Wanting a saltwater tank!!!!?!?

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KKAY27

Aquarium Advice Freak
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Oct 21, 2012
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Mississippi GIRL!!
Ok so i been contemplating if i want a saltwater tank! I have no idea about them! I do know that they are very beautiful and i want one!! Im willing to learn and do all i can for one! I love my 55g freshwater tank but i want something different! I would love to know how much they cost! I was thinking 30g for a beginner size! I need to know like how much the tank and filter and all the stuff that you have to have for a saltwater tank! I would love to know about the corals and what types of fish i could have! Im not picky but i love clownfish and gobys starfish! Any kind of saltwater fish i love! If anybody has any information about cost how much trouble they are and information about fish i would love to know and learn about it! This would be my christmas present from my parents so i need to know! :)
 
Ok so i been contemplating if i want a saltwater tank! I have no idea about them! I do know that they are very beautiful and i want one!! Im willing to learn and do all i can for one! I love my 55g freshwater tank but i want something different! I would love to know how much they cost! I was thinking 30g for a beginner size! I need to know like how much the tank and filter and all the stuff that you have to have for a saltwater tank! I would love to know about the corals and what types of fish i could have! Im not picky but i love clownfish and gobys starfish! Any kind of saltwater fish i love! If anybody has any information about cost how much trouble they are and information about fish i would love to know and learn about it! This would be my christmas present from my parents so i need to know! :)

I can tell you what I did for a $25 gallon SW.

25 gallon kit: $99 on sale.
DIY stand: about $100.
10 gallon tank for refugium: $12
Sheet of acrylic to divide the refugium into 3 sections: $20
Live sand: $30 ( I think)
30 lbs live rock: about $200
Proteins skimmer: $150
HOB overflow: $40
Pump: $120
Incidentals ( hoses, return duck-bill, etc.): $25

2 ocelleris clowns: $70
Diamond goby: $30
Banghai cardinal: $30
Purple firefish: $30
7 Various coral frags: $30/each for $210
Low end (but suitable) LED light; $150
Skunk cleaner shrimp: $30
Various snails and crabs for clean-up crew: $40

That's all I can think of, but I'm sure I've missed something. That totals out to about $1400. YUCK!! That's the first time I've done that math!!!
 
My first reef added up to 5000$. Its a 37g. Heres what everything cost me-
Tank,stand off craigslist-250$
Live Rock-700$ as i over did it and got 80lbs over time)
Live Sand-20lbs for 20$
Lights-400$ (4 coralife T5s)
Test kits,refractometer,ect...- 130$
RODI unit-250$ (5 stage BRS chloramine unit +)
Powerheads-120$ (2 koralia 1150s)
Additional things-250$
Salt (560g worth IO reef crystals)- 180$
And all the mistakes ive made with fish and coral, ect...-400$
Filtration-100$ (marine land c-222 cansiter filter)
Skimmer-190$ (CPR bak pak HOB skimmer)
Heater-50$ (ehiem jager 150W)
And then i wont add the cost of the fish and coral ive got as you will most likley not get the same stuff.
Also alot more small things that add up over time (QT tank,foods, filters,carbon,GFO, ect...)

EDIT: just saw you wanted to learn about all the costs so here is my stock of corals and fish and invertabrates-
Flame angel- 60$
2 Oc.clowns-40$
2 purple fire fish-50$
Starry blenny-30$
Valentini puffer-35$
Corals-
Torch-45$
All my zoas and pallys-180$
Polyps-50$
SPS-80$
GSP-60$
Ricordeas-130$
Monti's-50$
Chalices-30$
Brains-80$
Frags, and other small corals-200$

CUC-
10 dwarf zebra hermits- 2$ each
10 red leg hermits-2$ each
8 blue leg hermits-2$ each
3 red bandit snails-3$ each
2 mexican turbo snails-3$ each
1 caribbean porcelian crab-11$ each
3 emerald crabs-7$ each
1 cleaner shrimp-30$ each
A bunch of hitch hikers i got on my rock for free (snails,crabs, and other little critters)

Its a very time consuming and addicting hobby, i am now full SW after converting my 20 long into a reef a few weeks ago. I have the 37g mix reef, a 60g cube mix reef, and the 20 long SPS tank. Not to mention a 10g QT. its not too hard just takes alot of time and money!!!
 
