First Purchases.. I'm a serious noob..

DrewWoodside said:
Is it difficult to come by a rimless reef ready tank if I go via LFS? I really don't have the extra cash, but I will sacrifice to make sure the tank is rimless. Okay, now for the bad news. If you guys had to estimate.. Lets suppose I get around a 40gallon tank. What would the cost of the entire filtration system be?(generally speaking, I understand of course price varies depending on where it is purchase dand what is purchased.) Also, what would the price of a skimmer be?

Thanks so much everyone!
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probably somewhere in the 300-400 ballpark for something that will work, could always try craigslist?
 
One thing I have been told over and over is don't be cheap when buying things for your tank depending if you go with a sump or other filtration it will vary from 100 to a few hundred very easily
 
smellslikeTUNA said:
^I will never go with anything but rimless, love the modern & sleek look of it
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This is a rimless model too right?(i'm affraid it's going to show up with a thick black or brown trim) With the whole reef ready setup? Not quite as sleek as the Oceanic model, but still rimless and bad ***?
 
smellslikeTUNA said:
If you don't have extra cash, I would reccomend waiting until you do before you jump into this hobby. Your wallet will drain faster than you can believe! Not to scare you off, but be ready because costs add up quickly
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Okay 40 Gallon Truv = $250 + $100(?) for shipping.

Filter and Skimmer = roughly $400

Lighting = roughly $200

Sand + 50 LBS of live rock = ?

(Miscellaneous other stuff I need?) =
 
If you are seeding your live rock you can get away with buying less.. It's usually around $8-$12/lb then buy your dead rock for $2-$4/lb... so if you buy 10lbs of live rock total costs will be around $200.

I bought aragonite sand.. which was $50 for a 40lb bag.

You also need a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff... salt, test kits, heater, thermometer, pumps, powerheads, plumbing, etc... this will cost you at least another couple hundred.
 
Your lighting costs are probably slightly underestimated, will probably be closer to a bottom line of 300 depending what you want to keep in the tank
 
smellslikeTUNA said:
If you don't have extra cash, I would reccomend waiting until you do before you jump into this hobby. Your wallet will drain faster than you can believe! Not to scare you off, but be ready because costs add up quickly
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+1 .... I saw somebody's signature one time that said something about it costing $5 per gallon and I thought to myself, "no way". Well, about $5 per gallon later I learn that that statement is pretty accurate.
 
Brando8719 said:
If you are seeding your live rock you can get away with buying less.. It's usually around $8-$12/lb then buy your dead rock for $2-$4/lb... so if you buy 10lbs of live rock total costs will be around $200.

I bought aragonite sand.. which was $50 for a 40lb bag.

You also need a bunch of other miscellaneous stuff... salt, test kits, heater, thermometer, pumps, powerheads, plumbing, etc... this will cost you at least another couple hundred.
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So If i went with a total of 40 Lbs of Rock, and seeded. What % of my rock would need to be live to properly seed it and save money? Thanks!
 
smellslikeTUNA said:
Your lighting costs are probably slightly underestimated, will probably be closer to a bottom line of 300 depending what you want to keep in the tank
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Would you consider this model to be a decent runner up to your 57 G Oceanic? It's rimless and looks to be a fairly quality company..

Dollars are adding up fast, Really appreciating how this forum is allowing me to get a quote before ever entering a LFS. I can't imagine how ppl used to jump into brand new hobbies before internet forums.
 
DrewWoodside said:
So If i went with a total of 40 Lbs of Rock, and seeded. What % of my rock would need to be live to properly seed it and save money? Thanks!
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You can but 39lbs of dry rock and add a lb or two of live rock to seed it, it won't happen overnight, but if you can be patient, it will happen. If you can be patient, you can start your cycle, and as its cycling over a month or two, you can slowly acquire your other stuff like lights and so on.

My new 20l is cycling now with base rock and sand and a heater and powerhead, and I am slowly buying my t5's, skimmer and other odds and ends.

