Getting back into the hobby

[reptileguy112]

I was only in it for about half a year but when I visited family out of state for a month and came back to about $240 of dead coral (all of it) I came to the conclusion its not for me. I want to get back into it and I have a fully cycled thirty six bowfront with tons of nice regular and pukani live rock along with a few really nice lights that will grow sps and I think I want to get back in. My main concern is money, I am NOT filling it up will coral again. Maybe a few choas, rastas, and a hornet or two. I have someone that will get me pretty much ANY zoa for five to ten bucks. Any tips for saving money?

 

[DaveMorris]

What happened to the tank last time? I would suggest figuring that out first so that you can come up with a plan so it won't happen again.

 

[reptileguy112]

I was gone for a month and everything died, no water changes or anything plus I had a weak powerhead in there. I know how to keep stuff alive I just need to figure out how to save money because its expensive. I bought a skimmer from someone and it doesn't work and I got a canister filter that is emptying its contents into the tank although its not sucking anything in, just spitting

 

[reptileguy112]

No suggestions?

 

[Russ265]

why have a skimmer? avoid canisters.

do you have 35 lbs of LR for filtration?
some calcium carbonate substrate like sand?

i hate to bring this up....

marine and cheap is hard to do

 

[reptileguy112]

why have a skimmer? avoid canisters.

do you have 35 lbs of LR for filtration?
some calcium carbonate substrate like sand?

I have live sand and a little over 40lbs of live rock. Why would you say not to have a skimmer? Also I think canisters are fine, although sumps are better I think a canister is sufficient.

 

[Russ265]

I have live sand and a little over 40lbs of live rock. Why would you say not to have a skimmer? Also I think canisters are fine, although sumps are better I think a canister is sufficient.

k then i guess you have it covered. i would do some reading before you bring it online.

 

[reptileguy112]

k then i guess you have it covered. i would do some reading before you bring it online.

I don't understand what you are trying to say. I am simply asking how to save a few bucks in the reefing community. I know how to reef I want to save money.

 

[Russ265]

I don't understand what you are trying to say. I am simply asking how to save a few bucks in the reefing community. I know how to reef I want to save money.

i already answered it before. marine/reef tanks and cheap/saving money are not synonymous.

buying broken skimmers for cheap isnt exactly saving money when you have to buy another "working" one.

tbh. if you are complaining about money, the last $$$ sink you should be working on is your glass box.

this is just a harsh reality

 

[reptileguy112]

I'm not sure what you mean about complaining, i'm simply asking if any of you have any tricks to save money with specific things related to reefing and you obviously have nothing to bring to the table. No you you did not answer my question.

 

[Noremac]

You can go "cheap". I totalled everything that I have into my tank (90 gallon display, 55 gallon sump, skimmer, lights, everything), and was up and running for around 900 bucks.

Since then, I have found several local reefers breaking down their tank. I purchased 60lbs of rock for $40, 10 or so misc corals (hammer, frogspawn, misc zoas, chalice, montipora) for $50, two 20 dollar clowns, 30 dollar foxface, 75 hermits for $35, made a makeshift ATO for $20.

Now I can leave the house for over a week and not worry about losing my livestock. The ATO has an 8 gallon reservoir, feeding is handled by an eheim auto feeder, alk and calcium are dosed everyday, but will not drop to harmful levels in less than 2 weeks, etc..

 

[RareEarthCorals]

Going cheap is a waste of money when you realize your purchasing things twice or tossing Nemo down the toilet. If your thinking process is already fixated on pinching pennys you will be sorely disappointed.

" I came to the conclusion its not for me."

That comment speaks volumes.