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Shop around online dr foster and smith is a good start. Seems like some of these prices for equipment, fish and corals are on the high end! Do it as a build little by little and you will find better prices. Power heads 1050 $35 gobies $15,
 
Shop around online dr foster and smith is a good start. Seems like some of these prices for equipment, fish and corals are on the high end! Do it as a build little by little and you will find better prices. Power heads 1050 $35 gobies $15,

I use LA for info on fish and invertabrates but their shipping fees are giant! I wanted a yellow watchman for my 20 and was about to check out when i saw that shipping was 60$! Its like that for all the states in the U.S.A except for hawaii,alaska, and some others... The fish itself was only 20$ so 80$ for a 20$ fish. Free shipping on all orders of live fish above 300$
 
My first tank was a 46 gallon reef Being that it was my first tank I bought a lot of stuff that I really didn't need thought I did total of that tank was around $2000 current tank is a 90 gallon soon to be reef it just started a month or to ago I have 750 in it the tank sump pumps stand and lighting I got for 450 off Craigslist. Saved lot of money going that way. Just be sure the tank holds water that's the only problem with buying used
 
IMO you can setup a nice 30 gallon sw tank with easy light for $500 or less excluding livestock.
 
Wow. People are quoting high prices.

If you search around a bit you can find prices a lot lower than stated here.

For example:
Dry rock - $3 / lb - bulk reef supply
120w taotronic light $120 - ebay
Koralia evolution powerhead x2 - $60 - big als pets
Substrate - $1 / lb - drs foster and smith
100w jaegar heater - $23 - big als pets
Testing equipment - $40 - $160 depending on what you want.
Ro / Di - $130 - bulk reef supply

Refugium - add approx $250 for drilling, pump, tank, and bits.

A skimmer is something that can be added at a later date on a tank this size. Especially if you are running a refugium.
 
29 gallon-free
Power head-$53
Sand-$49
Rock-$50 or so
About 100 lbs
Heater- $30
Original light-twin bulb t-5- $125
New led lights $499

Can be done really cheap like I did originally but then u get the big and get addicted. Second tank Is now running and I have led lights for that one as well
 
The reason mine costed so much is because i bought some things allowing me to get 2 more SW tanks. It can be done for about 1000$ though, i kinda feel dumb for spending 5000$ on a 37g... Lol
 
It all depends- if you want all brand new and top of the line than it can be super expensive. It also depends on your goal- if you want a huge sps reef than it's gonna be a lot more than a medium size fowlr and you can always turn it into a reef down the road.

For my current tank I went all used and DIY except for the lights and skimmer.

75 g tank from craigslist- $50 but is scratched up and I had to re-seal it with new silicone
DIY stand & hood- $100
Mag 7-$70 but have seen used for $25
Coralife skimmer $120
2 x Tao LEDs- $235
20g long (sump) $20
Acrylic for DIY overflows, glass for baffles- $25 scrap from hardware store
Plumbing supplies- $30
Live rock- $250 50 lbs or so at an avg of $5/lb (would buy from lfs on sale)
Base rock- free! Got at least 80lbs from uncle who had a reef years ago. In DT and sump.
Refractometer- $30 from eBay but started with hydrometer which are $5-10
Test kits- $50 for API SW master and reef kit $30 for redsea mg kit
Powerheads- $100 for 1050 & 750 hydor koralias
Heaters- $40 150 w jäger eheim and a free 150 w I got from a friend not sure what brand

QT: 10g, basic little hob filter, small heater all for $50 from Walmart.

