Estimated Cost of 8-10 foot wall tank

[ChargerOnDavins]

Will be buying a house in the next year or two, figure it makes sense to build one, or figure out how to get one, in the basement of the house.

Anyone have any experience with professionally building these tanks in the Indianapolis area? How much for a professional to do this?

10 foot tank or so, about 3.5 feet tall or so, 4 feet wide. Does it make sense to do a reef tank? I imagine that would add at least another several thousand in lighting. Maybe keep a 150-220 gallon reef tank down there, and then have a wall tank for a FOWLR set-up.

Trying to figure out how much I need to save, plan to spend.

Thanks in advance folks!

 

[Dr. Reef]

i setup i am upgrading to is 8ft x 2 tall x 2f deep. with all new equipment and gear i am running at $14-15 thousand dollars. ur tank is much bigger and taller and u gonna need a bit more expensive equipment than mine. i went with all mid range equipment. hope that helps.

 

[maik1]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2044202

 

[symon_say]

You should keep this project FOWLR, reef will be really expensive and electricity bill will high.

 

[bullitr]

If you want professional installation and very good equipment
It's easy 50k for 400 g reef tank .
I am not a pro but I know how much I spend even using diy on installation.

 

[Jason1982]

If you want professional installation and very good equipment
It's easy 50k for 400 g reef tank .
I am not a pro but I know how much I spend even using diy on installation.

+1.

I'm in for $15k on a 360gal 8x24"x36"Tall and thats doing it all myself..cant really see where I could have even saved other than buying junk equipment..

 

[jjk_reef00]

I would do a FOWLR and keep a smaller tank for a reef. That is what I plan when/if I ever buy a house.
If you don't have any experience with a reef you should try something small to see if you like it.

 

[geaux xman]

i've seen a lot of huge 500+g reef tanks that isnt done right looking terrible. to do it right, you would have to spend an absurd amount of money too.

my vote is big FOWLR tank and a ~150-200g reef tank.

 

[sabodish]

i DIY'd my old 360 gallon reef (8x3x2) with a buddy of mine. I bought all new equipment at the start and after approx 5years i had a fully stocked reef. i had almost 20k in the tank based on the receipts THAT I ACTUALLY KEPT...you can easily spend $50-$75/gallon a nice reef setup.

 

[D5HP]

I am planning a 12' FOWLR in wall and it's going to be between 10-15k depending on how patient I am with used equipment.

Factor in another 2-3k for solatube lighting and some LED supplements and it will definitely be about 15k once I start stocking.

About 2k of that budget is waterproofing the 'fish room' and getting the fans + dehumidifiers sorted out correctly. That may seem high but with 800g+ evaporation can ruin a home.

I am building the tank myself (plywood) and DIY'ing as much as I possibly can to save money. This will of course quadruple the build time.

I think a 200g reef would be more, honestly.

This will be a pretty simple FOWLR tank...no fancy equipment just the simple stuff.

 

[Allmost]

Sky is the limit ! lol

FOWLR costs Significantly less than reef !

Ive set up 200G reefs set up for 2k, and Ive set ones up same size for over 25K ... depends on what you want.

but you can always plan in advanced ! leave room for a huge skimmer, lighting and ... and start with a FOWLR, over time, get skimmer, and lighting and ...and convert it to a reef, but PLAN ahead, so you dont have to change the sump when you decide to go reef !

 

[D5HP]

Sky is the limit ! lol

FOWLR costs Significantly less than reef !

Ive set up 200G reefs set up for 2k, and Ive set ones up same size for over 25K ... depends on what you want.

but you can always plan in advanced ! leave room for a huge skimmer, lighting and ... and start with a FOWLR, over time, get skimmer, and lighting and ...and convert it to a reef, but PLAN ahead, so you dont have to change the sump when you decide to go reef !

+1

I am actually setting my tank up with two identical sumps with two sets of equipment. Initially I will only have the skimmer, reactors, and UV for half the tank's volume ~500g in a single sump. The second sump will be plumbed though and online during that time...just sitting essentially empty. After the tank is cycled and has been running for a few months I can start to put money back into the redundant systems since the bioload initially will not require the added filtration.

The problem is that you can't do that with everything!

 

[Jamesurq]

Installed a single tank that cost over $75k for just the tank alone... Like people say sky is the limit.

that deep - 3.5ft
and that wide - 4ft....

Just for the lighting:
Figure just basic 250W DE MH setups at $200 each - times 10...
Or go with fancy schmancy reflectors and get 8 of them... (add extra for the reflectors)

I'm in full agreement that the big fish only system is the right choice. Then lights become a choice, rather than a requirement.

 

[ChargerOnDavins]

Alright, fish only sounds like my plan of attack, and I can upgrade later if need be. I have some handy friends, but I am not sure what to trust with a non-professional and what NOT to.

