Holy Monkeys....is it really this expensive?

It is very expensive. Easy to spend 10k if you buy all the stuff new. Custom stand from a cabinet maker is 2500 then tank if rimless can set you back another 2000-2500. Shipping 500-1000. And you don't have another stick yet.
 
Laughed at your title....I transformed my 90 tank and stand from freshwater to saltwater. $7000 later and counting I could have bought a pet monkey instead :)
 
I refuse to add it up...and my tank is only 65g. I run some of the less expensive LEDs and Jebao pumps, if I went Radions and Vortechs it would have been even more brutal. I could have done it but Jesus, I had to draw the line somewhere. It can be a brutally expensive hobby and there is always something else to buy. The UPS man and I have become very well acquainted.

Now excuse me, I am going to go look at Radions and Vortechs.
 
I just posted this on another thread so I will paste it here;

Here is the list of all of my equipment from and approximate prices.

Tank stand and sump - $650.00
Return pump (Mag 9.5) - $100.00
Hoses, bulkheads, fittings - came with the used tank.
Heater - $30.00
Aqua c remora protein skimmer - $200.00 There are better skimmers but I got a HOB for my sump to save room for a refugium.Koralia 240, 425, 850, and 1150 gph pumps for flow in my display tank. Currently you can find these on the internet for anywhere from $30 to $40 a piece. You may not need as many as me though depending on your rockscaping and size of the tank you choose.
80+ lbs of live rock at $7.00 a pound $560.00
80 to 100lbs aragonite sand. Dry sand maybe $60? it has been a while since I have checked and honestly dont remember what I paid.
Macro algea (cheato) for your sump. $10.00
Live rock rubble for my sump $25.00
Clip on shop light with a 6500K cfl bulb $15.00
T5 HO fixture at a minimum to keep corals. For a decent one with individual reflectors with 4 bulbs about $350.00 plus roughly $130 to replace the cheap stock bulbs with ATI bulbs.
RO/DI reef buddy system at $100 will work for that size tank no problems.
Thermometer $3.00
Test kits $125.00
refractometer $25.00
3 X power strips $25.00
Salt $50.00

With that list I have roughly $2500.00 in my tank not including livestock.
Luckily I don't need a chiller. I also dont run any reactors because it is a small system and I can dose calcium, but I have looked into it. When you start corals you may need to dose calcium and magnesium. I dose calcium but havent had to dose mag yet.
 
DIY page man. Also, youtube: search DIY (tank, stand, skimmer, sump, coral LED lighting, whatever, you name it, its on youtube). You can build it yourself in your spare time for a heck of a lot less than what you'll find out in a store. And as mentioned before, Craigslist and eBay. Good luck.
 
So, as you know, I'm getting back into this...

10-15 years ago when I did this, I was considerably poorer than I am now. I can't imagine a bag of aragonite being 40 freakkng bucks and a skimmer being 250.

So what gives man? I almost am not going to be able to do it, because it's too blasted expensive.

It's looking like 500-1000 dollars to get this thing up and running. And it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to drop that much cash.

I can't recall this being so expensive.

I hear ya dog...I was in the same boat. I got into this hobby in college about 12 years ago. I had corals, MH lighting, skimmer..etc..I was poor college student too!! I just got back into this about 6 months ago. Now I haven't got even close to what I had in college and probably spent the same amount. I have no idea how it got this expensive..
 
I love this hobby because it's only as expensive as you let it become.

A good way to save a considerable amount of money is by using dry rock, like marco rock, instead of live. Seed it with a few pieces of live rock and you can save A LOT of money.
 
Is that Pukani?

Is that Pukani?

In the end a nice little in wall reef was born.


I love your aquascape and your photobomber! :)
 
In the end a nice little in wall reef was born.


I love your aquascape and your photobomber! :)

Yeah he always manages to show up. He's the main reason for the eggcrate LOL :lol2:

I mainly wanted to show that you can get a lot for a reasonable amount of cash.
 
