Expense of a nano?

[drjuice28]

I've got to add another amen to that!

In all seriousness to the thread starter, it gets expensive. But don't let that deter you! For most of us, it started out pretty cheap. You don't even notice the money flying (or drowning) in the tank, because the addiction grows...

I think that I'm about 2200 deep into my fully modded 24G nanocube, nearly fully stocked. But what's that really? It's the greatest piece of art I'll ever own!

[Crackerballer]

I agree with the Dr. I said "This will be cool to do" and then as you go along, the more you need. When I started, I never even considered a controller, all the testing kits, QT tank, frag tank, ro/di, auto top off, etc.

But buying the stuff, and watching your tank grow is half the fun.

[NanoReefWanabe]

Originally posted by Crackerballer
I agree with the Dr. I said "This will be cool to do" and then as you go along, the more you need. When I started, I never even considered a controller, all the testing kits, QT tank, frag tank, ro/di, auto top off, etc.

But buying the stuff, and watching your tank grow is half the fun.

Amen to that...once you start you cant stop...i go to bed at night only to wake up thinking man ishould look into doing this...or that..or that would make a cool mod...

watching it grow is half the fun though..

[Purple Penguins]

I think all of us do that, go to bed thinking non stop about this and that and thinking about the next tank, and the "oh I'll stop at 3 ok maybe 4 but oh wait 5 tanks is a good number"

[SugarFox03]

I have around $2500 (I think, maybe thats just what I like to tell myself...) in my 26g bowfront/10g sump-fuge, but first started out as a 24g Aquapod. I went the "more expensive" way as someone mentioned earlier. I'm also not done buying equipment either, as I still need a chiller (hopefully picking up this weekend) and a ro/di system. Corals? I'll never be "fully stocked" as you can always make room for one more! It's a money pit, but well worth it. Do your research, buy items that are used (but still in good condition!) and you'll save a ton of money!

Oh yeah, don't lose or break the stuff you already have...it sucks replacing them!

[aznlmpulse]

It really depends on what you're willing to deal with and without. A lot of the costs come from maintenance equipment like an RO/DI unit, but others with smaller nano's might just go buy bottled water and not even consider their cumulative water costs as upfront tank costs.

Lights are another biggie if you want halides. some other higher costing factors might be..

-skimmer if bought new
-power heads (relative)
-chiller
-rocks (if bought live)
-sand

not to mention all the little things that might not hurt your wallet now, but will add up eventually, like a refractometer, testkits, scrapers, buckets, syphon, food, power strips, salt etc.

You can definitely cut down costs by buying things used and dead, but that's really a personal preference.

my 29g 130w PC's, DIY canopy and stand with 8gal fuge I had set up till last year added up to 2500.

my 34gal cadlights with 150HQI, 48W actnic and 24W supplements thats cycling right now is quickly adding up to close to 3000 before any live stock in it. (including all the necessary equipment, as I had sold everything do to an overseas move)

I'm sure I'll end up getting a small chiller and a controller sometime in the near future...and that's another 600 easy.

if you want to keep seahorses, you will most definitely need a chiller. 300-400 dollars. You won't be needing halides though.

[Jimbo327]

Originally posted by drjuice28
I've got to add another amen to that!

In all seriousness to the thread starter, it gets expensive. But don't let that deter you! For most of us, it started out pretty cheap. You don't even notice the money flying (or drowning) in the tank, because the addiction grows...

I think that I'm about 2200 deep into my fully modded 24G nanocube, nearly fully stocked. But what's that really? It's the greatest piece of art I'll ever own!

We demand pix for verification.

[pledosophy]

Originally posted by t5Nitro
I just thought of going with a 20h for 2 seahorse maybe. I didn't want anything fancy here like an ATO/ca reactor or anything. I wasn't sure on what lights. Anyone know of a cheap light that will keep soft corals?

I'd go with the 20g tall, or even the 25g tall. Seahorses need vertical room.

If you want to do it cheap, your not looking to keep corals, it can be done if seahorses are the only stock you want.

