How much does a 300 cost monthly?

[SoggyNW]

I've had a 40breeder running for 3 years and it is packed. I was thinking a 180 would be the perfect size but I have an opportunity to pick up a complete 300DD with all the trimming for an amazing price. Thing is I haven't really say down and done the math. The tank comes with all the equipment, so after initial setup and excluding livestock how much are you guys spending a month on general upkeep?

With my 40b I'm doing a weekly 5 gallon WC, Dosing All for Reef, a little carbon, a few pinches of food. It comes out to about $10 a month.

And what else am I not thinking about with a tank this size? I'd love a little help thinking this through.

Pic of the 40

 

[IKD]

I don’t have an electrical bill or monthly number to give, but I can say that if you’re going heavy on corals, investing in a calcium reactor versus dosing may save you in the long run. Plan to spend more on livestock for sure (more fish, more food). I spend more on replacing RODI media as well

 

[vetteguy53081]

Tough question- depends on your equipment list, energy rates and amount of time lights-skimmer-uv etc are on daily
My last house, $194 avg
My new one- $80 average

 

[SoggyNW]

Tough question- depends on your equipment list, energy rates and amount of time lights-skimmer-uv etc are on daily
My last house, $194 avg
My new one- $80 average

That is one thing Im not actually worried about. We have the cheapest electricity in the country at 2.4c a Kwh. My wife has lived here her whole life and starts complaining when the electric bill goes above $70 a month.

 

[Gabe]

That is one thing Im not actually worried about. We have the cheapest electricity in the country at 2.4c a Kwh. My wife has lived here her whole life and starts complaining when the electric bill goes above $70 a month.

That is cheap cheap.

When you buy AFR in the smaller 250 or 500mL bottles (I'm making an assumption) you are paying the highest cost possible to maintain cal/alk/mag vs any other solution. The 1600g powder version of AFR is about 95% cheaper than the liquid solution in small bottles. So, buying in that way for a 300g tank will actually be cheaper than if you are buying the small bottles for a 40g tank. You can probably maintain cal/alk/mag muuuuch cheaper than AFR also, but this is just a direct comparison.

Same concept with carbon. If you bought the highest quantity of a really good carbon possible (say the 5g jug of brs ROX 0.8) and change it out twice a month you will need 3.6 cups/month - which will cost around $10/month. Single use chemi-pure for a 40g (their 11.74 oz bag @$18, changed every 2 months) as per their recommendation is around $9/month.

Depending on how you feed; buying bulk will save you a lot. This is the hardest one to make assumptions on though, and really depends on bioload more than tank size.

BRS has some great calculators for media, dosing, electricity etc. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator

On equipment - basic things like new DC pumps vs old AC pumps will really reduce your bill. Running LEDs vs anything else will make things cheap. Etc etc.

TL;DR - If you buy stuff in bulk way more than you are now; it will cost a little more, but not a lot more.

 

[SoggyNW]

That is cheap cheap.

When you buy AFR in the smaller 250 or 500mL bottles (I'm making an assumption) you are paying the highest cost possible to maintain cal/alk/mag vs any other solution. The 1600g powder version of AFR is about 95% cheaper than the liquid solution in small bottles. So, buying in that way for a 300g tank will actually be cheaper than if you are buying the small bottles for a 40g tank. You can probably maintain cal/alk/mag muuuuch cheaper than AFR also, but this is just a direct comparison.

Same concept with carbon. If you bought the highest quantity of a really good carbon possible (say the 5g jug of brs ROX 0.8) and change it out twice a month you will need 3.6 cups/month - which will cost around $10/month. Single use chemi-pure for a 40g (their 11.74 oz bag @$18, changed every 2 months) as per their recommendation is around $9/month.

Depending on how you feed; buying bulk will save you a lot. This is the hardest one to make assumptions on though, and really depends on bioload more than tank size.

BRS has some great calculators for media, dosing, electricity etc. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/reef-calculator

On equipment - basic things like new DC pumps vs old AC pumps will really reduce your bill. Running LEDs vs anything else will make things cheap. Etc etc.

TL;DR - If you buy stuff in bulk way more than you are now; it will cost a little more, but not a lot more.

So I am using the AFR powder. I liked it so much I bought the big one and my corals love it. Currently I'm dosing around 35ml a day.

The rest of it, I try to run a simple setup and hopefully that will work in my favor to keep costs down. And I'm not opposed to paying what I need to to keep this tank but I'm going to have to have a talk with the other half and make sure this isn't going to be a problem.

 

[SoggyNW]

Ok so it looks like my deal for this tank is falling through. Honestly it's probably for the best, it was an AMAZING deal but the logistics of getting it from there to hear we're gonna suck.

But it was a good opportunity to dig into costs and such so here is what I came up with.

Monthly cost.
Salt=$25 based on 10% weekly WC with reef crystals at current price on Amazon.

Food. = $10 once I had it stocked the way I want.

All for Reef $30 at my current per gallon consumption. Probably would take a few years to get back there.

Electricity = $10

Carbon, test kits, misc =$15

So all in I was expecting to spend $90 a month on just keeping the tank alive. That isn't to bad but I'm also guessing that I might be a little low so let's say $125.

The real kicker was getting on live aquaria and filling the cart with a selection of budget fish for a first round of stocking. $2400 ouch. And that didn't include any of the show piece fish I wouldn't put into a new tank

So I'm going to stick with the 40 breeder a while longer. I might see if I can trade in some colonies for higher end frags. Always wanted a Garf Bonsai

 

[gbroadbridge]

That is one thing Im not actually worried about. We have the cheapest electricity in the country at 2.4c a Kwh. My wife has lived here her whole life and starts complaining when the electric bill goes above $70 a month.

Wow, we pay 27c average

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

My 280 (400g total) costs me about $350-400 a month. Not sure where you figured $10 a month for electric, my electric alone is about $250 a month just for the tank, which include 4 radion xr30 and an external panworld.

 

[SoggyNW]

My 280 (400g total) costs me about $350-400 a month. Not sure where you figured $10 a month for electric, my electric alone is about $250 a month just for the tank, which include 4 radion xr30 and an external panworld.

I tried to do the math on wattage draw but I might have forgotten to carry the 1 somewhere. As I said above though. Our power here is 2.4c Kwh so it doesn't add up very fast.

 

[Ultra Aquatics]

I tried to do the math on wattage draw but I might have forgotten to carry the 1 somewhere. As I said above though. Our power here is 2.4c Kwh so it doesn't add up very fast.

That’s really low, are you sure you are adding in the delivery charge per kWh and the actual usage per kWh?