I'm a beginner at saltwater...How much did it cost you at first?

[starbucks10v3r]

My name is Julia.

 

And well...I have had freshwater tanks before and its just not as pretty as saltwater tanks! including fish..i just hate the way freshwater fish look like...too fishy for me if you know what i mean. haha

 

So how much does it cost to start with a 30 gallon or so tank? with all the required live rock, sand, pumps and salt and etc.

 

not including fish...ill probably start with a cheap fish so just incase my tank goes bad i wouldnt have lost a lot of money on fish!!

 

also i have read that you need 1 pound of live rock per gallon...could you do less rock so you can spend more money else where?

 

 

Thanks

 

any other tips or things i need to know would be great!

[gefilte fish]

Budget $2K and no, you can't skimp on the live rock, it's the main filtration. I think 1 1/2 lb per gallon is more appropriate.

 

 

 

 

My name is Julia.

 

And well...I have had freshwater tanks before and its just not as pretty as saltwater tanks! including fish..i just hate the way freshwater fish look like...too fishy for me if you know what i mean. haha

 

So how much does it cost to start with a 30 gallon or so tank? with all the required live rock, sand, pumps and salt and etc.

 

not including fish...ill probably start with a cheap fish so just incase my tank goes bad i wouldnt have lost a lot of money on fish!!

 

also i have read that you need 1 pound of live rock per gallon...could you do less rock so you can spend more money else where?

 

 

Thanks

 

any other tips or things i need to know would be great!

[starbucks10v3r]

dang seriously

 

I was adding up most of the stuff and it was about $250 but it wasnt including water and some other things...

 

what makes it so expensive?

[cowboys2222222]

dang seriously

 

I was adding up most of the stuff and it was about $250 but it wasnt including water and some other things...

 

what makes it so expensive?

what was in your budget...

 

give us a run down of what was on your list..

[Endler's Game]

I'm just starting up my first saltwater tank myself, so I'm in the process of pricing things out, but from what I've learned, live rock and lighting are the two most important ingredients. You should not skimp on the rock, as it is the foundation of a healthy reef. 1 to 1.5 pounds per gallon. That being said, you can try to save money on it by getting from a hobbyist shutting down a tank or by ordering online. But any attempt to use less rock to spend more elsewhere will increase the odds of crashing and killing your livestock. It would kinda suck to spend more on the livestock, only to lose it.

[GiantBen]

I just put rocks and water in my first SW tank this weekend. Here is a breakdown of what I paid for everything. Some of these things could be cut, depending on what you want to do:

 

BioCube29 + Stand

$250 on craigslist (plus a 3 hour round trip drive....)

Upgraded stock pump to MaxiJet1200

$25 on the hardware classified on this site (HC for short from now on)

Koralia 1 for extra flow

$26 HC

Refractometer

$40 HC

Protein Skimer (not arrived yet)

$24 HC

inTank Fuge/Media Rack/Filter Floss/FishGaurd/Submersible light

$120

Live Sand

$30 + tax at LFS

Live Rock $31lbs

$7/lb + tax LFS

RO Water 25 gal

$2.50/5gal + tax (have some left)

Salt Enough for 200 gal of water

$80 + tax

 

I still needed test kits. You will need to buy a heater if you don't have one. I did. I also got a timed power strip and magnetic scraper with my tank.

 

-Ben

 

 

 

 

My name is Julia.

 

And well...I have had freshwater tanks before and its just not as pretty as saltwater tanks! including fish..i just hate the way freshwater fish look like...too fishy for me if you know what i mean. haha

 

So how much does it cost to start with a 30 gallon or so tank? with all the required live rock, sand, pumps and salt and etc.

 

not including fish...ill probably start with a cheap fish so just incase my tank goes bad i wouldnt have lost a lot of money on fish!!

 

also i have read that you need 1 pound of live rock per gallon...could you do less rock so you can spend more money else where?

 

 

Thanks

 

any other tips or things i need to know would be great!

[Nanobuds]

saltwater stuff is harder to take care of and rarer. get the 29 gallon biocube, it is usually $250-$300.

for more coral choices, get the 28 gallon nanocube. however it is $500-$550. check them both out in my tank thread in my signature. the biocube is older and better right now.

[lakshwadeep]

to nano-reef.com

 

You do not need $2000 to have a successful tank. Live rock and lighting are two of the most important costs that shouldn't be skimped on. I suggest starting with a smaller tank. You don't have to buy an "all-in-one" tank like the aquapods/biocubes/nanocubes.

[SulfurAcid]

well, i wouldnt put it at 2 grand but, heres a breakdown.