Get about 20 lbs of branch rock, that way the seahorses can use it for hitches to. About 2" of sand, can be argonite to save some cash. A powerhead, for surface agitation. A few clipping of macro algae perhaps some prolifera, red grape caulphera, any other types your eye's fancy.

Depending on where you live you might need to get a chiller, even tropical seahorses do bet at temps under 74F longterm as they are asymptomatic carriers for a pathogen that changes the proteins it releases to a more virtulent strain at higher temperatures.

For lighting you can just go with NO if there are no corals, and just the macro algaes.

Ordering your seahorses from an aquaculture facility to get true CB as opposed to buying a TR (TR for seahorses means maricultured in the ocean where it is exposed to parasites) will save you time and money in the long run. I recommend seahorsesource.com or dracomarine.org

You can do a pair of any of the medium size seahorses in a 20g tall.

JME

LMK if you have any seahorse specific questions, or visit the seahorse forum here on RC.

[pledosophy]

Maybe this will help

20g tank (acrylic) $150 brand new, Glass is cheaper by far, I think Petco sells the 29g's for $60ish

NO light around $30 brand new

20 lbs of Tonga branch rock between $60 to 80

2" of argonite, around $20

Macroalgaes, goign to run you about $15 a clipping normally unless your friendly with a local reefer, in that cae most of us give it away unless it is an ultra rare species or a slow grower.

Powerhead, around $20

Pair of CB seahorses from an aquaculture facility $150. (I know it is more expensive then buying from your LFS but it will save you a ton of money in the long run. I have spent thousands of dollars extra per seahorse beause I did not beleive someone once, don't make the same mistake I did, fork out hte extra $90 up front, it will save you hundreds if not thousands a year).

That's really all you will need if you want to keep it cheap and only keep a pair of seahorses. You won't need a filter, although it won't hurt. You don't want a protein skimmer IME. It's a fairly easy setup.

[Zigzag Man]

Look at the bright side... I currently have a 125g tank and have about $6K sunk into it...

I'm also downsizing to a 24g Aquapod, and so far I'm into it for about $850 and I still need a stand, live rock, and other odds 'n ends.

Like others have said, this is not a hobby where you want to skimp, because the more expensive products really do perform better. I also chose the "more expensive" way with my first tank, and when I designed my second tank (the 125), I decided that I wasn't going to skimp anywhere, though I didn't shoot for the moon, either.

Your best bet is to just ask questions when it comes to purchasing products, and listen to the advice you're given. <-- That's the kicker.

So many people ask about a product hoping to be told what they want to hear, and even after given advice against the purchase they buy it anyway, because it was less expensive.

Also keep in mind that your time is not free... the more time you have to spend fiddling with things, the less time you have for actually enjoying your reef.

Good luck.

[michika]

My total set up cost for a 30g with 20g sump came to $675CDN. My tank is fully stocked (SPS & Clam dominated), I have all my lighting, etc. I even have a Ca Reactor on mine as well.

I found most everything on my local forum (Canreef.com), and what I couldn't find I ordered online as its cheaper for me. A few things were purchased locally, just plumbing, and salt.

Like everyone has mentioned it can be expensive, but at the same time it can be pretty thrifty too if you can score most of your equipment and livestock second hand.

Once your tank is established it can be profitable. I sell off SPS frags every few months for a total profit of $100-$300, and that covers all my operating costs, and the occasional new aquisition that I can't trade for.

[ctreefer]

It also really depends on what you have from your other tank to set it up. I had an extra heater,powerhead,live rock, corals, refugium light etc. I bought the 10 gallon with a hang on the back refugium from my LFS for $30 drilled and had scrap wood around to make a decent stand. All in all because of that I didn't spend more than $50 including the LOA light to replace the PC striplight that was over my refugium. My 10gallon is just as nice as my 29gallon that I've probably sunk over $2,000 and way better than my 120 FOWLR which was around $1,000.

