running costs of saltwater aquarium

[Marty0361]

Hi, my Partner and I wanna buy a Reef Aquarium (Size Like The Waterbox Reef 100.3 or 130.4) but were wondering what The running Costs are? We know The Initial Costs but would Need some advice how much Money The Supplements, Fish/Coral food, maintenance and electricity would Cost per month or year. I know it depends on the equipment as well but we need a guide. Thanks for your Help.
We are located in Australia.

 

[Andy Sager]

Hi, my Partner and I wanna buy a Reef Aquarium (Size Like The Waterbox Reef 100.3 or 130.4) but were wondering what The running Costs are? We know The Initial Costs but would Need some advice how much Money The Supplements, Fish/Coral food, maintenance and electricity would Cost per month or year. I know it depends on the equipment as well but we need a guide. Thanks for your Help.
We are located in Australia.

That's a question that really doesn't have a great answer. Foods and supplement costs will vary based on what you are keeping in the tank. Maintenance will depend on whether you are using natural water or artificial salts and whether you are using equipment that needs replacement parts on a regular basis ( i.e light bulbs or filtering materials). Artificial salt costs will depend on the brand. Electricity costs will depend on what equipment you use which is determined by what you are keeping in the tank. So you see why it's a tough question to answer.

I can say this: Reef tanks are the more expensive tanks than just a fish only tank. Corals can be more money than fish unless you take inexpensive frags and wait for them to grow out. Marine tanks in general are more expensive to setup and run than freshwater tanks.

Hope that's some help.

If money is really an issue, you may not want to start with a reef tank but do a fish only tank to see how much that costs you to run.