Hello I am looking to buy a saltwater tank, I have for a long time. I have hours and hours in research but I can't find how much it will cost to take care of. If you could give me some insight on how much it will cost many cost per gallon to run a reef tank and how much water and electricity it will use. However big of a tank I get will depend on it. I hear a lot of people say the cost of setup is the big hitter but we pay a lot for sewer, water, and electricity where I am so I'm just looking for an estimate. Also do t5s use a lot less energy then LEDs and a cost per gallon would be very nice even if it's not accurate, thank you to all who post.
Cost of running a tank
- Thread starter Jeremy837
- Start date
This is a fairly broad question and you are not going to get a straight answer. For example, my next door neighbor could have the same exact tank setup as I do and it would cost them a different amount to run the tank than me. The smallest factors such as what you keep your own thermostat at, the placement of the tank inside the house, the placement of equipment in the tank (a heater in a sump is going to work harder than a heater in the display), the livestock in the tank, and so on, and so on, and so on. I can tell you that LEDs are going to be the MOST energy efficient. I have a 150 gallon with a 68 gallon sump, I use LED lighting, and my electric bill went up roughly 25$ a month.
I know this doesnt help one bit, but unfortunately I dont think you are going to get any answers that do help.
Good Luck!
I know this doesnt help one bit, but unfortunately I dont think you are going to get any answers that do help.
Good Luck!
Reef Frog
New member
My 65 gallon aquarium costs a MAXIMUM of about 5 cents per hour to run based on the cost of electricity @ 10 cents per kWH with 6x T5 (239 w) 3 pumps (150w) & a 150 w heater.
At night with lights out & heater off it's costing as little as 1.5 cents per hour to run.
So maybe an average of 80 cents per day.
20 gallons water change a month costs little in fees but a $150- $200 RODI is advisable. Filter changes are infrequent at this level & inexpensive.
The real expenses beyond your starting hardware comes from buying livestock, especially corals, at least in my case.
At night with lights out & heater off it's costing as little as 1.5 cents per hour to run.
So maybe an average of 80 cents per day.
20 gallons water change a month costs little in fees but a $150- $200 RODI is advisable. Filter changes are infrequent at this level & inexpensive.
The real expenses beyond your starting hardware comes from buying livestock, especially corals, at least in my case.
from what I have read on this forum, the general consensus is US$40-60/gallon depending on your brand of equipment.
There are some really fancy and nice lights out there like Ecotech marines with online programming etc
Full reef style tanks will be more due to the lighting and corals
There are some really fancy and nice lights out there like Ecotech marines with online programming etc
Full reef style tanks will be more due to the lighting and corals
I have a 20 gallon tank with a 10 gallon sump in a high cost of energy area (San Francisco Bay Area). I calculated my monthly energy is around $12-15. Water changes and salt is going to vary -- I expect more early on and less later but who knows. For a tank of my size, it's relatively inexpensive though. I kept running expenses in mind and went with LED lighting, DC pumps, etc.
There is also the cost to get going to consider. I've spent around $1,700 so far (including $250 on tools to make my stand). All the little things add up but I've mostly stayed with new but budget equipment (ie $20 tank from Petco sale, 165w eBay lights, etc). But if you can find a used setup, you can get going for much less.
There is also the cost to get going to consider. I've spent around $1,700 so far (including $250 on tools to make my stand). All the little things add up but I've mostly stayed with new but budget equipment (ie $20 tank from Petco sale, 165w eBay lights, etc). But if you can find a used setup, you can get going for much less.
toothybugs
New member
Setup is the killer. My 40B/ 15 fuge/ 29 sump system ran pretty cheap with LEDs; I'd guess on the neighborhood of 15 a month.
It's going to be interesting what happens when I fire up the halides later this month over a new 75 and more than double my system volume.
It's going to be interesting what happens when I fire up the halides later this month over a new 75 and more than double my system volume.
WaReefer458
New member
I have a 40b I spent about 4K setting it up. I bought a lot of high end equipment. But because I have small pumps and very efficient led lighting my elec bill didn't even notice it. As far as running costs, I go thru about 20$ a month in food and probably 5-10$ a month in salt. Now my 75 I had years ago had halides, t5's, chiller and way bigger pumps and that raised my elec bill about 75-100$ a month.
TimeConsumer
Active member
Aside from setup and utilities consider some maintenance costs. Here is a rough estimate what I spent in maintenance per year for my 75g.
1) RO Prefilters and DI Refills- $100/year
2) T5 Bulbs - $250/year
3) Salt - $65/year
4) Carbon/GFO - $100/year
(the following items I am less sure of the yearly costs and are rougher estimates)
5) Testing refills - $25/year
6) Food - $150/year
7) Calc/Alk/Mag - $50/year
1) RO Prefilters and DI Refills- $100/year
2) T5 Bulbs - $250/year
3) Salt - $65/year
4) Carbon/GFO - $100/year
(the following items I am less sure of the yearly costs and are rougher estimates)
5) Testing refills - $25/year
6) Food - $150/year
7) Calc/Alk/Mag - $50/year
JohnnyHildo
Member
i can't comment on the associated costs of running a tank as mine is mid way into its cycle at the moment but i can tell you that anyone that says this hobby can be done cheap start to finish is probably a sales person lol.
Brieninsac
Member
Well I'm into my new system about $5,000 or $55 per gallon. I have a Kill-o-watt meter on my system and I'm averaging $21 per month over the last 6-months. I was afraid it would be much more expensive so I'm delighted at the minimal impact on our power bill.
Honestly, i say start small if your worried about the cost because this hobby get very expensive quick. The more you know, the more gadgets you find out about, the less money stays in your pockets! lol I started salt because of the colors and yes the "Nemo" tank was approved by the wife only because of my 2 little ones. She never enjoyed my Jardini and other monster through out the years as much as i did =)
PS, i was doing yard work yesterday and caught 3 garden lizards. I called the kids over to the Jardini tank and dropped them 1 by 1 as the my lil monster (20") snatched it up! took less than 2 mins but both of the kids enjoyed it as much as i did! Arghhh!! lol
PS, i was doing yard work yesterday and caught 3 garden lizards. I called the kids over to the Jardini tank and dropped them 1 by 1 as the my lil monster (20") snatched it up! took less than 2 mins but both of the kids enjoyed it as much as i did! Arghhh!! lol
jstack
New member
well from someone who just started the cycle 3 days ago and the pain still fresh from the monthly bank statement.
new tank 56 column combo stand - 250
protein skimmer - 200
reactor/pump - 70
circulation pumps-120
heater - 50
leds - 200 ( i have ocean revive t247 if you're on a budget look into these)
sand and rock - 200
ato - 100
rodi - 120 i wish i spent 200
refractometer - 60
salt - 60
carbon/gfo brs high grade - 100
chemicals - 50
bucket's, rubbermaids, plumbing stuff - 100
test kit's - 40
qt/ttm -100
water bill came in fews days ago 75g made my bill was 20 more
i still need net's, flipper,cuc, coral and fish xD
and i went the cheaper route than most no sump but that's really just a electricity issue for me
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skeeter_ca
Active member
So you are looking at how much to maintain a reeftank per month correct. A lot of these post are telling you how much it cost to setup the tank which would be wrong.
I figure my 75'er cost me about 65 per month of normal maintenance cost but I do have halides which accounts for about $40/month. I hate Edison.