[kingfisher62]

I have a 14g biocube that I bought for 160$ plus the LR ,heater and sand bringing the total to about $240. \
I have probably spent about $ 600 on 4 fish , 14 corals and cleanup crew over the first five months stocking the tank .
I really can not add too much more at this point, I want to still have room to allow the corals to grow.

[joedirt54]

2 to 3K+++++++

[davenia7]

Ok, here I go.
Keep in mind, I've been into FW for a long time and I already had an unused set up for this.

5 gal. hex acrylic tank, with inhood filter and light housing: free, it was in the back of the closet.
Modded the light housing to hold a 20 W 50/50 PC bulb and bought the bulb: $18
Added a zoo-med powerhead for a little more flow: $20
Live rock (6 lbs.) and sand (5 lb. bag):$46
2 baby osc. clownfish (around a half inch each):$27
1 baby YWG (about an inch):$14
3 new heaters as they broke (Petsmart swapped them out):$15
4 Mushrooms(bought from a fellow member of my local club): $16
6 Tiny zoas colonies (bought from same person above): $25
1 GSP colony(see above): $10
1 Yellow colony polyps (see above):$7
4 hermits: $8
8 snails: $8
5 Gal. bag of salt: $5
Purigen packet $6
Total: $225.00

I'm sure I missed something... I know this low-tech version isn't what most want, but it works just fine for me. And all of my creatures are happily growing and looking forward to me getting inspired to upgrade.

[messina06]

I thought this would be an appropriate thread to let those know that I am selling a 1 month old 24g AP with 150w HQI MH, AquaC skimmer, hydor 1, maxjet 1200, and heater for a great price.

Only 1 month old.

PM me if interested and are in the S FL area.

[mskurdah]

I'd start with your 'end' in mind and then figure out what you need. It's easy to get sucked into the "I need to have SPS" mentality -- when you may find that you really like mushrooms. zoas and frogspawn.

If you are happy with the 'simple' corals you don't need stuff like CA reactor, MH lighting, and maybe not even a protein skimmer (I've gone for two years without one with a lot of success)....check out Helfrich Chic's specs for the June NTOTM for an example of an elegant but 'simple' configuration.

[burton14e7]

Creeping towards 3k for me

[Slakker]

I'm afraid to add up my nano...here goes nothing...

Eclipse 12 tank, mag float, heater, salt, various other stuff: $40 (friend got out of hobby)
Live Rock, hermits, snails: $40
More Live Rock, peppermint shrimp, 2 ocellaris clowns: $150
More salt: $60ish
Panicked QT setup after clowns ended up sick (saved 'em, though): $120
175W PFO MH retro + pvc/wood: $100
Wood/stain/paint for stand: $50
MJ900 + Moonlights: $50

$610ish

I'm sure I forgot some stuff here and there...plus the only two corals I have right now were free...so I'm sure that'll start adding to my total once I start stocking them. (Frogspawn coming in on Sunday...but that frag will only be like $10.) Plus I plan on buying a chiller at some point...so that'll make a huge dent as well.

[neverwouldof]

I spent easy grand on my 24 gallon nano... now is a 45 that took a couple more grand out of my pocket....

[Musho3210]

Me:

Tank+stand=150 (20g high tank, first hand)
light=200 second hand sunpod 150watt
protein skimmer=135 (tunze nano)
Heater 100w=15 stealth
dry aragonite sand=21 caribsea
live rock 145 for 20 pounds if i get it straight from the artificial reef, cheaper using local fish club if anyone is selling there
RO/DI unit=169 dollars 100gpd
tds meter=30
salt=35 reef crystals
food=free off aquacave
refractometer=69 milwaukee instruments


Some things there you wont need, more specifically skimmer, RO/DI unit, that strong of a lighting, tds meter, but i do think a refractometer is needed, very easy to use.

[Zigzag Man]

Originally posted by mskurdah
I'd start with your 'end' in mind and then figure out what you need. It's easy to get sucked into the "I need to have SPS" mentality

Oh, ain't that the truth! SPS should come with a warning label from the Surgeon General...
It's the whole reason I upgraded from my first 55g tank to my current 125g, just to have a huge SPS garden... it gets really expensive, really fast.

