If we think equipment prices are high . .. . . . .

[Cichlid Dad]

Still curious on everyone's thoughts:

What does everyone believe will be the costs of essential items such as lighting , water flow, sumps, tanks, skimmers and such?
Do you also see our equipment going completely WiFi ?

I see all of the equipment being available WiFi, but a majority being analog. Cost will continue to increase giving rise to people seeking out and rebuilding older quality equipment. Then there's the cheap crap it will continue to be offered but prices on those will increase on par with the quality stuff but quality won't improve.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Miami won’t be like Hawaii !!

less iguanas? lol

 

[Cajun86]

As a matter of fact…

Another great “investment”. Only spent $11k on the boat last year to repair motor and reupholster it. Boat is worth $11k on a great day. LOL

I have 2. One has a 90 gal gas tank.

 

[ronnie]

I have 2. One has a 90 gal gas tank.

I hope you have an alarm system just for the gas. LOL

 

[Lowell Lemon]

The cost for a reef tank has always been high in my experience! That is why I was seduced into selling systems to afford my own years ago. I eventually made my own and sold them. If I could get all the money and years back I wasted on the hobby I might actually be much better off financially! I am doing okay but my family and I would have been better off if I had quite sooner!

So investment in a tank is a fallacy! If you look at it as a hobby for your enjoyment and can afford the ups and downs then it has some reward. Investment never on a great day! Just setup what you can afford size wise and be satisfied! Avoid the jump on and measure phase of I can fit one more aquarium here and all will be good. All things in moderation is a good operating concept.

 

[Hooz]

The cost for a reef tank has always been high in my experience! That is why I was seduced into selling systems to afford my own years ago. I eventually made my own and sold them. If I could get all the money and years back I wasted on the hobby I might actually be much better off financially! I am doing okay but my family and I would have been better off if I had quite sooner!

So investment in a tank is a fallacy! If you look at it as a hobby for your enjoyment and can afford the ups and downs then it has some reward. Investment never on a great day! Just setup what you can afford size wise and be satisfied! Avoid the jump on and measure phase of I can fit one more aquarium here and all will be good. All things in moderation is a good operating concept.

Actually, this is why I like nano tanks. Instead of trying to keep everything in one big tank, I can setup smaller, specialized tanks for different things. Obviously, I'm limited on some things (fish) that I can keep, but I've learned to work around that, but the setup cost for a small tank (lights, pumps, etc, etc) is SO much cheaper when adding one smaller tank.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Actually, this is why I like nano tanks. Instead of trying to keep everything in one big tank, I can setup smaller, specialized tanks for different things. Obviously, I'm limited on some things (fish) that I can keep, but I've learned to work around that, but the setup cost for a small tank (lights, pumps, etc, etc) is SO much cheaper when adding one smaller tank.

the only other draw back is to much testing, unless they are all connected

 

[Hooz]

the only other draw back is to much testing, unless they are all connected

True, but also, testing is different for each tank depending on what I'm keeping. I'd test a 10g SPS tank a lot more religiously than a 20g BTA tank, and a 30g LPS/softie tank would fall somewhere in between those.

I have an IM Nuvo 10 and a Nuvo 30L, and I've been debating a Nuvo 20, just so I have the whole set (all exactly the same dimensions except for the 12", 24" and 36" lengths).

 

[Aeiyr]

Many of us especially very long timers have seen pricing evolve from very affordable to exorbitant. We old timers have seen Metal Halides, the evolution of LED starting with Marineland LED at affordable costs to now $600-$900 lights. This is one component of the cost of Reefing. We now see Algae scrubbers at $600, Skimmers at $500-800 and Sumps at $500-$700

What does everyone believe will be the costs of essential items such as lighting , water flow, sumps, tanks, skimmers and such?
Do you also see our equipment going completely WiFi ?

I have near $5000 in Orpheks and there is no way if I go to sell them used that I will recover half of that, making it a high depreciation item? Our equipment investments may not be investments Afterall.

The price of pre-built sumps and in-sump skimmers is honestly enough to keep me in the AIO 30-ish gallon neighborhood likely forever. Maybe if IM has a sale on one of their pre-built 50 gallons with the 22g sumps I'd go for it. But the skimmers are absurd.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

True, but also, testing is different for each tank depending on what I'm keeping. I'd test a 10g SPS tank a lot more religiously than a 20g BTA tank, and a 30g LPS/softie tank would fall somewhere in between those.

I have an IM Nuvo 10 and a Nuvo 30L, and I've been debating a Nuvo 20, just so I have the whole set (all exactly the same dimensions except for the 12", 24" and 36" lengths).

that would be sweet! I like that.

yeah at some point the testing kinda drops off for most tanks depending on the inhabitants as time goes on, unless something is noticeably off then the test kits get broken out

 

[workhz]

It’s not like the all in one acrylic/bioball/skimmer combos of 20 years ago were exactly cheap.

I remember the birds nest of wiring I had for VHOs and the reflectors screwed into wood canopy. I’ll take a Chinese black box LED for sub $200 now.

Speaking of which, mine are going on 2 years now. Any maintenance to do to keep them going for another year or 2. I figure if I get 3-4 years out of them I’m happy. 5 would be great.

