Pricing out the hobby

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Reefer James

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Tomorrow morning I am going over to a clients house to finish up plumbing on their new 120g custom tank and stand. They already have 2 Kessils, rock, sand, protein skimmer, and a return pump. Here's everything else they are buying off my recommendations. For anyone starting a saltwater tank I would consider these brands and this set up to be a complete top level set-up.

I do not know if he's going to go for the Apex so some things have overlap. Price is with apex at the end

Circulation Pumps:
EcoTech Marine VorTech MP10QD Propeller Pump w/QuietDrive Driver $235 ($285 for Wireless)
EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup $165 ($340 for two double the life. One pump 72hours)
Maxspect Gyre Generator Flow Pump XF-130 $240
Auto Top Off
Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 - $270
Tunze Osmolator Nano 3152 - $110 (This is the redundant back-up)
Auto Doser
Kamoer 4 Channel Aquarium Dosing Pump $350 ($300 for 3 channel)
Neptune Systems DOS - Dosing and Fluid Metering System 2-channel x 2 $700 (1 for $350) [Requires Apex]
Coral Food/Dosing water
B-Ionic 1 Gallon Calcium $20 | B-Ionic 1 Gallon Alkalinity $20 | B-Ionic 1 Gallon Magnesium $30
Red Sea Reef Energy (Pack A) $20
Red Sea Reef Energy (Pack B) $20
Red Sea Coral Colors ABCD $23
Coral Frenzy Reef Pellet $20
Reactors
AquaMaxx BioMaxx BioPellet Reactor $110
NextReef MR1 Monster GFO and Carbon Filter Media Reactor $250
Sicce Syncra Silent 1.5 Multifunction Aquarium Pump (357 GPH) x 2 $150 ($75 ea. Per reactor)
Filter Media
Seachem Laboratories Matrix Carbon - 4 Liters $75
D-D RP-100 ROWAphos GFO Phosphate Removal Media - 1000 mL $115
Seachem Laboratories Purigen – 100mL Bag x 2 $25
Brightwell Aquatics Katalyst Bioreactive Filtration Media 600g / 21oz $60
CAD Lights Artisan Filter Sock Holder - 7 Inch $40
AquaMaxx 7 Inch x 16.5 Inch 200 Micron Nylon Monofilament Mesh Filter Sock w/ Plastic Ring x 5 $55
Light
WavePoint Daylight Micro Sun LED High Output Clamp Light 6 Inch $45 ($70 for 12 inch)
Fish Food
San Fransisco Bay Brand Frozen Mysis Roll-a-Cubes 2 lbs $40
Two Little Fishies Julian Sprung`s SeaVeggies: Green Seaweed (30g/1oz) $8
Eheim Twin Battery Powered Automatic Fish Feeder $90 ($45 for Less advanced)
New Life Spectrum Thera-A Formula, Sinking Pellet Fish Food 250g $30
Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget - Gourmet Defroster $25
Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget - Gourmet Grazer $25 or: (Ocean Nutrition Feeding Frenzy Grid Feeder Clip $5)
Chiller /Heater
¼ HP Aquaeuro Chiller - $600
JBJ True Temp Digital Controller w/ Heater - 500 Watt $180
Or
Fluval 100 Watt E-Series Electronic Aquarium Heater x 2 $110
Controller
Neptune Systems Apex Gold AquaController System $800
Neptune Systems Energy Bar 8 Expansion Unit (EB8) $160
Neptune Systems Advanced Leak Detection Module (ALD) $75 | Neptune Systems ALD Probe - Solid Surface $30
Systems AquaBus Lunar Simulator Module (LSM) $65 | Neptune Systems LSM String - 5 LEDs $60 (3 LED for $40)
Test Kits
Red Sea Reef Foundation Pro Ca/Alk/Mg Multi Test Kit $65
Red Sea Phosphate/PO4 Pro Test Kit - 100 Tests $45
Red Sea Nitrate Pro Test Kit - 100 Tests $45
Red Sea Coral Colors Pro I2/K/Fe Multi Test Kit $70
Red Sea Coral Potassium/K Pro Test Kit $55
Not needed with Apex:
Milwaukee Seawater Digital Refractometer with Protective Hardshell Case $150 (No case $115)
Or
Marine Depot Aquarium Pro Refractometer $65 ($50 for less specific/harder to read version (non pro))
Other
Tower Shock Buster 3-Outlet Electrical Cord with Inline GFCI $35 (1 Outlet $20)
Reef Gently AccliMate XL Acclimator/Transporter Tank $100
Majano Wand Aiptasia & Majano Eliminator $130 (Smaller Mini size for $110)
Flipper Aquarium Algae Magnet Cleaner $45
Brillianize Glass and Acrylic Aquarium Cleaner/Polish - 8oz $15
Brillianize SofKloth Polyester Polishing Cloth - 40/pk $15
Eshopps Corner Frag Rack 13 Hole – Black or Clear $25
Tunze SafeGuard Cable Organizer and Storage Container $75

Total for all ~$6,000
 
Is that price for every 120gl saltwater? Or just what you think a 120gl should have. Been mulling over a saltwater setup.

