The HARD Truth about Reef Keeping...

[Pete1968]

Ok I will play along
180 Gallon Tank and stand- $300
Upgrades to stand- $150
Powerheads- $600
Return Pump- $300
Apex- $500
Apex Modules- $300
Media Reactor- $120
Algae Reactor- $300
Rock- $200
Sand- $100
Lights Total- 1300
(Current Lights- $300)
Chiller- $100
Heaters- $150
Assorted Maintenance Equipment- $250
Skimmer- $200
Coral- $1200
Anemones- $800
UV Sterilizer- $500
Fish- $900
Food, Testing equipment, meds (6 months worth) - $300
TOTAL: $8570
This tank has been running for a bit over a year now.
The truth is, this is not a cheap hobby. I run a mainly LPS with softies and very few SPS. I can only imagine what it would be for an SPS setup!

Exactly! I wish i lived closer I would be on it!

 

[MSB123]

Yes, second hand might be cheaper but living in the Los Angles area, with a population of over 13million, and actively keeping tabs on the local facebook and craigslist marketplace, I can tell you right now, that over the past two years, there hasn't been a single good deal! Many entire systems sales are really old and have outdated equipment, not to mention which are also dirty and often times the tank's seams don't appear like they'd be able to handle any more use.... Also, most well known used equipment on second hand markets are over used and overpriced! 95/100 Times most users are most certainly better off going with lesser known brands but with new equipment verse getting 1+ year old used brand equipement!

I am selling my tank- I am in Santa Barbara

 

[MSB123]

Ok I will play along
180 Gallon Tank and stand- $300
Upgrades to stand- $150
Powerheads- $600
Return Pump- $300
Apex- $500
Apex Modules- $300
Media Reactor- $120
Algae Reactor- $300
Rock- $200
Sand- $100
Lights Total- 1300
(Current Lights- $300)
Chiller- $100
Heaters- $150
Assorted Maintenance Equipment- $250
Skimmer- $200
Coral- $1200
Anemones- $800
UV Sterilizer- $500
Fish- $900
Food, Testing equipment, meds (6 months worth) - $300
TOTAL: $8570
This tank has been running for a bit over a year now.
The truth is, this is not a cheap hobby. I run a mainly LPS with softies and very few SPS. I can only imagine what it would be for an SPS setup!

I hope my family doesn't see this!

 

[ccoffel81]

Looks great imo salt I would use many might chime in too Is salinity by aquavitro best IMO number two would be the esv 4 part salt system. And use Hanna instruments for test supplies.

 

[Bob Weigant]

When I introduced my new wife to the hobby she was fascinated and never asked about price. One night in the garage ( where my tanks are ) she asked I’ll bet you have thousands in here. I said your pretty close. We have separate bank accounts

 

[Kelso]

when I lived near the coast I had a $5 vase from walmart and a south facing window.... kept all sorts of critters gathered locally with 80% water changes weekly and an air pump. Moved inland and no longer have natural sunlight, so expenses have gone up.

 

[6TankReefer9]

I am selling my tank- I am in Santa Barbara

180Gallon system is too much work and not worth a potential spill for me Another reason I'd like a 22G System, as worst comes to worst it's just an early 22 gallon hardwood floor wash

 

[6TankReefer9]

When I introduced my new wife to the hobby she was fascinated and never asked about price. One night in the garage ( where my tanks are ) she asked I’ll bet you have thousands in here. I said your pretty close. We have separate bank accounts

Bob, as long as she makes less than you then separate accounts only make sense to me Each hair salon and "getting nails done" is a Vortech Powerhead out the window

 

[TaylorPilot]

I think the poll should be more like 1-3k, 3-5k, 5-15k, 15-40k, 40k+

 

[6TankReefer9]

I think the poll should be more like 1-3k, 3-5k, 5-15k, 15-40k, 40k+

The point of the thread is to point out to those wanting to get into reef keeping that the basic "minimum" amount for a functional reef system with necessary functions will run at least $1500. As too many novices will buy incomplete packages or parts of the puzzle not realizing that by the time they get all the parts, the financial total will be well over $1500.