For one, I don't think I'd EVER trust building a tank myself or with my buddies. Probably not even a stand. Some piping and tubing, maybe. There are some fish we'd like that aren't reef safe, so maybe FOWLR would work best.

I do like my reef tanks, I have 3. Two 75's and a 45 corner in the bedroom. They are a lot of work, and far more of a PITA when you have to catch fish. I think FOWLR is the best bet, and have a 150 gallon+ reef tank, and a 55 gallon hospital tank.

Thanks folks, I appreciate the input.

 

[travismcgee]

i see you don't have many posts, so (an assumption on my part) if you don't have a lot of experience, find someone in your area who does and build a relationship. we who do this love to help..i spent/wasted sooo much money on my first tank by getting a "professional" to set it up:mad2:. a very expensive lesson as i learned so much from his mistakes. some years later when i moved i sold it all, and built a new tank that works so much better and spent so much less (still expensive)and i am much more successful. a couple of things, it really pays off to do it right the first time. that deep of a tank will take a LOT of light and will generate a LOT of heat in a basement. i would go no more than 30" it is also much harder to work in a deep tank. imo, width looks alot better than depth.i would love to do a a 60" deep tank.fowlr won't matter so much. water changes are a pain as your tank gets bigger. i do 80 gallon changes and you would be looking at more than that..good luck

 

[ChargerOnDavins]

i see you don't have many posts, so (an assumption on my part) if you don't have a lot of experience, find someone in your area who does and build a relationship. we who do this love to help..i spent/wasted sooo much money on my first tank by getting a "professional" to set it up:mad2:. a very expensive lesson as i learned so much from his mistakes. some years later when i moved i sold it all, and built a new tank that works so much better and spent so much less (still expensive)and i am much more successful. a couple of things, it really pays off to do it right the first time. that deep of a tank will take a LOT of light and will generate a LOT of heat in a basement. i would go no more than 30" it is also much harder to work in a deep tank. imo, width looks alot better than depth.i would love to do a a 60" deep tank.fowlr won't matter so much. water changes are a pain as your tank gets bigger. i do 80 gallon changes and you would be looking at more than that..good luck

I've had aquariums all my life, saltwater for about 6 years. I do have little experience with building tanks, I always buy used set-ups.

That being said, I think our new plan of attack is to have the house built around the tank so to speak. We will have them build it as they house is built to save money.

 

[wtac]

Acrylic aquarium: $19-26K crated and shipped depending on who you purchase from

LEDs Lighting: $8k-20k depending on which company and bells and whistles you want

Skimmer: $4-12K for the better know brands in that size range

Rock: ~1000lbs so at a per lb in volume rates anywhere from $2.5-5/lb $2500-5000

Right there you are looking at $33.5-63K. You still need a stand, sump, supplemental filtration, ie refugium, fluidized reactors, plumbing...the list goes on and adds up quick.

I heard of someone doing a system of that size here in Ontario 10'x 4' x 4'H in wall with a filtration room behind it that is sealed off from the rest of the house (spray foamed, separate heating/cooling, etc). Using mid-high end equipment, I hear the numbers are in the mid-upper $100Ks...before livestock.

 

[ChargerOnDavins]

Acrylic aquarium: $19-26K crated and shipped depending on who you purchase from

LEDs Lighting: $8k-20k depending on which company and bells and whistles you want

Skimmer: $4-12K for the better know brands in that size range

Rock: ~1000lbs so at a per lb in volume rates anywhere from $2.5-5/lb $2500-5000

Right there you are looking at $33.5-63K. You still need a stand, sump, supplemental filtration, ie refugium, fluidized reactors, plumbing...the list goes on and adds up quick.

I heard of someone doing a system of that size here in Ontario 10'x 4' x 4'H in wall with a filtration room behind it that is sealed off from the rest of the house (spray foamed, separate heating/cooling, etc). Using mid-high end equipment, I hear the numbers are in the mid-upper $100Ks...before livestock.

That's pretty steep, may have to drop 10k in it per year for a few years till I get it where I want it. I decided against reef for the time being.

 

[Allmost]

keep in mind the monthly cost of additives, salt and RO/DI water, and electricity and ... as well!

and that increases with the amount of water you want to keep !

just my electricity doubled as I got my new set up ! $80 more a month, not much, but something to keep in mind.

 

[wtac]

Not to scare you off but giving realistic numbers to get such a project running properly with a solid foundation to achieve what others here on RC has inspired us all achieve. Nothing worst than forging ahead and realizing that it's not financially feasible to complete in mid progression.

As Allmost mentioned, plan ahead. Since you are building your house, you may as well get the slab where you would eventually want the the ~1000gal thick enough to support the load and have floor drains installed in strategic places. Easier and significantly cheaper done now than later .