Csalt Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Made that mistake. 1 6 Quote Link to comment
adamthefishguy Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Heres the thing, if its enough items that you can't quickly do the math in your head, you probably dont want to know the total. Im sure those dollars brought you a lot of pleasure (and probably some heartache) so it was all worth it. Go enjoy your tank. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
CarolinaShoreReef Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Yes, as a college student I've put all of my cost history from equipment to water fill ups In an excel sheet. For a 5g nano were at $430 without all the coral I'm looking to get and possibly a light upgrade. I'm doing a total costs video once I'm satisfied with the stocking lol. Hoping to cap off around 7-800. Quote Link to comment
CarolinaShoreReef Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I don't eat out anymore lol 2 Quote Link to comment
Nart Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 Yeah... I only made it to adding up tank, heater, and lights.... then decided to stop lol. I think I could've leased a Porsche 911 turbo by now. 3 Quote Link to comment
kimberbee Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 I tracked my spending for all of 2017 because there was a period of time that I was unemployed and I wanted to make sure my spending wasn't out of control. I spent $1600 on "pets" - I also have a cat, but all I do is buy a bag of food and a bucket of litter once a month. I only spent $300 on clothing. Priorities. 1 4 Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 NO! I did when I start a tank to stay within a budget I set for myself. When it comes to coral and maintenance supplies, I choose not to because ignorance is bliss? 1 Quote Link to comment
Csalt Posted February 22, 2018 Author Share Posted February 22, 2018 3 minutes ago, Clown79 said: NO! I did when I start a tank to stay within a budget I set for myself. When it comes to coral and maintenance supplies, I choose not to because ignorance is bliss? The maintenance is the cheap part lol. Filter floss, RODI filters and salt isn't bad. It's the, "dang, that skimmer and some new lights would be nice" is what gets you. It's really not all bad compared to other hobbies. No regrets. 1 Quote Link to comment
CarolinaShoreReef Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 49 minutes ago, Csalt said: The maintenance is the cheap part lol. Filter floss, RODI filters and salt isn't bad. It's the, "dang, that skimmer and some new lights would be nice" is what gets you. It's really not all bad compared to other hobbies. No regrets. Yep fishing is just as costly for me Quote Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 22, 2018 Share Posted February 22, 2018 52 minutes ago, Csalt said: The maintenance is the cheap part lol. Filter floss, RODI filters and salt isn't bad. It's the, "dang, that skimmer and some new lights would be nice" is what gets you. It's really not all bad compared to other hobbies. No regrets. Not here. Just to replace my chloramine carbon block costs $30, that's every 3-4 months. Sediment needs changing even more often. Goes Brown in a month. I only make 10g a week. So costs me $62 plus 13% tax, plus $10 ship every couple of months. Now add dosers, gac, purigen. It adds up. Floss is the cheapest. $20/yr. Quote Link to comment
Tmr8188 Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Looking at my paypal I have spent $1,190 THIS WEEK on coral. Those designer frags will get you... 2 Quote Link to comment
jambon Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I get halfway through the corals and get sidetracked to Gauqe at them and all is well... Quote Link to comment
squamptonbc Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 Not really. I can roughly estimate that my red sea reefer 170 has cost a little over 2,000 so far. Its all set uo now so no more exspensive supplies needed. I wont buy a new skimmer unless the one I am getting breaks and cannot be repaired. Lights will get replaced when they fail. I dont buy the latest and newest model. I am usually a model or 2 behind what is popular picking up the previous model on clearance. Salt runs 60 every 3 months. RO filters maybe 20 per year total. Electricity to run everything is about 5 per month. Fish food is about 20\ month but I make my own from fresh sea food. Quote Link to comment
ReefingRelapse Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 I just want to know the impact on my electric bill Quote Link to comment
Tamberav Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 God no!!!!! My husband might divorce me. I might divorce myself!!! Sweet sweet ignorance... 8 Quote Link to comment
Sailingeric Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 It is like any hobby, the start up cost can be steep. I make beer and I have probably $2k in equipment but over time each glass of beer gets cheaper. I was showing a co-worker a pic of my first SW fish, a clown, and saying it was my $400 fish after amortizing my startup cost. Now that I have four fish they are now about $125 each. Quote Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 10 minutes ago, ReefingRelapse said: I just want to know the impact on my electric bill Get a "kill-a-watt" device? I don't track my expenses, I capitalize them. If anyone asks, I'm an aqua-entrepreneur. All my aquarium purchases are "business assets" so they're capitalized at purchase and depreciated over 5 years... So a $1,000 asset only costs me about $17/month in expense... In the meantime I've added to my net worth the fair value of the goods. lol. I don't even want to think about it - definitely multiple thousands of dollars I'm sure. 1 Quote Link to comment
adamthefishguy Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 41 minutes ago, ajmckay said: Get a "kill-a-watt" device? I don't track my expenses, I capitalize them. If anyone asks, I'm an aqua-entrepreneur. All my aquarium purchases are "business assets" so they're capitalized at purchase and depreciated over 5 years... So a $1,000 asset only costs me about $17/month in expense... In the meantime I've added to my net worth the fair value of the goods. lol. I don't even want to think about it - definitely multiple thousands of dollars I'm sure. I hope you aren't trying that line with the IRS. That sounds a lot like a tax scam you would find on the net. Quote Link to comment
Csalt Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 10 hours ago, adamthefishguy said: I hope you aren't trying that line with the IRS. That sounds a lot like a tax scam you would find on the net. Wonder if I could claim to be a farmer and write off everything in the tank as livestock? They do government subsidizing for this? 1 Quote Link to comment
adamthefishguy Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 5 minutes ago, Csalt said: Wonder if I could claim to be a farmer and write off everything in the tank as livestock? They do government subsidizing for this? The answer depends on if you make money and how many previous years you made or lost money. You definitely would not get any of the traditional farm based tax subsidies (at least that I am aware of) but you could get a tax benefit. https://www.irs.com/articles/tax-tips-people-who-earn-income-hobby Again, the key there is having income and at least some years having profit. Standard disclaimer this is not tax advise talk to your tax professional etc. Quote Link to comment
SaltyBuddha Posted February 24, 2018 Share Posted February 24, 2018 I started to once. Then stopped and now I try not to think about it lol Quote Link to comment
embrit345 Posted February 25, 2018 Share Posted February 25, 2018 Only replying because my husband cannot use a computer and doesn't know this forum exists lmao I sort of keep track - tank £150, lighting £250, rock and sand £100, skimmer £80, wavemakers £150, heater £30, water and salt £50 - there is what £800+ before I even get into corals. Have around £2000 worth of zoas if you count them per polyp plus the others. Worse part is that I only have a 80l nano!!! xx 1 Quote Link to comment
ajmckay Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 16 hours ago, adamthefishguy said: I hope you aren't trying that line with the IRS. That sounds a lot like a tax scam you would find on the net. Lol no I'm only joking... Obviously it could be done if one were to do it right... A hobby can become a legitimate business. Quote Link to comment
Rene Posted February 26, 2018 Share Posted February 26, 2018 ...down that road lies madness... Quote Link to comment
Zorya Posted February 27, 2018 Share Posted February 27, 2018 On 2/22/2018 at 10:40 AM, CarolinaShoreReef said: I don't eat out anymore lol Story of my life. I save the eating out money as fish money instead. 1 Quote Link to comment
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