 

[iyad_nadi]

if u want to save some money u have to be Patience and Waite for good deals like if somebody want to upgrade his tank or he want to quite the hobby really I find here in R2R very good deals sometimes I hope i were in USA to buy all those used equipment and frags .
and who is in this hobby he don't have equipment lying here and there without any use and sometimes those things is new .
for example me I have extra 2 MH lights and 2 extra small reef octopus skimmer and a lot of power heads and wave maker
I recommend to start new thread for who have extra equipment to support other reefer.
sorry for bad English

 

[reptileguy112]

if u want to save some money u have to be Patience and Waite for good deals like if somebody want to upgrade his tank or he want to quite the hobby really I find here in R2R very good deals sometimes I hope i were in USA to buy all those used equipment and frags .
and who is in this hobby he don't have equipment lying here and there without any use and sometimes those things is new .
for example me I have extra 2 MH lights and 2 extra small reef octopus skimmer and a lot of power heads and wave maker
I recommend to start new thread for who have extra equipment to support other reefer.
sorry for bad English

That sounds like a good idea. I will start a thread

 

[Noremac]

Going cheap is a waste of money when you realize your purchasing things twice or tossing Nemo down the toilet. If your thinking process is already fixated on pinching pennys you will be sorely disappointed.

I agree, pinching pennies everywhere would lead to disappointment. BUT, saving on some items helps purchasing a higher quality, sometimes more mission critical piece of equipment. Even though I will be purchasing stuff twice, I can pass on the used equipment for close to what I gave for it.

I bought an AC return pump off a local reefer who upgraded for $20. This allowed me to buy a better skimmer, and will eventually sell it for same price and upgrade to a DC pump.
By saving several hundred on live rock by buying from someone breaking down their tank, I was able to purchase an extra fish, and several corals, and two part solutions from BRS.
I signed up for an amazon store card, and got my first box of salt that mixed 200 gallons of water for free, then turned around and tore the card up. Increase in credit score, and free salt. win-win.

With the relatively little amount I have invested in the corals, hopefully in a few months i can frag them and make more than my purchase price back, which can be invested in something else.

 

[Oceansize]

Any tips for saving money?

Yes: get into a different hobby, LOL.

But assuming you're gonna do it anyway, it seems the best bargains are right here on this site whenever anyone needs to break down a tank. You'll see threads with that type of title, something like "breaking down 98 gal reef, everything must GO!" and such. People who are getting out of the hobby or a particular tank are usually doing so for an unplanned reason, and are therefore more willing to haggle on price.

 

[happyhourhero]

I will often buy frags that look really bad for cheap and grow them out. This can save you some $$$ but you have to have patience.

 

[Kurt Copeland]

"Inexpensive" is not synonymous with "cheap," folks. Good deals can be had if you know how to look for good deals.

 

[Russ265]

"Inexpensive" is not synonymous with "cheap," folks. Good deals can be had if you know how to look for good deals.

i disagree. cheap IS synonymous with inexpensive.

tbh. if you get in to this hobby like a gun held to your head to go scrooge on the equipment you will fail.

the question is when.

now you can simplify, and lower some variables, but if you are going bargain basement flea market, something is gonna give. the glass box, the equipment, or nemo.

you take your pick.

to the op:
get a gold fish and avoid saltwater altogether.
unless you believe $900 for a fully setup 90g is "cheap" or "inexpensive" you are going to spend some $$$.

due to the fact you didnt even get a 50-100 gallon rated skimmer which is the price of a frag, i doubt you are ready for this part of the hobby.

ive said my piece. flame away. but that is my take on it.

successful reefers dont just slap stuff together on the "cheap" and expect it to thrive like a totm.

craigslist is a good option if you want to go cheap but it is a mixed bag of leaky tanks. shady equipment. and whatever else. dont expect apple support if it fails prematurely.

k im done

 

[Kurt Copeland]

i disagree. cheap is synonymous with inexpensive.

Quite literally, "cheap" is not synonymous with "inexpensive".

"Cheap" is wanting gelato and buying an otter pop to save money.

"Inexpensive" is going to find that gelato is on sale at your supermarket and bringing a coupon on double day instead of going to the Le Fancy ice cream shoppe on the corner.

In the first scenario, the end result is a leaky otter pop. In the latter...some freakin' awesome gelato.

See the difference?