Unfortunately a tank crash took out the majority of my SPS, and I probably lost about $3K worth of corals... that hurt.

So now that everything is stable in the tank once again, we're downgrading to the Aquapod 24, which will be primarily zoanthids, ricordia, a couple of Acan's, a couple caulastrea, and probably a few SPS frags to keep my "blue bomber" A. aculeus happy.

Since everybody's adding up what they've spent, I figured I'd post my figures so far:

Aquapod 24 w/ 150HQI - $330
Current Prime Mini nano chiller (1/15hp) - $254
Ebo Jager heater - $18
Hydor rotating deflector - $10
Tunze 9002 nano skimmer - $136
Tunze 9025 nanostream - $62
Mag-float 30 - $8
30 lbs. of Carib-sea sand $29

Subtotal: $847

I still have to build a stand, that will probably cost about $50 in materials (if I'm lucky), plus I'm planning on putting in an order to Marco Rocks for 25# of rock, which will probably be around $80-90, then there's other incidentals...

There's always a cheaper way to do things, but I want a tank that's easy to maintain, doesn't cost a fortune to run (my 125g costs about $70-80/mo), and is (for the most part) pest-free.

[dryice]

salt- $50
33 gal tank - $40 bought 2 years ago for fresh water
live rock $300
live sand $60
150 watt metal halide $ 50 (when i try i can get realy good deals haha)
ro/di unit $100
10 gal sump $free!!
protine skimmer $free (came with my 90 gallon old owner had it setup as a fowlr)
power heads agen free with 90 gallon
timers, power strips , plumbing etc around $50
heater free with 90 gallon
whisper 40 modded into fuge (free , had lying around from when the tank was a fresh water)
total around $650.

thats with no fish , cuc or coral and im sure i missed some stuff to.

[hobbzz]

For me:

20L - Already had it
Sand - $20-40 can't remember how much I bought
LR - $100 with about 10 lbs free
Lights (T5) - $300
Chiller - $360 shipped
Salt - $40
Return pumps/powerheads/chiller pump - $180
Supplies for diy canopy w/fans - $130
Skimmer (used) and diy 10g aga sump - $145 for all parts
DIY black glass overflow and ALL plumbing parts including locline - $110
Cleaners - $25
Test kits, still need 2-3 more - $30
Supplements - $40
Misc - $65
Angler - $160
Zoos - $35
Corals - free
So that's $1750 and my tank is new so obviously you could easliy double the cost after stocking it.

[Michael L.]

I'm still new to salt water (I've been in Freshwater for quite a while now) , but I could easily set up a 10 gallon for about $150 or less.

10 Gallon Tank: Free... people give these away in classifieds all the time and I have several.

Stand: $10. A simple box made of salvaged wood skinned with cheap plywood and spray painted black is easy and cheap to make. Throw a simple door on there so you can access your sump and you are set.

5-10 Gallon Sump: Free... same as with the display tank.

Return Pump: You can easily find for free used.*

Sand: $10. You can probably even find some for free if you have a local fish club.

10 lbs. Base Rock: $20.

5 lbs. Live Rock: $15 if you know someone who has a reef and wants out. I just recently got about 50 lbs. for $130 from a person who didn't want their reef tank any more.

DIY Wood Hood: Free. Leftover wood from stand.

65W PC Lighting: $30 used.

50W Heater: $10

Used Coralife Super Skimmer: $20. I just got a used 5 month old one that looks brand new and works perfectly.

Coral Frags: Free from fish club.

Fish: I wouldn't put anything in a 10 gallon, but you could easily get an ocellaris clown for $10.

50 Gallon Salt Mix: $10

Digital Thermometer: $5

*Get fancy with $5 worth of PVC pipe and you can turn a slightly oversized return pump into complete circulation for the entire tank.

Subtotal: $145. Add $55 for whatever extras you want to buy and you have a nice 10 gallon tank for about $200.

This of course only works if you buy stuff used from fellow hobbyists and are willing to DIY. To start from all new stuff at store prices you would be well over $650-$700.