fishiegirl90
Aquarium Advice Newbie
how much does it cost for a 10 gallon salt water tank . i already have the filter . how about a 20 gallon 8)
cost of salt aquarium ?
- Thread starter fishiegirl90
- Start date
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austinsdad
Aquarium Advice Addict
Welcome to AA!! 
I'm not one to help with pricing that kinda stuff, but I'd recommend you go with a 20g or more. Get prices for a 20g and maybe a 40 or 55 too.
Read Robert Fenner's Conscientious Marine Auqarist (available from the library here) for some good beginner insight that will help you decide what kinda of setup you may target.
Good luck!
I'm not one to help with pricing that kinda stuff, but I'd recommend you go with a 20g or more. Get prices for a 20g and maybe a 40 or 55 too.
Read Robert Fenner's Conscientious Marine Auqarist (available from the library here) for some good beginner insight that will help you decide what kinda of setup you may target.
Good luck!
JPloman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Welcome to AA Fishy, I am new too!
I have had a salt aquarium for a while and I can tell you the start up costs for a tank can be very expensive because you need so many items to have a healthy tank. Here are all the items you will need:
Live Rock (I think its 5lbs per gallon of water)
Salt
RO Water
Protein Skimmer
Water treatment chemicals
I would also recommend what Austin suggested. I can tell you I read everything I can get my hands on now. I spend hours reading threads on this site and other sites to better understand my tank. I have spend around $3000 just in the past 8 months on my tank. I have an 85 gallon tank with a sump and protein skimmer.
I have had a salt aquarium for a while and I can tell you the start up costs for a tank can be very expensive because you need so many items to have a healthy tank. Here are all the items you will need:
Live Rock (I think its 5lbs per gallon of water)
Salt
RO Water
Protein Skimmer
Water treatment chemicals
I would also recommend what Austin suggested. I can tell you I read everything I can get my hands on now. I spend hours reading threads on this site and other sites to better understand my tank. I have spend around $3000 just in the past 8 months on my tank. I have an 85 gallon tank with a sump and protein skimmer.
StickyTuba
Aquarium Advice Activist
Welcome!! 
I would also recommend the 20 gallon because this hobby is addictive and you will want a larger tank sooner than you think!
I have a 12 gallon Nano-Cube and I think that I have spent upwards of $350.00 or more.
My tank cost about $100-$150 (I'm not really sure because it was a Christmas Present).
But then I spent almost $140 on LR and LS.
I purchased my H2O from my LFS because it was easier for me. (So lets guess $40 there)
My hermits and snails ran me about $20
My shrimp and my clown were $75.00
I have two Kenya Tree Corals and I think that those were $30
Plus I purchased Calcium Buffers and testing kits as well as odds and ends for about another $50.00
SO...if I add these numbers up I get between $$415 and $465.00
While this seems like a lot it was not all spent at once and was spread out over two months.
The biggest investment if LR, LS and the aquarium.
Hope that this information helps.
Ask Lots of Questions. This site is the best place to find answers.
Good Luck and Have Fun.
I would also recommend the 20 gallon because this hobby is addictive and you will want a larger tank sooner than you think!
I have a 12 gallon Nano-Cube and I think that I have spent upwards of $350.00 or more.
My tank cost about $100-$150 (I'm not really sure because it was a Christmas Present).
But then I spent almost $140 on LR and LS.
I purchased my H2O from my LFS because it was easier for me. (So lets guess $40 there)
My hermits and snails ran me about $20
My shrimp and my clown were $75.00
I have two Kenya Tree Corals and I think that those were $30
Plus I purchased Calcium Buffers and testing kits as well as odds and ends for about another $50.00
SO...if I add these numbers up I get between $$415 and $465.00
While this seems like a lot it was not all spent at once and was spread out over two months.
The biggest investment if LR, LS and the aquarium.
Hope that this information helps.
Ask Lots of Questions. This site is the best place to find answers.
Good Luck and Have Fun.
RMPD109
Aquarium Advice FINatic
What kind of setup are you looking for? Maybe a FO or FOWLR or even a reef. As stated above the bigger the tank the easier it will be to maintain. Smaller tanks are harder to keep constant levels within. I would recommend 1.5-2 lbs LR per gallon and a DSB of 4 inches. This will be all the filtration you need(no mechanical filtration reqiured). Add a heater a protien skimmer and some powerheads and your setup is complete. Of course you still need testing equipment and salt but that will be maintenance items.
klam
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I would say it cost around $30/per gallon for startup including live rock, sand, salt, hydrometer, etc, this estimated cost does not include live stock. That's if you buy brand new equipment. You can cut cost by buying used.
JPloman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Where do you guys get these great prices on tank stuff??? I must be getting ripped off somewhere. With the cost of maintance and the errors I have made with the tank that have resulted in costly repairs (cyno bloom).
Steves55
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Wow!
Prices seem to have fallen. When I set up my 2 reef tanks 7-8 years ago, I'd bet I spent over 7 grand. Heck a titanium chiller was a grand back then. Thank god it still works great!
Prices seem to have fallen. When I set up my 2 reef tanks 7-8 years ago, I'd bet I spent over 7 grand. Heck a titanium chiller was a grand back then. Thank god it still works great!
anna8297
Aquarium Advice Regular
My first tank was a 10 gal. We're still working on getting our larger tank set up. The 10 was an experiment to make sure we could do it before we invested a lot of money into a large tank. We had a 10 gal tank with gravel and a standard hood. We spent about $20 on salt, about $45 on 8 pounds of LR, bought two Penguin HOB filters. I spent about $15 on a water test kit. We don't use a protein skimmer or RO water, but we have a VERY light biological load with only two small fish and a chocolate chip starfish. All in all, including fish, we spent about $150 setting up our tank over a period of about 3 months. So far, we haven't had any trouble with detritus in the gravel, and the two filters do a great job keeping the water clean, although they aren't very attractive. Our fish seem happy enough in their home, but we can't wait to get them into the bigger tank. I'm still learning myself, but my 10 gal has been set up for about 1 1/2 years, and doing fine without spending a fortune. Good luck with your tank.
malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd say $20 per gallon is the typical setup cost, but it'll increase from there if you add optional stuff like a refugium, or UV sterilizer.
$10 a gallon? That sounds like silicate sand and dead rock...but it can work (albeit very slow to start up and get it matured)
And for live rock, it's 1-2lbs per gallon of water, not 5lbs per gallon.
$10 a gallon? That sounds like silicate sand and dead rock...but it can work (albeit very slow to start up and get it matured)
And for live rock, it's 1-2lbs per gallon of water, not 5lbs per gallon.
miller_time
Aquarium Advice Activist
thank you very much everyone for taking the time to remind me how much money i'm throwing down the drain in this business....now i'm all depressed...i need a drink...what's 20 x 120gals? ... oh my god I'm gonna puke!
austinsdad
Aquarium Advice Addict
Make sure you drink afterwards. Why let all that good booze go to waste?
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