Cost of SW aquarium?

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pm64971

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Aug 18, 2003
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Ontario Canada
Anybody have an estimate as to what it costs to start a SW aquarium?
Similarily, what does it cost to maintain a SW aquarium?
 
It really depends on what you put in your system. Its going to be cheaper to do a fish only tank than a fish only with live rock and much cheaper than doing a Reef setup.

I think the last estimate came to somewhere between $50-$100 per gal.

To maintain a SW tank you have your cost of the salt, electricty, water (if you use something other than tap water), food. Depending again on your setup and how frequently you do water changes your maintaince costs can be vastly different if you have a fish only setup or a reef.
 
Using those numbers, the 55 gallon tank that I want to build would cost between $2750 and $5500. That might be hard to swing!

Anybody have any ideas on how to do this for less?
 
It can't be done for less unless you want to do it right. We started our 55 gal tank 8 months ago and learned our lesson!

We started with $1000.00 tank and stand, canister pump, no skimmer, live sand, a few fish... It was a learning process and I wish I had known about this site earlier...a lot of our fish died during the learning process.

What we learned:

1. Large wet/dry filter works best because it gives the bacteria a place to grow and bacteria growth is ESSENTIAL when starting a new tank. Wet/dry filters are pricey.

2. You have to have an adequate protein skimmer.

3. You can't biologically overload the tank and must be careful to add only a fish or two at a time every couple of months until your tank is done cycling.

4. You have to test the water weekly in order to determine if your chemical levels are correct.

5. You have to change the filter weekly and clean the tank weekly during cycling. Cleaning involves removing problem algae and fanning the rocks and substrate with your hand so you can get the excess biological material "waterborne" so the protein skimmer can get at it.

6. You have to change 10-20% of the water on a monthly basis. And you should use bottled water.

7. You have to learn not to over or underfeed the fish for fish health AND tank health.

8. If you purchase a fish from a fish store, make the fish department helpers feed your fish before you purchase it (and you need to watch it eat) - don't buy a fish that isn't eating.

9. When you buy a fish at a fish store, make sure you are buying a healthy fish. Sometimes fish stores will "hold" a fish for you for 2 weeks after you have paid for it to ensure it is healthy. You can set up a small quarantine tank at home (which is pricey). Never purchase fish from a tank where other fish are dead on the bottom of it - even the tanks where there are lots of cheap damsels.

You CAN chance it and put the fish directly into your tank - but you risk all of your fish getting sick and dying if you introduce a sick fish into the system. It is very difficult and expensive to cure sick fish.


10. It takes TIME for a tank to "cycle" (meaning that there is enough bacteria growth to sustain the biological load). Cycling can take up to 6 months or sometimes longer. You have to be patient. You can't go out and buy a bunch of live rock, coral and fish - at the beginning one fish (or a few very small fish) and one rock. You HAVE to be patient.

11. Read and research as much as possible before you start your tank. Don't listen to store clerks until after you have done your research. You will hear a lot of conflicting advice - but once you become more knowledgable then you will know which store clerks to rely upon for advice and which ones not to rely upon.

12. Hold off on coral until the tank has cycled.

13. Make sure your fish, coral and invertebrate species are compatible - it is best to decide ahead of time what type of tank you want before you start buying. For example, DON'T buy an UNDULATED TRIGGER unless you want a one fish tank!!!


I don't know everything...and some of my advice could be wrong - but this was our experience. We lost a lot of fish after making some stupid mistakes. We learned our lesson. Fish are expensive...and it all adds up if you don't do it right the first time!!!
 
Sounds to me that ya'll are trying to scare off someone who is interested in the hobby. Sure it can be expensive and there are ways around that also. Patience is more valuable than money in this hobby. I dont see how you can say that a 55 gallon tank would run $2750-$5500 minimum. I have a 55 gallon that I started for less than $1000, a good bit lees in fact. Granted that will not be a coral tank, but that is not what was asked. He asked what would it cost to set a sw tank up. As long as you are patient and interested, then I think you should go for it. Just be a saavy shopper. Get to know your LFS owner. Ask around. There are less expensive ways to have a beautiful marine tank to enjoy without having to be a pro or totally immersed in sw aquaria. Try and have a little fun, guys.
 
BTW, it should NOT take 6 months to cycle a tank. More like 2-8 weeks. It DOES take a sw tank 6 months to become stable, but that is not what cycling is. Cycling builds your bacteria base to where it needs to be in order to handle the biological load of whatever may be in the tank.
 
Im not trying to scare anyone off. if that was my goal would I have helped create such a site as this? Probably not. It was asked how much it would cost to start a sw aqaurium.

If one was to go from nothing to full saltwater setup in 1 day or 1 month then thats the kind of cash one would be expected to need. The larger the setup the less per gal the setups gonna cost to some degree. The upper range of that cost esitmate is for a full blown reef setup with live sand, live rock and corals and the high intensity lights needed.

