Need help, new to salt water

[BamBamFishKid]

Hi,

After a while of keeping freshwater fish an idea popped into my mind, what about saltwater?
So i did some research about costs and found that it wouldn't cost as much as i thought.
How much would it cost to setup a basic reef tank (20 gallons.) what fish/ inverts could i keep in it? I don't want to spend too much on fish but i want color. What should i get? I dont want to spend over like 150 for the whole setup but i know it will be hard to stay on budget. if you could recomend a filter,fish,inverts, ect that would be great.

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

$150?? Won't get you anywhere

 

[carey]

I hate to say it but you are probably looking at at least double $150 and that doesn't include livestock. :-(

if you don't want any corals you can save a bit of money as you won't need powerful lights.

You'll probably go through the $150 just for the tank, filter, powerheads, heater and light plus a small bag of salt. Then you have to consider sand, a hydrometer to test salinity, test kit, rock both live and dead. ( you could save a few bucks here too if you used all dead rock but it would take a bit longer to cycle and you wouldnt have any neat hitchhikers)

 

[tonedogz]

$150 is out of the question two nice fish and a coral will cost you that much

 

[nickhendrix007]

Agreed. Clownfish alone are often $70+ each for example. Or a protein skimmer itself can run $100-200 depending on the brand

 

[obscurereef]

So i did some research about costs and found that it wouldn't cost as much as i thought.

Yeah. That idea fades quickly once you walk in a fish store .

The least expensive tank setup would be:
used/on sale 20 gallon-$20
DIY stand (wook & paint)-$50ish (free if you already have furni to support it)
filter rated at least double tank size (say AquaClear 50)- $38+$5 shipping
AquaClear 50 Power Filter - Up to 50 gal. | thatpetplace.com
Glass heater (titanium is preferred, but not necessary) -$21
Submersible Aquarium Heater - 50W - 9 in. - up to 20 Gallon
25 (might want 50) lbs sand-$20-24
30 lbs dry rock usually at least $2.5/lb-$75 BRS Reef Saver Dry Aquarium Live Rock - Bulk Reef Supply
light (largest investment), say 120 watt ebay LED -$120
hydrometer-$10
5 gal salt mix-$60-70
RO/DI filter=$200 or buy RO/DI water from LFS or RO from grocery store
Then there's maintenance & food

You're looking at minimum $349 not including livestock! Sounds expensive, but compared to other systems, it's fairly cheap. If you can find a used system you'll save a lot. Most saltwater fish are $20 ea. Coral frags are usually $10-30. It really adds up fast!

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124
Love the midas blenny, purple firefish, & gobies are always great.

 

[BamBamFishKid]

Well i already have a 20 gallon tank, and a filter, i also have a hood, but not lights meant for coral(dont want coral).

 

[BamBamFishKid]

And for fish i was just going to get some shrimp and damsels.

 

[Nosaj81]

you would need live, rock dry rock is cheeper and with a proper cycle it becomes loaded with bacteria, i would skip the damsels and go with clown fish. get the rock,salt,sand, and powerheads set the tank up let it cycle. once cycled add a couple fish, let the bacteria catch up, add the shrimp,

 

[Mebbid]

If you don't need lighting for corals then most of the cost is removed from the setup. I would still go with a fairly robust lighting system just for the visual aspect. Maybe a dual t5ho or t5he. I had a dual t5ho over my 20g tank and it was just about the minimum amount of light I would want over a reef tank. It also let me keep soft corals if you decide to change your mind down the road.

As for the dry rock / live rock I would skip the live and go with dry. The live rock is unnecessary.

Other than that the figures are a fairly good ballpark average.