I built a stand and did as much DIY as I could but I'm still into my new tank for way too much money. I'm a little over $3000 now on a 93g cube.
 
Well so far I haven't spent a dime. Just refurbing some old equipment.

I'm sure it will get up there though after I start getting into it again.

And the UPS man and I are well well acquainted at this point d/t my other expensive hobbies. I'm a person who just can't sit and watch tv. I have to be doing something, which usually equals a money pit of some kind. Currently I have projects going in the following:

Refinishing my laundry room
Building an airsoft gun
Building a semi auto shotgun and a ar-15
Shooting IPSC matches here and there
Refurbishing a couple old war rifles (mosins, mausers, etc.)
Installing an onboard air system in my truck (complete with train horns)
Constantly brewing beer
Off-roading
Golfing Sunday
Starting on fixing up the backyard outdoor area....

Oh and now a reef.


My wife is going to kill me.
 
used + craigslist + diy.

I probably spent about $1500 on my tank but I'm pretty sure its easily worth over $4000. I'm not looking to sell it though :p


The reef tank will keep you very busy :) its not exactly maintenance free.
 
Hey Bent! Ever so respectfully, you are! LOL

Self preservation from your wife: A good gun safe and combination that she can't guess. ;-)
 
Holy Monkeys....is it really this expensive?

Yes it is very expensive, but only if you buy top-of-the-line stuff and buy it brand-new. My very first Reef tank was 240 gallons and it cost me around $500-$600 to get set up. I went on craigslist and bought the tank and stand for $300 and a cheap old metal halide fixture, a return pump, and live rock all from other reefers that were breaking down their tank or that just had extra equipment. The only thing that I bought brand-new was the sand and it wasn't even live sand. It was just dry sand which will become live sand after a while.

Here's a picture of my first set up. All secondhand. Not a bad looking tank at all in my opinion. When I set it up I was new though so it didn't look as good as it could have lol you can also buy fish and coral from other reefers which makes it a lot cheaper as well. Good luck and welcome back to the hobby hopefully.

nyhudavy.jpg
 
I started with a 125 with a 29 sump. I purchased everything for my tank from craigslist. when i say everything i mean everything. I have since upgraded to a 220. I found a deal on craigslist where i got the 220 complete set up, it was up and running when i went to get it, and a 135 tank and stand. After I sold all the extra equipment I came out $200 profit and a complete 220 set up and running. Thats right not a dime in my tank. Corals included!
 
I think some people are high end equipment junkies anyways not to be offensive but there are plenty low budget tanks with the minimum suggested equipment that look good and have healthy animals. just my opinion though
 
I think some people are high end equipment junkies anyways not to be offensive but there are plenty low budget tanks with the minimum suggested equipment that look good and have healthy animals. just my opinion though

No question about this. I think many reef keepers (including myself) are degenerate tinkerers and gear heads. Nothing like getting that cool new piece of equipment in the UPS delivery. I mean, I got excited when my new lab grade pH probe was dropped off a couple of days ago.

I have found however that you can get great bargains on high end used equipment. By way of example, my Apex plus to EB8's was purchased used (about a year) for 65% of list price. Similarly, I picked up two really nice electronic ballasts (NIB) for about the same discount. And, I have two M80 250W HQI ballasts in perfect condition that I'd sell for about $40 each locally or $50 each shipped (not an advertisement). These go for over $100 each new.

The used equipment for sale forum is a reef keepers best friend.
 
Yes used can save alot of money.

Im currently putting a system together:

Tank used 57 gallon DB rimless $70 (new 286)
R0 Diablo XS 160 $200 (New $400)
6 bulb T5 Free (New $350)
85 lbs of Marco Key Largo rock $135 (on average $280)
40 breeder sump $100
Stand custom built $200


Im around $700 with other parts now listed but all new would be close to $1200. You just gotta know where to look.
 
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