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Is that price for every 120gl saltwater? Or just what you think a 120gl should have. Been mulling over a saltwater setup.

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That's a high end set up. With thrifty shopping and cutting out extras you could do it for $1,000 easily not counting tank and rock.
 
This sounds very daunting.


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That particular list does sound daunting... But again there is a TON of either redundant or unnecessary items on the list. They are also all of the most expensive pieces of equipment you can get your hands on.
 
Such a cheap hobby lol.

Must admit I was thinking on freshwater planted here with what I would like to do and have done. And then if SW is more. Prices are for here only.

Lights - want to replace box LEDs with strip LEDs. Reckon I could spend $750 there. Already spent that much.

Substrate - too much of a hassle to replace gravel so will just keep buying API laterite gravel. Say $200. Buying good substrate for a planted 4ft tank would be very expensive here and would have to get that shipped in I think. Must research that. Also already spent $200 on the laterite gravel over a few years.

CO2 reactor - $50. Get another and run 2.

Then a larger CO2 bottle. Got told today $450 (ouch). Say $500.

PAR meter - more useful with box LEDs I think. Um, say $500 so numbers are easy.

CO2 controller / solenoid, etc - spent say $500 there. Included for costs.

Skipping buying plants, test kits and ferts.

I think that comes to $200 or at least that's what I said...
 
Im lost dela. Ive got dozens of freshwater planted tanks.none ever cost me near that. Hopefully you were jokin?

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Nothing on this list is required for saltwater at this point actually. He has everything he needs without spending a dollar more haha.

It is also recommending a $400 auto doser not the $90 Jebao alternative. Every name is a big name in the industry to with lots of reviews and good customer support. The guy spend 3K alone just on the stand and canopy.. He isn't looking to put the chinese knock off stuff to lower this price down significantly. We also do not want to spend time to find used stuff. He will have access to this list so if he wanted to search for a used chiller instead of spending $600 he could probably do that, etc.

You can make this hobby very inexpensive actually.

He may also choose to completely not go for the Apex. He doesn't even need a controller but they're nice.
 
Then your pricing your thoughts on the hobby. Not the hobby. Im abt to give this a go next week i think. Should be horrible, lol. My first SW tank.

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Well no I'm still pricing out the hobby. There's just many ways to do it. So I guess no one can price out the hobby without some opinion haha..

Everything here is what you end up buying along the way. Except maybe the controller, chiller, or the reactors. I mean you do not need a clip on algae grazer but if you plan to have a few tangs and want to make feeding them easier it's nice to have. The single clips are not strong enough and fish rip the seaweed right out. So the grazing station is nice. The whole frozen food defroster is funny but this guy doesn't want to wait around 5min to put fish food in you know?

So I did tailor this list around someone who never wants to put their hand in the tank and pay someone to come clean it for them. They have nothing to do but enjoy.

If you plan on being hands on with your tank you can skip a lot of this and just do water changes. I mean even the $100 auto feeder isn't necessary but this guy isn't going to feed the small fish what they need every day. We will be lucky to get him to do the frozen haha.
 
I have dozens of frezhwater fully planted tanks. I breed discus, angels, rams, peacock cihclids, & many other fish. So im very hands on. Very observant and i actually probably wont add fish for quite some time, because i cant decide quite what i want fish wise. Just want to get it up and cycling with live rock. So i guess ya'd say first things first.

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Man reading those prices killed my wallet.
PoppaRyno you should fine for saltwater if you keep all that. I'll keep a SW nano but I'm not putting a discus near my tanks haha
 
Man reading those prices killed my wallet.
PoppaRyno you should fine for saltwater if you keep all that. I'll keep a SW nano but I'm not putting a discus near my tanks haha

Thanks man. I dont know why, but SW makes me nervous. Seems like alot can go wrong... Alot of expensive wrong. What size would be a good starter foot print. I have abt 20 empties in the garage.

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Thanks man. I dont know why, but SW makes me nervous. Seems like alot can go wrong... Alot of expensive wrong. What size would be a good starter foot print. I have abt 20 empties in the garage.

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40B! or bigger.
You already understand basic water chem.
Salt is going to be easier for you IMO!
I put way less effort into my marine compared to my FW.
The test and differences are not that much more complicated.
A well balanced marine tank can be topped off without water changes for a long time!
But like a well thought out FW display,
it does pay to get the right stuff the first time around.
Jump in!
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Thanks man. I dont know why, but SW makes me nervous. Seems like alot can go wrong... Alot of expensive wrong. What size would be a good starter foot print. I have abt 20 empties in the garage.

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Dont let the hype get to you. They are just fish tanks and in that essence reef tanks arent much more difficult than a high light planted tank. You just have to pay a little more attention to water parameters and know how to manage them.
 
+1 to all of that. It is a little daunting at first but if you keep up on proper maintenance, have the right equipment, an just basically keep an eye on things then your golden.
 
You can spend as much or as little as you want on anything. I've done the same job for different customers with a 2-3k difference.. all depends on the customer and their bank acct. :)

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Thoughts on it being a 33L. Brought 2 home the other night.

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