lousybreed Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 i have been researching nano tanks for over a month and i was considering setting up a 15 gal tank. it looks like it will be $400 bucks just to get going: tank: have it light: coralife 130W (2x65W)=120 live rock 15lbs:100 power filter: 20 power heads 30 hygro:10 test kits:40 liquid calcium and supplements:40 heater:20 salt:20 then add in 5 or 6 peices of coral... total cost around 650!!!!!! way to rich for my blood... Link to comment
Barnaby Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Saltwater tanks are a rich mans pet Kinda how golf is a rich mans game. I hear ya, I'm getting ready to start my tank and the lights really kill ya. Link to comment
brahm Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 I'm in for about 1g on my 30g that's with a free tank. Link to comment
jasontatro Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 It's definitely cost me more than I thought a tank this size would. Link to comment
serjuanca88 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Yah I feel your pain. I had $2000 invested in a 55g reef aquarium. All I had in it was live rock. I had to tear it down because my cash flow decreased. So now I have spent $550 on my 12g and I dont even have any water in it yet. Link to comment
Infiniti Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Don't think of it as a waste of money. Just think about the joy of staring at your fish tank and loving what you have accomplished. I know after a tiresome day at work, my tank calms me down. Link to comment
Chronicles Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Also don't think of it as you're going into a store, plopping down $650 and going home with a full reef tank. You're talking $650 over a pretty long period of time. Also no one says you need to jump right into hard corals where you need to monitor every little thing that goes on. That's why this is a hoby and not a gift to give someone. Link to comment
Barnaby Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I look at it as a cool hobby. You have a bad day at school/work then maybe you go pickout a piece of coral or fish or something so it kind of takes your mind off of it. It also gives you a sense of accomplishment to look at something you built. Link to comment
sdboogie Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I agree with chronicles - you don't have to go all out right away. The thing about this hobby is patience. It took 4 - 6 weeks for my sand and rock to fully finish cycling. Pay attention to the boards and post what you need. Sometimes you'll find people offloading their tanks. Here is where you'll find LR and LS for cheap. So, startup can be as low as $100. It's only when you have something alive in the tank that you need supplements and extravagent light. Maybe not even a heater. Salt lasts a while. You could start out with just the hob and get the ph later. Pay as you go and lean on the reef community in your area. Go find a local club, and I'll bet you'll find stuff for free or greatly discounted. Link to comment
surfy Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 What else are you going to waste your money on if you don't have a reef tank? Spend a little at a time so it dosn't seem so exspensive, shop wisely and shop around. Goldfish, now thems some cheap fish. Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 its by no means cheap that is for sure. I bought my 100 gal from a friend which was totally setup, acrylic tank, stand canopy, skimmer, UV with sand, live rock, fish corals lights etc, etc, etc...in about 2 months I have dumped about 700 into it... I look at my monthly debit card staments and it says Fish world Firsh world Fish World Aquatic Outlet Jims Exotic Fish Fish World Jims Exotic Fish you get the picture Link to comment
Bodhi-Licious Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 yup I've spent over $500 allready and my tank is only a month old. But I would say its worth it, even though I got a C on my mid term because i was to busy staring at my tank to study. 15gal 50w heater powersweep 212 powerhead 402 coralife 20" 96w power quad 40lbs live araganite sand 15lbs live rock mag float glass cleaner thermometer IO salt mix 15lb bag 1 Blue green chromis 1 Blue leg hermit 1 Scarlet red hermit 5 Zebra/left handed hermits 5 Cerith snails 2 astreas snails 1 Bumble bee snail 1 nassirus snail 1 cowrie priceless, hmmm reminds me of a master card commercial Link to comment
Dingo Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 You need to spend the initial $300, but the rest will be spread out over a period of months. Just give yourself a $50/month budget, and you will limit yourself to 2 new things a month. Not only will that extend your interest in the tank over a longer time, but you will have a greater chance of success because you will be going slow. Also, since this is such a small tank, you should be able to buy specimens for $15 or less. Link to comment
Reefer_Buddha Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 When you first start this hobby be prepared to spend money. After you have the initial purchases (heater, pumps, lights etc) all your upkeep is just buying corals, additives and food. I wouldnt buy coralife in the first place they're way overpriced and not worth it. Customsealife is better imo. Dont just buy the first thing you see, search around for deals. Otherwise youll be getting raped on your purchases. Link to comment