Also look on craigslist and other local forums for rock and supplies, because people jump into this hobby and spend a ton of money, then quit after a few months and unload it all cheap. Buying new stuff in this hobby is cool for a day, then you realize you could have got it for 60% less if you hunted a bit
 
DrewWoodside said:
I know my questions are crazy, so I'm sorry. I'm like a newborn baby regarding SW. So why is having the tank drilled a preference again? Is it simply b/c it's less stuff being visible? Or is the filtration then more effective as well? Thanks :bounce1:
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Having a drilled tank means that the water draining into the filtration system (sump/refugium) does not have to involve a siphon effect. A HOB (hang on back) drain requires a siphon/pump in order for the water to flow over the back of the tank and into your sump/filter. Having a drilled drain means no siphon, and more importantly, no siphon-break, like when the power goes out, which could cause water to overflow and end up on your floor.

On a personal note, a drilled tank looks more aesthetically pleasing. You have nothing hanging over the back of the tank to look at, and if you like the rimless look, Im willing to bet that you would NOT like a bunch of tubes hanging over the back of the glass. Just a month ago we drilled our 180gallon tank. It was scary, but ultimately it was quite easy. Check out glass-holes.com if you decide to drill yourself.

Word of advice, research like crazy!! Dont even set up your tank until you understand all the options of salt water filtration, water chemistry, and fish care. Read every bit of information you can. I bet I read for atleast a month and a half before I was even remotely clued in!

Good luck and welcome to salt!!:D
 
dsn112 said:
Also look on craigslist and other local forums for rock and supplies, because people jump into this hobby and spend a ton of money, then quit after a few months and unload it all cheap. Buying new stuff in this hobby is cool for a day, then you realize you could have got it for 60% less if you hunted a bit
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+1 on this. You'll get a lot of good deals if you look around and be really patient. :thumbsup:
 
well here are some good rimless that are already drilled they offer multiple sizes, I know because I have looked into rimless tanks as well.

Current USA's line of Solana offers several sizes up to 67 gallon and some even have the sump, stand included.

Next there is the Finnex line that offers some smaller sizes.

Cadlights which is what I am going to get is very versatile and has many different sizes at an affordable price.

Elos are nice tanks and an option but they are really expensive.

Glasscages makes custom rimless tanks but If you do that I would go with Reef Savvy custom tanks.

*some notes are to check the glass thickness on rimless some powerheads (like vortech) have a max thickness to operate on.

the filtration ballpark would be in the $200-400 range easy esp if you add ATO, reactors and all the stuff. and don't forget a reliable return pump (my favorites are Sicce USA and Eheim)

also yes research until you are sick this will help you get the most value out of your equipment. two import things are an RO/DI and a Refractometer. The refractometer are quite affordable at about $40+ and a basic RO/DI would run in the $100+ range.

also I wouldn't go with sugar fine sand I would go with aragonite in the 2mm size range, my favorite is Tropical Eden Reef Flakes.

:)

my 50g rimless system I have estimated to cost in the $2500 range +
(mostly because of LED lights are over $1000 but worth it)
 
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maymania6 said:
H

On a personal note, a drilled tank looks more aesthetically pleasing. You have nothing hanging over the back of the tank to look at, and if you like the rimless look, Im willing to bet that you would NOT like a bunch of tubes hanging over the back of the glass. Just a month ago we drilled our 180gallon tank. It was scary, but ultimately it was quite easy. Check out glass-holes.com if you decide to drill yourself.



Good luck and welcome to salt!!:D
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A sump is essential for a rimless tank, otherwise your kinda defeating the purpose from an aesthetics point of view. Also, it adds water volume to your system which is a plus. I personally don't trust anything that's HOB, and you can also add a refugium which can be just as interesting as the display tank itself! I personally chose to go with a trigger systems sump/refugium. You can check them out on premiumaquatics.com if you want
 
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