If you build up your system over a year then the percived cost of the tank is less cause the costs are spread out over a longer time.
 
Here is a topic started a while back with many responses as to what some people have spent to give you an idea of different setups and different costs.

As I said in my first post the type of setup you want is what is going to drive the costs. For a medium to large tank that is a reef its not uncommon to drop $500+ on lighting. For a medium system thats not going to be a reef then you dont need to spend any where near that on lighting. This is just one example of how the type of tank can affect the amount of $ spent.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=2811
 
So for a simple FOWLR starting setup, I would need the following:

55 gal tank,
salt mix,
test kit (I don't know what I should be testing for though),
protein skimmer (I don't know how to size this),
argonite sand (4 inches),
60 lb dry rock (what type: old coral, lava rock?)
40 lb LR (do I add this before or after I cycle the tank?)
lights (I don't know what kind: assume it depends on critters)
filter (again, don't know the requirements)
550 gph power heads (minimum of 3?)

Would this get me started, or have I missed something (other than the fish)?

After the tank cycles and becomes stable, I would like to add a hermit crab or two.
Later I would like to add some clownfish, a tang, and an some angle fish (maybe).

Is the above setup reasonable for these fish?

Could the setup be converted to a reef tank sometime down the road? Could I just add a piece of coral if my water quality was good enough or would I have to remove the LR?



So many questions... I hope you guys can address them all.

Thanks for your help
If anybody has any rules of thumb for sizing the components, I'd love to hear them.
 
Ok, it may or may not take $2,000 to start one, but, you have to consider, if you are going to do it right, do it right the first time... I have a 55 gal and I got the tank and stand for free. Right now, a year later, I can count at least $3,000 I have spent on it over time.. This would not have changed if I were to buy stuff all at once... So, this is not to scare anyone off. Everyone should know or should let anyone know, that to keep SW aquariums, it is double the cost of FW, if not, triple.

Lets do a breakdown...

55 gal Tank & Stand combo ( maybe find one for $199 on sale)
Canopy ( Maybe find one for $100)
Lights ( from $150 to $700) (Lets go with medium range and say $300)
Sump ( If chosen, DIY for $75 including overflow & 10 gal tank)(Prefab, $300) (Lets go with prefab $300)
LR ( Lets just say #45) ($199) (Without shipping $100)
Base Rock ( $60 HiRocks.com)
Sand ( If you find Southdown $5 per bag and at least 5 bags) (Carribsea Aragonite, 5 bags is going to be $200)
Powerheads X2 ( MaxiJet 1200 $50)

So, if you just go with the minimums,

$1,213.00 with Southdown sand
$1,408.00 with CarribSea Aragonite

This does not include Salt, Additives, Food, Fish, Inverts..... :wink:
 
My comment was more directed towards the comments of ShannonBad. Not to sling mud or anything, I just felt that a lot of the things said were based on opinion and stated more as fact. Some even false. Like the fact that you can only start with one rock.

10. It takes TIME for a tank to "cycle" (meaning that there is enough bacteria growth to sustain the biological load). Cycling can take up to 6 months or sometimes longer. You have to be patient. You can't go out and buy a bunch of live rock, coral and fish - at the beginning one fish (or a few very small fish) and one rock. You HAVE to be patient.

It is not true, you can buy as much rock as you want to start.

Also, even the matter of a skimmer is up to debate. I know it is recommended, but it is not essential. There are many successful tanks with no skimmer. I just think when something is an opinion, it should be stated as one.

BTW, fishfreek, I love the site. I have gained a lot of invaluable info off this site. I love ethe fact that we can all share our thoughts. And all info is welcome. I was more upset at that one post, I just thought there was a better way of sharing knowledge. But hey, what do I know.

Anyway, no hard feelings.
 
I'm not trying to scare anyone off, but it is important to be realistic.

Before you start spending, you want to have an idea of what you want your tank to end up being (reef tank or fish tank....big or small bio load).

If you want a very basic small bio load fish tank that has a layer of sand, fake plants, a few fish and a rock, then you are looking at a cheaper set up - especially if you buy a used tank.

For my personality, it was necessary to get a "classy" tank (full wood top and bottom) to house my big bio load reef community.



THE DECEPTION: The problem with owning a salt water tank is...although in the BEGINNING you might feel that you want a small bioload fish tank.....over time...as you learn more and more....the REEF ADDICTION sets in!!!! This is a reality for most sw aquarium owners and this should be accounted for when determining tank cost.

You may originally have intended to have a small bioload fish tank when you get your first live rock. Then all of a sudden you learn about algae and coraline algae. Then all of a sudden you find things living in and on your rock - things you never even thought existed!