 

[falc]

lol.. I am well over $1k on this build and I don't have the first coral or fish in it... (glad the wife doesn't read R2R ;Greedy)

 

[TaylorPilot]

It's kind of like that saying. "I hope when I die that my wife doesn't sell all my reefing gear for what I told her I paid for it."

 

[Jerett83]

I think you forgot a zero at the end of each figure in your poll.

 

[bluedevils6653]

The point of the thread is to point out to those wanting to get into reef keeping that the basic "minimum" amount for a functional reef system with necessary functions will run at least $1500. As too many novices will buy incomplete packages or parts of the puzzle not realizing that by the time they get all the parts, the financial total will be well over $1500.

I would have to disagree with that. I have a 240 gallon tank and a 40 gallon breeder. For my 240 I went all out on that. I dont even want to think of all the costs lol But my 40 is very basic and simple. Its been up for a few years. Id say it is a successful tank. I cant remember the exact prices for everything but just a rough estimate.

40 breeder- $40 ($1 per gallon sale)
HOB aqua clear 70 - $60ish
HOB Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer -$200ish
Used a desk I had laying around as my stand- Free
MH pendant- $120 (found one used on craiglist)
Sand- $40ish
Live rock- $100 (found someone local breaking down their tank)
Spectra Pure ro/di system- $120 ( I had this before i set up the 40 breeder for my 240 but will include it since I would have gotten this ro/di system anyways )
Jebao wavemaker- $75ish

Thats around $750 give or take. Half of the $1500 you said is the bare minimum to get a tank up and running. Now depending on the type of fish and coral you want that can increase the cost significantly. But if your talking about bare minimums to get a tank running I think $1500 is on the extreme high end imo. Like I said earlier in this thread. This for sure is an expensive hobby but its as expensive as you want to make it. For example when it comes to lighting. Do you really need those new $700 radions or could you save a bunch of money and go with a mh pendant. In your example I believe you said you were getting a custom made 22 gallon tank. Do you really need to spend $200 on a custom 22 gallon tank or could you save a bunch of money and get a standard 20 gallon and wait till petco has the $1 a gallon sale for $20. Do you really need to spend $100 on a custom made sump for a 22 gallon tank or could you get a standard 20 gallon and make a sump yourself out of that. Dont get me wrong im sure the custom 22 will look much better than a standard 20 gallon from petco from a visual standpoint but just wanted to use that as an example as well. All in all this is an expensive hobby but its only as expensive as you decide to make it.

 

[6TankReefer9]

I would have to disagree with that. I have a 240 gallon tank and a 40 gallon breeder. For my 240 I went all out on that. I dont even want to think of all the costs lol But my 40 is very basic and simple. Its been up for a few years. Id say it is a successful tank. I cant remember the exact prices for everything but just a rough estimate.

40 breeder- $40 ($1 per gallon sale)
HOB aqua clear 70 - $60ish
HOB Reef Octopus Protein Skimmer -$200ish
Used a desk I had laying around as my stand- Free
MH pendant- $120 (found one used on craiglist)
Sand- $40ish
Live rock- $100 (found someone local breaking down their tank)
Spectra Pure ro/di system- $120 ( I had this before i set up the 40 breeder for my 240 but will include it since I would have gotten this ro/di system anyways )
Jebao wavemaker- $75ish

Thats around $750 give or take. Half of the $1500 you said is the bare minimum to get a tank up and running. Now depending on the type of fish and coral you want that can increase the cost significantly. But if your talking about bare minimums to get a tank running I think $1500 is on the extreme high end imo. Like I said earlier in this thread. This for sure is an expensive hobby but its as expensive as you want to make it. For example when it comes to lighting. Do you really need those new $700 radions or could you save a bunch of money and go with a mh pendant. In your example I believe you said you were getting a custom made 22 gallon tank. Do you really need to spend $200 on a custom 22 gallon tank or could you save a bunch of money and get a standard 20 gallon and wait till petco has the $1 a gallon sale for $20. Do you really need to spend $100 on a custom made sump for a 22 gallon tank or could you get a standard 20 gallon and make a sump yourself out of that. Dont get me wrong im sure the custom 22 will look much better than a standard 20 gallon from petco from a visual standpoint but just wanted to use that as an example as well. All in all this is an expensive hobby but its only as expensive as you decide to make it.

