost for a year.(lights,salt,rodi filters,food,ect)

What is the minimum budget one could be run on?

lol you asked the wrong forum I refer to this forum as reef epeen where everyone brags about costs you have some people who spent 5k on a 30g tank.
fun fact these people are the ones on craiglist a year later after they give up on trying to solve a small problem but can't get thru the equitment difficulties

[Salty168]

How big is the difference in coral room from a 40b and a 90? Im thinking pretty big but i thought i'd ask.

[leviburns89]

Originally Posted by Salty168

How big is the difference in coral room from a 40b and a 90? Im thinking pretty big but i thought i'd ask.

Again, skip that and get the 120. It's 2ft deep × 4ft long, and like 22"? high.

Say the 40b costs you $1500 to set up, the 90 will cost a little more, maybe $1650, but the 120 could only cost $1900, and in the end you have the tank you will want for years and years. Remember, years and years. So if you wanna do something better to play for the end result.

Not telling you what to do, but if I had to do it all over again, that's the route I would choose. As many other reefers would agree.

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[JohnnyHildo]

Originally Posted by Salty168

What exactly do you mean?

i gather he means does your lfs sell gently used aquarium supplies.
another option is to see if there is a local aquatic society that you can join nearby. the auctions at my local one have all kinds of things and depending on the month a person could get 50% of the stuff they need to get a system going.

[jstack]

Originally Posted by leviburns89

Again, skip that and get the 120. It's 2ft deep × 4ft long, and like 22"? high.

Say the 40b costs you $1500 to set up, the 90 will cost a little more, maybe $1650, but the 120 could only cost $1900, and in the end you have the tank you will want for years and years. Remember, years and years. So if you wanna do something better to play for the end result.

Not telling you what to do, but if I had to do it all over again, that's the route I would choose. As many other reefers would agree.

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actually the 90 would be about the same literally the same as the 120 as you would use the same equitment for both 2 lights of course and any skimmer that should be fine for a 90 should be ok for a 120 so yea 120 is the best buy

[Salty168]

Yeah, I agree that the 120 is the better size. I do hear stories about people who here kicking themselves because they went with the 90 and not the 120. And if I can setup a 120 for $1900 I would be happy.

[flooddc]

Originally Posted by jstack

lol you asked the wrong forum I refer to this forum as reef epeen where everyone brags about costs you have some people who spent 5k on a 30g tank.
fun fact these people are the ones on craiglist a year later after they give up on trying to solve a small problem but can't get thru the equitment difficulties

lol! I think you're right on.

OP: Stick with the 120G and start building up your equipment. Patience and you will find good deal. In this hobby, you must have patience to be successful. You can find good deal on the sale section or craigslist. I don't know where you located, but here is Washington DC area and surrounding vicinity, I have seen quite a bit of full set up for sale for very decent price.

[leviburns89]

And you would have time on your side, it would allow you to comfortably own tangs and other large tank species.

It has almost the same footprint as a 55g, but over twice the volume of water. Such a good choice.

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[Bruce51]

LOL If my wife new how much I've spent in the last year...building a 40b dt with a 40b sump...I've spent around 800$ dollars so far, lights, tanks,skimmer,heaters,50pounds marko rocks & 40 pounds sand, getting ready to build stand, ro/di + booster bump,, now looking at controllers for heaters and fans,, almost forgot ATO

[leviburns89]

I've learned that when the wife asks, always say, "I got a deal, traded some of my old stuff, and ended up paying $10". When in reality, I just spent $120 on a pair of designer clownfish..

Lol white lies

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[Salty168]

Originally Posted by leviburns89

And you would have time on your side, it would allow you to comfortably own tangs and other large tank species.

It has almost the same footprint as a 55g, but over twice the volume of water. Such a good choice.

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Yeah, I do want a yellow tang. I only have one spot to put the tank, so the max I csn have is a 4 foot tank.

[leviburns89]

Well a 120 is perfect then

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