Looking to Join the league

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Galantra

Giving my All
Ok i have 6 tanks now all saltwater and all reefs i am looking now to finally go big!I just needed some help in what items and what type of items i should be buying my biggest tank right now is a 90gal but i been buying items now for a bigger tank also getting my live rock ready as well. I really want to do something great i am looking to buy a 220 or a 180 with a 75 sump this will also be a reef but i want to step it up so i wouldnt have to do so much more any info is more than helpful

Thanks in advance
 
Well first you need to decide on what size of tank your actually doing.. The bigger the better. I would stop wasting money on all those smaller tanks and use it for the new big tank. Once you figure that out you can go buy equipment according to your new tank size!
 
yea never thought of it that way I am atually looking to get started in two weeks looking for the tank i do have the 75gal sump why would you say 240?
 
You first need to decide what type of livestock you will keep??

Reseach as to all the support equipment, you will need.. Lighting, flow, skimmer, possible chiller, etc. I would than consider if this was within my budget? My 500 was over 1 year in planning and the tank was my last purchase.

Large reef tanks can be expensive. The way I would approch, would be purchase all the support equipment first, and the tank last.

This will give you time to do more research. And help with your sucess in keeping the livestock where it should be, alive.

Rule of thumb, figure around 100.00 per gallon for a fully stocked SPS system. And around 1.00 per gallon per month, to operate..

Happy Reefing...
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10588053#post10588053 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ricks
You first need to decide what type of livestock you will keep??

Reseach as to all the support equipment, you will need.. Lighting, flow, skimmer, possible chiller, etc. I would than consider if this was within my budget? My 500 was over 1 year in planning and the tank was my last purchase.

Large reef tanks can be expensive. The way I would approch, would be purchase all the support equipment first, and the tank last.

This will give you time to do more research. And help with your sucess in keeping the livestock where it should be, alive.

Rule of thumb, figure around 100.00 per gallon for a fully stocked SPS system. And around 1.00 per gallon per month, to operate..

Happy Reefing...
Click to expand...

I have a 1100 gallon system that is Fully stocked with many fish and more equipment then I can list here. So, by your figure I spent $110,000.00. Sorry, but I think your $100/gallon is a little high. Just my 2 cents...:D
 
I'm sorry but you can fill a bucket with water and call it a system....

The 100.00 per gallon is for the tank only.. Not your total system water!

I have around 700 gallons and didn't spend 70,000 on it. Sorry for any confusion on the matter.

I also include the price of backup for everything, should of stated that.. Funny thing about this hobby, if something is going to fail or go wrong it happens at the worst time. I have back up pumps, bulbs, ballast, sea swirls, contollers and most important the chiller. I have (2) 1HP chillers, in case one stops the other is set 1 degree above. Would not want to lose the massive 2+foot high SPS coloines. Or the fish I have raised.

My figure comes out to around 50,000, your costs may vary. The price also includes all the construction, and in wall install. This was not meant to scare anyone off. Merely to show how much someone can spend, if insane enough...

And I still feel 1.00 per gallon tank water only per month up keep.

Happy Reefing
 
I am from Norwalk CT I understand that rule a little i know it will be alittle pricey but thinking about the 5 other tanks i have might break even I have been buying items for a bigger tank as well What kind of club i could join
 
I have a 210 AGA...and it certainly didn't cost 21K...could I have spent that much, yeah probably...but for most, it isn't necessary...$100/gallon is way out of reach for most people, the hobby would not exist if this were the standard...


We have our own forum here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=186

Lots of helpful people there who are close by! Dont let the costs posted here scare you away. A very nice system of that size can be put together for just a few thousand. Obviously you can spend as much as you have, there are always upgrades!! haha

Generally, my system worked out like this:

$1000 lighting
$1200 Protein skimmer
$1000 display tank and sump tank (210 and 75)
$1000 pumps and plumbing

Rock and livestock came from my old tank for the most part.

Add in some for misc stuff, stand, electrical, etc. and I ended up in the 5K range. I set up a spread sheet to calculate electric costs and average out supplies such as MH bulbs, Ro/Di filters, salt, etc. The cost is around $200/month for a tank around this size.
 
I wasn't trying to scare anyone AWAY..

The sky is the limit. Upper end reefs can cost as much or as little as you want to spend..

So figure your large reef to cost between 0.00 and 100.00 per gallon..

Fiziksgeek, your monthly costs come out to around 1.00 per gallon, interesting...

I'm out..
 
I got no beef here with the ~$1/gallon per months in running and maintenance cost...including all the things mentioned previously. Although I do believe it it just a coincidence in your favor.

I completely agree that the sky is the limit...if you have money, there is a way to spend it.

Ricks...I think we may have been a little rude in our responses because you made it seem like a new member of the large tank club should be expecting to pay around $100/gallon for a full set up. In your last statement, you say that it will be somewhere between 0 and $100. This I believe is a fair statement!

Its like asking how much a new car should cost and only getting a response from a Ferrari dealer...not gonna make people feel good. So I guess I (and others) were trying to represent the Honda and Toyota dealers....

I digress, Galantra, I hope to see you over in the CT Area Reef Society forum sometime...
 
same here. 560 display total of 1k total water( soon to be 2k) was about 15k with the granite top and another 2k so far in corals and fish. I have another 5 k to go with the cabinets and more corals so prob 25k. If I had to redo prob should have done it for a total of 15k, I went over board. I belive the number is closer to 30-50 range and I spend about 250/month for electric, food, supplements, replacement bulbs/water change.
 
Boy, I hate adding it up but so far...

$700 for the tank
$700 for Protein skimmer
$1000 for lights
$500 for pumps
$400 for plumbing
$600 for additional rock
$175 for additional sand
$180 for UV filter (getting it today)
$45 for Phosban reactor
$45 for sink near sump
$200 for 300g tub (sump)
$350. for wood to build stand (so far)
__________________
Thats $4700 for 220 gallons so far and if I have not forgotten anything. Add too that the additional $800 or so I have invested into livestock, $250 in salt mix, do not remember what I spent in filter media but I have enough of each to last awhile.

So, lets just call it 6K right now for a 220 g main tank which is already $49/gal however there is a lot more livestock that I need to get and I am sure there are things I forgot to mention, more Oak to buy for the stand...oh, I did forget about a power head...I am using the old 75g in the system as well and some other old equipment that I was not including in the price.
 
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