$750 but you still left out a Quarantine system for your corals and livestock, test kits/food, pumps if you dose, as manual dosing doesn't always equate to good results, those three would push you back another $300 easily! Also, it looks like your biggest savings point was your light for $120, but not everyone gets lucky waiting around for STELLAR second hand deals, as mentioned before 95/100 times used equipment is over priced and over used. Also, for discussion purposes the thread was to show that going with the best items that are reasonably priced for NEW equipment will easily push you over $1,500. You can't really talk second hand prices as one killer deal half way around the U.S. isn't applicable for new reefers and is almost aways never replicable.

Also, in regard to the custom 20G long setup, $100 is very reasonably priced, and all it would be is a 20G Long Aqueon with custom baffles that I'll make myself, so $100 is already a bargain as most sumps are easily $300+.

 

[jtl]

I have a 100g rimless and a 50g sump which after rock, sand and drain down room in the sump is net 100g. I have kept detailed records since day one and todate I have $8387, including coral and fish (mostly coral). My lights are not cheapo but not super expensive (Reefbreeder's), I don't even have a controller.

 

[Epic Aquaculture]

LOL my return pump cost more than your highest option... Welcome to R2R!

 

[bluedevils6653]

$750 but you still left out a Quarantine system for your corals and livestock, test kits/food, pumps if you dose, as manual dosing doesn't always equate to good results, those three would push you back another $300 easily! Also, it looks like your biggest savings point was your light for $120, but not everyone gets lucky waiting around for STELLAR second hand deals, as mentioned before 95/100 times used equipment is over priced and over used. Also, for discussion purposes the thread was to show that going with the best items that are reasonably priced for NEW equipment will easily push you over $1,500. You can't really talk second hand prices as one killer deal half way around the U.S. isn't applicable for new reefers and is almost aways never replicable.

Also, in regard to the custom 20G long setup, $100 is very reasonably priced, and all it would be is a 20G Long Aqueon with custom baffles that I'll make myself, so $100 is already a bargain as most sumps are easily $300+.

So add another $50 for a small quarantine tank and a hob filter. $100 or so for test kits. Realistically speaking a new hobbyist isnt going to be getting dosing pumps and what not. Probably will start off with some easy beginner coral and see how it goes and will go from there. I did mention that depending on what fish and coral you choose the costs of your build can sky rocket but a beginner is probably looking at some clownfish or something cheap along those lines to start off with and maybe some gsp/zoas coral wise to start off with. Nothing fancy or expensive. But there are always those people that cycle there tank then get a $600 candy basslet or something to put in it lol. I wasnt trying to say your $100 for a sump wasnt a good deal. I was just using that as an example of a way to save money on a build. No harm intended. Im sure your build is gonna look great! Honestly I didnt wait around to find my light. If you search the different forums out there/ your local reef clubs/ebay/craigslist you can find yourself good deals in a decent amount of time. IME most reefers try and take good care of their equipment for the most part. Yes sometimes stuff is over priced and a lot of the times its right on par with what it should be going for. But I didnt realize you were trying to say how much something would cost using all new top of the line equipment though thats my mistake. Just trying to state that you can get a system up and running for less than $1500

 

[Nano sapiens]

The 'Hard Truth' is that the hobby CAN be expensive, but doesn't have to be. So much depends on the reef keeper's perception of what they think they need to keep their animals healthy and happy (as opposed to what they really need) and, to a certain extent, their choice of 'must have' organisms.

 

[declanisadog]

I feel like I got the best deals possible on most of my stuff, but my tank is definitely not what I would consider a beginner tank. I did sit around, and wait for the best deals. I also was fortunate enough to be given a bunch of stuff I didn't need that I was able to trade for other good stuff. I will definitely be adding more to this down the road, but I feel like most people could get by with the stuff I already have.

Tank/Stand- $350

Lights-LED/T5 Hybrid-$300-New
3X Hydra 26HD-$125ea

Sump-40 breeder-$0

Skimmer-Eshopps Axium X-160-$150

Return- DCP1200-$50

Powerheads- 2x Gyre XF250-$500-New

Controller-Apex Classic-$0(Teehee)

ATO-Tunze- $100