Have you ever tallied up the cost?

[Tlledsmar]

Good Ness. I am shocked at how much I've spent just too get my feet wet.

 

[Logical_Plan]

Yep, about three times what I budgeted. Without livestock. So probably, six times after stocking.

 

[ariellemermaid]

Just checked my running total on Mint where I track every dollar spent. Doesn’t even include water and electricity and I still have a lot of stocking to do. I’ll just say…. I’m well into 5 digits!

 

[homer1475]

It's a hobby, expendable money, why figure it out?

If I had to, over the course of 20 some odd years, I'm sure I'm probably close to a couple hundred thousand, if not a mil.

 

[Tlledsmar]

It's a hobby, expendable money, why figure it out?
...

Haha, good point. I wouldn't bother except I have a credit card for aquarium purchases only. And I'm about 5 fold over what I thought I would be at.

 

[Karen00]

Coming home with a 5g and associated equipment (we're talking low tech as well, no sump, etc) set me back close to $700 and I had not yet purchased lights and a better pump. I stopped keeping count at $700. Haha. Can I use the sad emoticon for this? LOL Admittedly the costs have leveled off. I'm just starting to add coral so that's going to be a few more bucks. After that it's just operating costs.

 

[kados]

Thread 'SAY WHAT?????? HOW MUCH I$ YOUR WHOLE SETUP WORTH?' https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/say-what-how-much-i-your-whole-setup-worth.869139/

Here's a previous thread.

 

[Zach B]

I feel it would take away from the hobby a bit if I counted. The way I see it, is an ongoing cost but keeps me happy and busy

 

[ariellemermaid]

It's a hobby, expendable money, why figure it out?

If I had to, over the course of 20 some odd years, I'm sure I'm probably close to a couple hundred thousand, if not a mil.

Hmmm. To some degree this true. However, this logic could be used to justify any amount of spending on anything. I think it’s always good to know where you’re at and take stock. Whether it’s worth it, whether any adjustments should be made, whether you’re meeting all other financial goals in life.

You obviously have enough disposable income it doesn’t matter too much. But, I’m sure plenty of folks out there are financing tanks and equipment either through installments or worse, credit cards with high interest. It’s always good to have a budget and at least keep track as with everything in life.

There’s also something insidious about spending in this hobby. If I wanted a car or a gaming computer or console I would know exactly how much I would spend on the purchase and could easily budget for routine maintenance or set an annual game purchase budget. But with reefing you start with an idea; tank, lights, pumps, initial fish/corals, the basics. Then you start to realize piece by piece everything else you need and those expenses trickle by one by one without realizing the total cost. Doser, dosing supplies, medications, more flow, a hospital tank and all the parts, testing reagents, a controller, a chiller, a reactor, another reactor, new fish and corals, replacements for dead fish and corals, screen top, dosing line holders, seaweed clips, salt salt and more salt, frozen food, automatic feeder; it just goes on and on purchase by purchase until you have no idea how much it’s all actually cost you.

Just saying, I think for most people that don’t have hundreds of thousands to drop on a hobby it’s a good thing to keep track and at least know what you’re doing as you’re doing it. There are always ways to set a budget, cut back, and maybe save a little more for the future for everything else that’s important in life too.

 

[flashsmith]

Alot less than I've spent on Scotch and Bourbon and I have a 625xxl and an SR80..

 

[Goaway]

I tallied up the running cost and the cost of death. Corals get expensive as they die and you can't save them. I am no where near some of these people. I am under 4 digits in death. 4 digits in starting. I hope to keep it that way. I don't want to spend 5k on equipment.

 

[kados]

I tallied up the running cost and the cost of death. Corals get expensive as they die and you can't save them. I am no where near some of these people. I am under 4 digits in death. 4 digits in starting. I hope to keep it that way. I don't want to spend 5k on equipment.

Mibu brings up a great point. The costs of death in fish & corals even adds up. That's where this hobby gets me a bit. I don't mind spending on the livestock or equipment since this is a hobby that brings joy. But it's a hobby where failure points result in loss of fish & corals. The fish I feel bad for...

 

[flyingscampi]

So far, £2,494.45 plus about £100 of petrol. For 60 litres of seawater containing a few corals and inverts. I work in IT so I can't stop myself auditing my hobbies.

The girlfriend mocked me, so I pointed out that her canine teddy bear (a.k.a 'A Labrador') costs her more than that every year. "Well, you can't cuddle a hermit crab" she replied. A fair point...