Crakeur Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 truth is, if you don't have the money to blow on stocking the tank rapidly, you are better off. Forced patience will allow the tank to mature properly and when money is available, you will be adding one or two corals at a time, rather than 5 or 6 (hmm, where is that fed ex box anyway?). Link to comment
jdsabin1 Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 I wish more people would pay attention to costs up front. This is not an inexpensive hobby. Saltwater has reached mainstream aquarium hobbyists and that's more bad than good IMO. Seeing people (not to pick on kids, but it seems we see a lot of youngsters) that somehow get the impression that this is like keeping goldfish (only cooler) and then the posts follow like: 'I bought a neat clam, what now?', 'My tank is full of green algae, what now?', or 'All my fish keep dying, what now?', always leaves me shaking my head in disbelief. On top of that, kids go through hobbies like babies go through diapers. A few months, they realize it wasn't as easy or cool as they thought, tank crashes or simply goes to hell and dries up, stuff for sale on E-Bay. Keeping a marine tank successfully and long term, large or small, requires research, testing, knowledge, patience and yes, money. Again, no offense to the kids, but most of these things aren't in their vocabulary yet. Back to the message in this thread, if people knew how much money this costs both in upfront and long term costs, I have to think it would keep the wrong people out of this hobby and save some animals in the long run. *shrug* Link to comment
TiGs Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Starting this hobby is no joke. Just like a lot of every other hobby, startup will be the most. If you're low on cash, buy used items Link to comment
~_~ Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Yep, it sure is expensive when buying new. I've spent close to $3000 now just for my 20g and 2.5g in about 8 months x_x Owwww, and I don't even have MH lights or anything fancy :| Link to comment
Dingo Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Originally posted by ~_~ Yep, it sure is expensive when buying new. I've spent close to $3000 now just for my 20g and 2.5g in about 8 months x_x Owwww, and I don't even have MH lights or anything fancy :| Huh? For a mere $2500 I will fill you basement with saltwater and stock it with a marlin for you. Link to comment
Quash Posted October 26, 2003 Share Posted October 26, 2003 Originally posted by Dingo Huh? For a mere $2500 I will fill you basement with saltwater and stock it with a marlin for you. LOL dingo. I couldnt agree more. The initial setup is fairly expensive, depending on the size tank you start with. After that, tank maintenance is the same regardless of the size of the tank. bank on 25 bux a month. If you get animals, then you just went over the 25 bux a month limit. I think the hobby is fairly cheap, better than turntablism IMO. I spent crazy dough on records. Pluss, you cant beat checkin out a damn ecosystem in your apt or house Link to comment
z6joker9 Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 my 120gal was killing me, so i had to turn it into a FOWLR. i'm keeping my corals in smaller tanks for now, until i get all my expenses taken care of. sigh one day. Link to comment
qfour20 Posted October 27, 2003 Share Posted October 27, 2003 Well, when I started this hobby, I had just watched a friend set up a 46Gal reef in his house, so I had no delusions about this hobby being inexpensive. Fortunately, I was able to get many things that he wasn't using (penguin mini HOB, maxijet 1200, ammonia and nitrite test kits, some crabs and snails, sand, and two nice pieces of liverock) so that saved me a bit of money. I have still probabbly spend $400 so far, and I don't even have decent lighting yet. I will probabbly be making my own hood, so I'll save about $5 over buying a nice lighting setup (but hey, I did it myself!), but even now, it's SO worth it. The only interesting animals I have in my tank right now are crabs, but I can still sit for hours watching them comb the tank. Quash has a very good point, though: I spent $1200 on vinyl the first month that I had decks and a mixer... so a reef aquarium hasn't been so bad. -q Link to comment
lousybreed Posted October 28, 2003 Author Share Posted October 28, 2003 i think that i am going to set up a 5.5 gal nano around this time next year. i am going to start out with some shrooms and a leather or two...by then my school loans and sweet credit card debt will be payed off.....i will keep using this web site for advice and knowledge. maybe once i start 70w MH will be super affordable and coral prices will be only half of what they are.....i can wish cant i? i am going to make a blackwater (acidic and soft water) south american tank for the time being...later Link to comment
Jahkaya Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Anyone ever hear of a reef club? If you buy everything retail, then, yes this can be very expensive. If you do it right you can have everything you want and need at a reasonable price. No, this is not a cheap hobby, but there is no reason to spend 1000 dollars to set up and fully stock a 20gallon tank. Link to comment
beccatech Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 If you can't hack the cost of SW go buy some FW Cichlids and fack rock decorations. They are colorful and much cheaper =) Link to comment
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