Does this hobby have to be expensive?

[Sits Unafraid]

Whats interesting is when I got into the hobby maybe 10-11 years ago. I read a lot of people who were proud of DIY projects and things they were able to accomplish and even "invent" themselves. Much of what exists in this hobby 10 years later has been vastly capitalized and truthfully...refined. Display tanks have been made prettier, sumps have been works of art to show off. I remember phrases a few years back like "the swampier the better" now if it does not have fiber optics and Led back lights its just "basic." A lot of what we call "expensive" is visual show casing. as much of the life support tech is just moderate refinement these days. functional can be very simple. But advancement of any hobby is about a further understanding, and with that comes $. Its a vicious system.

 

[YumaMan]

I think we'd get an honest answer to this question from our non-reefing spouse.

 

[Katrina71]

I think we'd get an honest answer to this question from our non-reefing spouse.

The EYE ROLL! Lol

 

[Katrina71]

Random observation. I have noticed an overwhelming number here on R2R that clearly reef on a much tighter budget are Site Supporters. Hmmm. Maybe some of us low budget reefers just have a different list of fundamentals?

 

[reefwiser]

I have went thru the various stages of reef keeping over the years. When I was young I made everything. Of coarse in those days there wasn't a lot of equipment that was tailored for the marine hobby. An what there was like Thiel Aquatech it was expensive. Being a maintenance man I can make anything that some one could come up with. An knew where in industrial catalogs that manufactures actually got their equipment that they rebranded and sold under another name. I now can buy good equipment when I think it is important to buy it. Not everything sold is "good " equipment. It has to work and it has to be supported with helpful company tech's.
One can go cheap but you will be spending your time to maintain and perhaps buying another unit every so often.

 

[pdiehm]

it can be done without being expensive. equipment is expensive regardless, used or not. In my 120 I have 6 fish, 1 coral, and I haven't added anything since October. Why? I can't afford to at the moment, not to mention, I haven't found an online vendor worth a dang for fish, and my most local store is roughly an hour away each way (factoring in Philly/Delco traffic).

If you go slow (maybe not as slow as me), you can do it very reasonable. Before July, we had a local store, who used to have a $10 tank of corals, I picked up some nice pieces for the Biocube, but very rarely had SPS, which is what I want in the 120. Find out what you want to do, where you want to go and plan accordingly

 

[Jrvaldeznm]

Coming from the freshwater side, yes keeping a saltwater tank is expensive. For a comparable High-Tech, planted, aquascaped Aquarium you spend on average half to a quarter less, but there is a major difference. While all aquariums require stability, it has been my observation that saltwater tanks need that much more than freshwater. How do you accomplish this? Equipment aka moolah.

I have always used the notion that a poor man will pay twice in this hobby, and I have had a fraction of the problems because of buying reputable brands and tested equipment. Is it expensive up front? Hell yes. That being said the overall cost is substantially less than having to upgrade/replace down the road. Seeing many of the more accomplished reefer’s tanks and having a desire to model their excellence has also compelled me to spend a little more on that piece of equipment, BRS is notorious for this .

 

[aabjones888]

I started with a 10 gallon and kept working my way up by trading and selling coral. Now I have an 80 rimless. I believe it was like $100 bucks for live sand and a few live rocks for my 10gallon like 12 years ago.

 

[Oliver d]

If you have the know how you can do.build your own tank and stand,build your own sump,build your own lights by doing things yourself you get exactly what you want and its always cheaper.I went this route if i had bought a complete system here it would have set me back about 5k doing it the way I did it only cost me 1k leaving me with more money to invest on the things that really matter,skimmers ,wave makers,circulation pumps,Fish and coral and all the creatures that live in our tanks .Lights I build my own t5 units controlled by timer switches ,now I am building my own LED units.This hobby is as expensive as you want to make ,if you want a complete system out of the box that you just have to plug in then you must pay a lot of $$$ for it.The more gadgets you want the more expensive it becomes.If you keep it simple its not really that expensive.

 

[Bob2bob Verified Admin]

It's an expensive hobby but so if every hobby outside of knitting.

I have a 75 gallon which is good sized but definitely not a crazy big tank, it's a planned mixed reef that is just starting to have livestock (2 fish a bunch of cheap frags) and I'm 4k into it.

That with doing most of the work DIY, getting a tank off craigslist and dollar gallon sale for my sump. While I got relatively good products by no means did I get the most expensive in any category. I did add a water mixing station for easy water changes (takes just a few minutes and no lifting required) which definitely isn't necessary though.

The costs add up. I'd wager most people don't track the 5th-13th trips to the hardware store or taxes and are drastically underestimating their true costs to make it more palatable which is just normal human nature. I've tracked every penny.

 

[Michael Naegeli]

According to my Accountant.... this hobby is extremely expensive. I only agree when she gives me actual numbers of quarterly amounts I spend on Corals and equip. Through the roof! I spend quite a bit. This hobby is for sure expensive. Especially if ur a coral crack head like me.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Expensive?
Only because these amazing companies keep having sales that addicts cannot refuse. Seriously, you would think they would stop giving such amazing deals!

 

[Sits Unafraid]

Bob2bob, that’s an awesome graph. I’ve always wanted to do that but the more I thought about it I decided it’s better if I don’t. Lol.

 

[icejam]

I've tracked every penny.

I am doing the same from day one. Do not have graph handy but tracked every expense. I know I only just started with the hobby but AIO setup + some DIY comes to around $200.
Now working on DIY clone of Hydra 26 LED. All parts were under $20
You can reef on a budget.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I figure if I do not track it specifically, my hubby will never look to see what it adds up to.

 

[norfolkgarden]

6 years worth of receipts.

It's probably best if I never add these up.

 

[Rich Klein]

Finished? It's a hobby, not a project. There is no 'finished' for a hobby. Any hobby. If it's 'finished'... it's not a hobby.

+1

 

[Kodock]

Expensive is relative to ones income. It's expensive for the average joe to obtain a apex, mp40, radion, bubble king, ATO, doser, media reactor system. Do you need all of the bells and whistles to be sucessful? Not necessarily, but, it sure looks cleaner, typically is cleaner and less likely to crash in some aspects. I look at my friends who are into cars and guns. Guns can be thousands not to mention sights, stocks, barrels, triggers, holsters, permits, safes, ammunition. Cars have aftermarket engine, transmission, brakes, paint, rims, tires, etc. I know for a fact that my colleagues drop more into those two hobbies which both devalue and could crash. At least you can sell coral to alleviate the cost as opposed to the other two.

 

[T Carey]

It could get expensive if you want all the shiny new techs that comes out.

Shiny new tech and inexpensive are mutually exclusive.

 

[Kodock]

It's an expensive hobby but so if every hobby outside of knitting.

I have a 75 gallon which is good sized but definitely not a crazy big tank, it's a planned mixed reef that is just starting to have livestock (2 fish a bunch of cheap frags) and I'm 4k into it.

That with doing most of the work DIY, getting a tank off craigslist and dollar gallon sale for my sump. While I got relatively good products by no means did I get the most expensive in any category. I did add a water mixing station for easy water changes (takes just a few minutes and no lifting required) which definitely isn't necessary though.

The costs add up. I'd wager most people don't track the 5th-13th trips to the hardware store or taxes and are drastically underestimating their true costs to make it more palatable which is just normal human nature. I've tracked every penny.

This looks like what most can expect to run a great setup.