 

Tank - $30

Aquaclear 70( modded into refugium) - $50

Remora Protein Skimmer - $160

Lights Good T5 fixture - $200

Filter floss - $5

Chemi Pure Elite - $10

Live rock - 45 pounds at $3/lb - $135

30 lbs Sand - $30

2 Koralia 1s - $60

 

 

You're looking at around $700 for a nice setup

[jeffblly]

You can get away with doing it cheaper than $2k at first but you will need to keep in mind that it is much more expensive than FW. If you can find a used setup all of it can be done fairly cheap.

 

But you do have to plan for maintenance and the occasional problems that come up.

[starbucks10v3r]

let me find my list

[jacks22]

Hi Julia, welcome to NR It depends on what type of tank you want. Fish only? A reef tank coral and fish? What type of lighting will you have for this 30 gallon? For a 30 gallon tank i would put a least 30lbs of rock! Budget for a reef tank to start with mid level lighting about a grand to start. hope this helped.

[SpankythePyro]

$700 sofar for all my equipment... still have to get some little things and I don't even have my full CUC or any corals yet...

[cowboys2222222]

well, i wouldnt put it at 2 grand but, heres a breakdown.

 

Tank - $30

Aquaclear 70( modded into refugium) - $50

Remora Protein Skimmer - $160

Lights Good T5 fixture - $200

Filter floss - $5

Chemi Pure Elite - $10

Live rock - 45 pounds at $3/lb - $135

30 lbs Sand - $30

2 Koralia 1s - $60

 

 

You're looking at around $700 for a nice setup

+1

 

sounds to me she wants just wants to do a fish only tank right now....

 

if thats the case then set up should be relatively easy and cheap.

 

she could just get pc lights and save some money that way

[starbucks10v3r]

Oh my gosh...

 

I lost my list...man that took like 2 hours to make!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

ughh

 

well

 

yeah no corals or things like that right now thats for sure...i want to keep a fish alive first!!

 

So live rock and live sand is the main focus ?

[Nanobuds]

For my nanocube

 

$500 for tank setup

$20 for sand

$40 for liverock

$60 for food, test chemicles, other supplies

$28 for saltwater

$3.50 a week for water changes

$200 on livestock

i cant remember the rest...

[cowboys2222222]

Oh my gosh...

 

I lost my list...man that took like 2 hours to make!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

ughh

 

well

 

yeah no corals or things like that right now thats for sure...i want to keep a fish alive first!!

 

So live rock and live sand is the main focus ?

yeah good live rock and sand is the main focus for a fish only tank.

..

 

u dont need to worry about the lights for a fish only tank 50/50pc lights would be fine..

 

you could start a 20g for fish only for $250

[starbucks10v3r]

ok so the place where im going to be getting my sand and live rock would be around 60 bucks for 20 gallons of sand

 

and 60 bucks for 20 pounds of live rock...

 

its either 20 pounds or 40 pounds 40 is $90

 

so im not so sure yet...i might look around some more on where im going to get my sand and rock

[Nanobuds]

So live rock and live sand is the main focus ?

 

yep. get your rock and about 25 lbs of sand. cycle the tank for a week or two, add a cleanup crew (crabs, snails, etc) wait a few more weeks, add low priced fish, if surrives a week or two, get corals or more fish. then you have a good reef tank. wait a month before adding a fish and make sure all water parameters are good. (nitrates, pH, ammonia, calcium, alkalinity, etc.)

[starbucks10v3r]

you could start a 20g for fish only for $250

 

 

thats more in my range lol

 

i was thinking for everything would be around $350 to $400

[121a]

were are you located? looking on local classifieds can help a lot, also used equipment will save you money. Don't get fooled by LFS's either, listen to everyone on here, i wish i found this site when i started the hobby, i must have spent $300 in junk that i would never use.

[cowboys2222222]

ok so the place where im going to be getting my sand and live rock would be around 60 bucks for 20 gallons of sand

 

and 60 bucks for 20 pounds of live rock...

 

its either 20 pounds or 40 pounds 40 is $90

 

so im not so sure yet...i might look around some more on where im going to get my sand and rock

60 bucks for 20lbs of live rock seems a little on the cheap side...

 

i would make sure your getting quality live rock...

 

i got 20 lbs of live rock for $130

 

is the rock your looking at cured or uncured?

[starbucks10v3r]

So I should start with a 25 gallon? or 35 gallon?

 

im not sure what i should do...

 

i dont have room for a 40 gallon

[jacks22]

yep. get your rock and about 25 lbs of sand. cycle the tank for a week or two, add a cleanup crew (crabs, snails, etc) wait a few more weeks, add low priced fish, if surrives a week or two, get corals or more fish. then you have a good reef tank. wait a month before adding a fish and make sure all water parameters are good. (nitrates, pH, ammonia, calcium, alkalinity, etc.)

wow you make it sound so easy

[starbucks10v3r]

its halfway cured

or mostly cured