I don't make water yet so I buy 15g SW every 2 weeks (change 7 g per week) for $15 and 5 g rodi per week for $1.50.

My next purchases/ upgrades will be rodi unit from brs for $130 and eventually a better skimmer maybe reef octopus which is $350.

I buy $5-10 coral frags bc I like to watch them grow out and in case they die.

So it looks like my equipment was $1170

+ $10 per week for water

Livestock I've probably dropped $200-300 over the 2 years since I've started.

I'm sure I forgot a few odds and ends but that pretty much sums it up.
 
I tried to save money. Bought things on sale and online. I didn't buy used, because with all the electric things sitting in water, and potential failure, I just didn't feel comfortable buying something others were trying to get rid of.

Amazon generally sells aquarium supplies for a nice price. My overflow and skimmer would have been much more than what I paid if I'd gone to the LFS. Plus, I bought EShopps brand and they aren't cheep. A similar sized skimmer by another company would have been less expensive, but the EShopps was the only nano with good reviews. Many of the nano skimmers just don't work well.

My big opportunity for saving may be the live rock. Dry rock would have been less expensive.
 
I can tell you what I did for a $25 gallon SW. 25 gallon kit: $99 on sale. DIY stand: about $100. 10 gallon tank for refugium: $12 Sheet of acrylic to divide the refugium into 3 sections: $20 Live sand: $30 ( I think) 30 lbs live rock: about $200 Proteins skimmer: $150 HOB overflow: $40 Pump: $120 Incidentals ( hoses, return duck-bill, etc.): $25 2 ocelleris clowns: $70 Diamond goby: $30 Banghai cardinal: $30 Purple firefish: $30 7 Various coral frags: $30/each for $210 Low end (but suitable) LED light; $150 Skunk cleaner shrimp: $30 Various snails and crabs for clean-up crew: $40 That's all I can think of, but I'm sure I've missed something. That totals out to about $1400. YUCK!! That's the first time I've done that math!!!
You did forget salt , RODI system or RODI water .
 
You did forget salt , RODI system or RODI water .
Yep, I bought 5 gallon jugs of SW for a while for about 6 bucks a pop. Now I buy RO/DI water and use salt I buy. There are a variety, but I use Red Sea. It's a bit high, but I like it.

I also forgot the power head. It was just about $40 or so.
 
I try to steer new hobbyists towards used setups. There are several reasons why. 1) it's cheaper and usually gets you up and running 2) you don't have to worry so much about piecing a new setup together. 3) although it may not be the exact setup you want, it allows you to upgrade the tank as you grow with it. Obviously if you are just getting started into the sw hobby, you aren't gonna have a need for a digital dosing pump, up flow reactors, and the such. I paid $250 for my entire 125g setup (complete with a few fish) and I've spent prob $2000 in upgrading it. I'm actually getting ready to spend another big amount in January.
 
I try to steer new hobbyists towards used setups. There are several reasons why. 1) it's cheaper and usually gets you up and running 2) you don't have to worry so much about piecing a new setup together. 3) although it may not be the exact setup you want, it allows you to upgrade the tank as you grow with it. Obviously if you are just getting started into the sw hobby, you aren't gonna have a need for a digital dosing pump, up flow reactors, and the such. I paid $250 for my entire 125g setup (complete with a few fish) and I've spent prob $2000 in upgrading it. I'm actually getting ready to spend another big amount in January.

That's exactly what I did .
I got the 75 gal tank for free ,
I had to upgrade the lights , but I bought it used from the same person I bought the first 70 lbs of rock from .
I went back after buying the rocks and bought the lights , skimmer , powerheads all for $120 lol
Including all the rocks , salt , fish and corals I think I am close to $3000 Over the last year .
 
Also if you can go bigger early that way you won't have to upgrade to another bigger tank in the future and it's easier the bigger you go.
 
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