They’re out of warranty now, so open and dust off the cobwebs? Replace fans?

 

[ronnie]

It’s not like the all in one acrylic/bioball/skimmer combos of 20 years ago were exactly cheap.

I remember the birds nest of wiring I had for VHOs and the reflectors screwed into wood canopy. I’ll take a Chinese black box LED for sub $200 now.

Speaking of which, mine are going on 2 years now. Any maintenance to do to keep them going for another year or 2. I figure if I get 3-4 years out of them I’m happy. 5 would be great.

They’re out of warranty now, so open and dust off the cobwebs? Replace fans?

Man I loved my VHO’s. Such great pop. I tried to DIY a led panel but never liked the look so I stuck w Halides and then moved to T5. LED 10-12 years ago was not my cup of tea.

 

[GuppyHJD]

This post kinda struck home. A friend asked me about having a tank. His wife was encouraging him and they wanted a tank with bright color corals and a bunch of specific fish. We visited several stores. Then we started planning their tank. He watched the 52wk of BRS. He is an accountant by work. Then they decided they did not want to spend the startup amount. They are retired.

 

[ninjamyst]

This post kinda struck home. A friend asked me about having a tank. His wife was encouraging him and they wanted a tank with bright color corals and a bunch of specific fish. We visited several stores. Then we started planning their tank. He watched the 52wk of BRS. He is an accountant by work. Then they decided they did not want to spend the startup amount. They are retired.

Or they can do a low budget tank and still have bright color corals and lots of fish....

My dad is retired and living off social security and have enough for rent, food, water, and 5 salt water tanks. He gets the $1 a gallon tank, budget lights from Amazon, in tank filters from ebay, and etc. His low budget tanks have looked better than my $15k 200g setup....

Reefing is as expensive as you want it to be...

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Or they can do a low budget tank and still have bright color corals and lots of fish....

My dad is retired and living off social security and have enough for rent, food, water, and 5 salt water tanks. He gets the $1 a gallon tank, budget lights from Amazon, in tank filters from ebay, and etc. His low budget tanks have looked better than my $15k 200g setup....

I’m moving….. tomorrow….. where does he live?

 

[ninjamyst]

I’m moving….. tomorrow….. where does he live?

Chicago ... Super high cost of living and hes been bankrupt before. He has no money or savings. He gets by cuz he uses common sense and doesn't throw money away in expensive equipment. He still drives a 2010 Scion xB that he loves because it's reliable, plenty of cargo space, and good gas mileage. His GPS got stolen and instead of buying the latest and greatest, he asked me to find him the exact same GPS from 10 years ago on ebay cuz he said it works fine. I paid $15 for some Garmin nuvi 50 for him.

 

[Aeiyr]

Or they can do a low budget tank and still have bright color corals and lots of fish....

My dad is retired and living off social security and have enough for rent, food, water, and 5 salt water tanks. He gets the $1 a gallon tank, budget lights from Amazon, in tank filters from ebay, and etc. His low budget tanks have looked better than my $15k 200g setup....

Reefing is as expensive as you want it to be...

This 100%. After covid I fell back on pretty rough times and moved in with family. I lost a lot during that time and still live with them. The job market hasn't been great but even on a paltry 15/hr full time wage I've recently gotten into the hobby myself. I went with a very small line of credit, I pay less than 80 a month for the full setup and will be done paying it off in a year. When that year is up, I will be moving things up to a 25 lagoon style tank as I was wise enough to purchase equipment that can scale between what I have now and then, with generous 4+ year warranties on nearly all of it.

If you make a plan and stick with that plan, this can absolutely be done on even a thin budget. That bring said, I'm still not buying a $700 skimmer lol. I'll stick to smaller tanks. 30 to 40g tops. Let's be honest, hauling water sucks and I don't wanna do more than a bucket a week.

 

[Derrick0580]

For all the depreciation everyone is talking about it sure seems like a lot of used equipment is for sale at 90+% msrp regardless of age. Seems people don’t understand used equipment does lose value with age. Saw gen 3 radion xr30’s recently for $550 a piece or all 3 for $1500. I mean 30% off retail for a 10 year old light that may not have a lot of life left is quite absurd imo!

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

For all the depreciation everyone is talking about it sure seems like a lot of used equipment is for sale at 90+% msrp regardless of age. Seems people don’t understand used equipment does lose value with age. Saw gen 3 radion xr30’s recently for $550 a piece or all 3 for $1500. I mean 30% retail for a 10 year old light that may not have a lot of life left is quite absurd imo!

No low balls….I know what I got

 

[ninjamyst]

For all the depreciation everyone is talking about it sure seems like a lot of used equipment is for sale at 90+% msrp regardless of age. Seems people don’t understand used equipment does lose value with age. Saw gen 3 radion xr30’s recently for $550 a piece or all 3 for $1500. I mean 30% off retail for a 10 year old light that may not have a lot of life left is quite absurd imo!

Supply and demand. People can list whatever price they want. What they end up selling is completely different. 2 years ago, I bought 4 gen4 XR30 for $2000. I will never buy Radions new at the full price.