Then you you decide it would finally be cool to get that anenome with the clownfish (the gateway "drug" to coral).... Now you have to get the proper lighting. Now buying coral is inevitable and that low end pump is no longer going to cut it!

So, although you might see people in here claiming that a cheap tank can be done - beware! I would hate to see you go "cheap" and buy all of the small stuff for a low bioload tank only to have to throw all of that stuff away because now you want a reef tank!
 
You do have me there. The "bug" will bite. Corals are just so pretty aren't they. And you really should look that far ahead. I think the point all of us ware trying to make is planning and patience are the two most important things. You can spend what u want, look like what u want to look like. But in the end, without that planning for the future and patience, in that case u can very possibly have a very expensive failure on your hands.
 
Macatua,

Now you ARE mudslinging and I ask what your problem is. I clearly stated that my advice could be incorrect as it was based upon my personal experience! Did you only read HALF of what I wrote!

As far as a skimmer goes, I do know that many experts mandate that you have one. My experience is that you have to have one to have a healthy reef.

As far as buying one rock in the beginning - this is again based upon my personal experience. IT doesn't make sense to buy a tank full of rocks if you eventually want to put live rock into the tank. One thing about aquariums (if you are starting out from scratch) is that an aquarium is a slow building process.

It is difficult to dip sick fish from a cycling or unstable tank if you have a tank full of rocks. It is difficult to locate dead fish if you have a tank full of rocks. Hopefully, a beginner won't accidentally kill any of his/her fish - but from my experience most people do.


And yes, cycling can be different from stabilization, but most literature I have read on the subject keep them as one in the same and refer to the entire process as cycling.


Maybe your experience is different - but I would appreciate it if you would not attack my posts and instead share YOUR OWN experiences instead.

Thank you!
 
This entire board is based on personal experience as well as sharing information gleaned from others as well as other sites.

Wether or not someone was responding to a particular post does not necessarily mean they were attacking that individual poster.

This is a friendly forum and nothing is gained from personal attacks or finger pointing.

Everyone's experience is different.

I can certainly disagree with a few things ShannonBad did in setting up her tank, but it's what she did and what she felt she learned.

I also don't think Macatua was slinging any mud.

We need to remember we're all here for the same purpose and to respect each others opinions, even if we feel they are wrong. When we feel they are wrong, we certainly welcome you to express that you disagree and give your reasons wether as personal experience or as identifiable evidence (through books or web site). But if the conversation regresses into personal attacks or "flames" the thread will be locked.
 
:(

IE just crashed and I lost my post. ARGH.

The jist of it was saying that the lighting costs that Tim gave where implying you using something brighter and more intense than standard florecent. Standard florecent bulbs are good for viewing fish and thats about it.
 
Again, as fishfreek stated, I was not mudslinging. I stated that I thought some of your messages were, IMO, false. I also think you gave some good advice, and if you read my last post I even gave you credit and agreed with the fact that the "bug" will bite. I am not out to make enemys. I think we have all had experiences good and bad. I was trying to let a aspiring hobbyist know that it was not NECESSARY to break the bank to have a wonderful aquarium. Again, no hard feelings.
 
Hm, Macatua where did I say what you say i said? Just seaking a clarification in that I never said what you assigned to me. Billyz did say that so im just clarifying it.

Now what is good advice by one is bad advice by another. lets all understand that how I setup a tank might not be how you setup a tank and how you do it might not be how someone else does it. There are very few "absolutes" in this hobby.

Now lets all get back to the item at hand.
 
as suggested, back to the topic:

I originaly got into the hobby by winning a bid in a local auction for a "mini-reef" which was a 20 gallon tank and a bunch of other "Stuff" to get it started. I bid just over $100 if I remember right.

I went to the store and ended up, "upgrading" the kit I won for enough stuff to start a 55 gallon (including the tank) I ended up spending another $100 or so.

Then I bought the LR... lol $5 a pound for cured LR at a LFS. and LS for $2 a pound to top of my CC... (yea yea i know)

that was over a year ago... I think I've spent an additional $400 so I'm still well under $1000.

If you're frugal and patient you can get a respectable reef setup.

One word of advice if your on a budget... plan ahead and start "collecting" parts before you start setting it up. yes, this means you'll have to wait longer.. but if you buy the tank now.. stand later.. hood after that, pick up the powerheads and skimmer somewhere down the line... you can get all the equipment you need in small bursts, and when you've finaly got it all.. THEN set up your tank.

JMO :D
 
Though I don't actually do SW, I agree with buying things in bursts. This is how I planned my upcomming aquarium and I have been thankful for it. Since I started collecting 2 months ago I have already upgraded my pump and heater. I am glad that I was able to return these products for full refunds as opposed to having to buy something new to replace something old that you still have.
 
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