herpboyben
New member
i have the chance to get a 180 acrylic with a stand, canopy, sump, 3 250 watt halides, 4 3 foot vhos, a magdrive pump, and plumbing for 800 bucks. should i get it?
15 year old with a 180
- Thread starter herpboyben
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Larry Waughon
Active member
Sounds like a good price.
herpboyben
New member
thanks my mom borrowed some money from me (moneys kinda tight) and im waiting to get it back so i can buy this beast (i know not as big as some tanks on here but when your current tank is a 30 gallon you cant help but think tangs here i come). not a bad way to spend an insurance settlement from a car accident.
It's going to cost at least $700 just for the Live Rock for that tank. You need to think about your total investment, not just the price of the tank. Can you afford that? How old are the light bulbs? You may need to buy new bulbs, those are around $100 each. There's plenty more.
there may be plenty more but that is a good start for him.you can always go slowly,dont have to stock it full of rock.you can take your time and have fun with it.im looking to upgrade to a 300 as i just got my hands on a pair of crosshatches and would love to get an 8 foot tank.all in what you want to do
Chihuahua6
Premium Member
Before you buy a large tank think of the rest of the equipment you will need, the money to run it (replacement parts, media, food etc.) live rock and livestock and then the electric bill that I assume your mom pays for.
If money is tight like you mentioned then something of this size is going to cost much more than the initial investment of $800.
Since you mentioned it no I don't believe it's a good way to spend an insurance settlement. It would be much wiser to invest that money in something that you would get some sort of return on. Sure spend some on a tank or something else you will enjoy but not the thousands you are looking at with this size tank.
Sorry to sound like such a mom but I am : )
If money is tight like you mentioned then something of this size is going to cost much more than the initial investment of $800.
Since you mentioned it no I don't believe it's a good way to spend an insurance settlement. It would be much wiser to invest that money in something that you would get some sort of return on. Sure spend some on a tank or something else you will enjoy but not the thousands you are looking at with this size tank.
Sorry to sound like such a mom but I am : )
streetjudge79
Active member
You can buy really nice base rock for 2.00 and change per pound at Marcorocks.com or from Bulk Reef Supply (BRS had better cleaned rock for same price and better pieces) PIck up a couple live rocks later to seed it. That will save you a TON of money.
atwinparadox2
New member
it's a great price for everything but like some people have said be careful what your investing yourself in. Maybe if you want to start a reef tank start small so you can live and learn and then as you get older and more secure financially jump into that big tank. It's a huge investment taking on a big reef tank... Just some advise, but if you think you can do it go for it...
sfsuphysics
Active member
Yeah, a "good price" on a large tank is definitely nice, but it'll come back and bite you in the butt with all the additional costs associated with it. You can't use those same powerheads you use on a 30g tank to move water around, you need ones that are a lot more powerful, lighting might come with it, but what about the electricity bill? You prepared to pay that off when your mom gets sticker shock? Especially if money is tight.
If money is tight, I wouldnt spend the cash on it. Why not look at something used like a 90g, and use that as an upgrade. That way you dont have to spend $600 on quality powerheads, $500 on a skimmer, etc etc. you can spend $200 on powerheads and $200 on a skimmer. Then you could run T5s (potential for lower electric bill), and itd take less rock to stock it. If money is tight, a 90 is plenty big.
tangers
New member
I have seen many young people break when it comes to settiing up a big tank on their own. I have seen many that 75 was too big. As said above it's not just the initial cost it's the cost to maintain it also. (salt, ro, media....) not to even mention medicine, qt tank if things go wrong. It is not a cheap hobby even for us with full time careers. I would personally start smaller-75 or under. Good luck though.
serpentman
part time superhero
I have found that the cost of ownership grows exponentially as you go larger (i.e. salt, electric, etc.). Personally, I could easily purchase a 300gal tank tomorrow. However, setting it up and maintaining one just doesn't fit the budget with a kid almost in college.
If it were me and I had a working budget of $800, I hunt for something in the neighborhood of 75-90gal. You could do a nice set up in that price range. And (tang police back off) you could keep a small tang for a couple of years.
If it were me and I had a working budget of $800, I hunt for something in the neighborhood of 75-90gal. You could do a nice set up in that price range. And (tang police back off) you could keep a small tang for a couple of years.
Mikeeee
New member
Even a 90g gets expensive lol. At first it was just the tank.. okay not bad... than came the MH lights, skimmer, return pump, okay still not bad. Then came the flow still not bad since i went with K4's the cheaper way.. but not entirely happy with them. So slowly i look at my equip and start upgrading to better and more reliable and that of which i can use on a larger system once i upgrade..so i go Vortech okay heres where it starts to get pricey.. than i realize its too much of a pain to dose by hand so i get calcium reactor wow okay now were talking $$.. than i want to get a PH controller/monitor more $$..than i get automatic topoff because im sometimes not home for a few days..more $$ once you think okay i finally have all the equipment now i can just buy corals every now and then......wrong, lol. If your a serious reefer you know what i mean 
.. i hope to be done buying equip soon.. i think the last thing i want is the 'brain' controller until i have all the toys i want . Once i am happy with my 90g i will be switching to a 180..this way i always most of the equip for it for the most part other than a more LR, larger skimmer, and some plumbing supplies. It is best to start with something smaller and do it right, learn from your mistakes.. then once you think your ready and understand upgrade.
.. i hope to be done buying equip soon.. i think the last thing i want is the 'brain' controller until i have all the toys i want . Once i am happy with my 90g i will be switching to a 180..this way i always most of the equip for it for the most part other than a more LR, larger skimmer, and some plumbing supplies. It is best to start with something smaller and do it right, learn from your mistakes.. then once you think your ready and understand upgrade.
herpboyben
New member
how much does like a 90 gallon run?
Mikeeee
New member
I do not want to know how much i have spent honestly..but I love the hobby and dont think i will ever get out of it completely so it doesnt matter to me + i love trying out all the toys and showing it off to people when they come over 
. If you can find used thats prob the cheapest. Just take a look around at other build threads and kind of get a list of equip thats needed and add up the costs. If you think okay thats affordable maybe not all at once but over time and you are serious than go for it . I only wish that when i first started i spent some more and bought more reliable equip i am happy with what i have now but i had to buy everything twice. Back when i bought my K4's i thought to myself.. i would love to go tunze or vortech.. but i looked at the price and couldnt see myself spending that much. And here i am now switching out my K4's for 2 vortech's lol. The way i look at it is you get what you pay for..the equip i had before did the job but my goal is to get everything as automated as possible because theres going to be days where you are going to have to be away from your tank for a a week or just the weekend for camping or whatever it may be.
. If you can find used thats prob the cheapest. Just take a look around at other build threads and kind of get a list of equip thats needed and add up the costs. If you think okay thats affordable maybe not all at once but over time and you are serious than go for it . I only wish that when i first started i spent some more and bought more reliable equip i am happy with what i have now but i had to buy everything twice. Back when i bought my K4's i thought to myself.. i would love to go tunze or vortech.. but i looked at the price and couldnt see myself spending that much. And here i am now switching out my K4's for 2 vortech's lol. The way i look at it is you get what you pay for..the equip i had before did the job but my goal is to get everything as automated as possible because theres going to be days where you are going to have to be away from your tank for a a week or just the weekend for camping or whatever it may be.
herpboyben
New member
i meant for the tank itself.
new2sw776784
New member
i got a used tank and stand for 120 it all comes down to being patiet for that deal it will come around.
