Maintinance cost for a 300 gallon?

[saleen2881]

Hey guys, I have found a great deal on a 300 gallon with stand and canopy. I am wondering how much the cost would be to run this tank? What do 300 gallons with stand and canopy go with?

thanks so much guys!!!

 

[iLLwiLL]

it all depends, reef or fowlr, what lind of lights, skimmer, pumps?? cheap equipment tends to run at higher wattages adding up to a higher running cost. if reef, what kind? a lightly stocked softie tank is waaaay less maintenance than a heavily stocked sps tank.

~Will.

 

[saleen2881]

I'm planning on a mixed reef mainly lps.

 

[TheFishTeen]

It all depends on the pumps and lights, like mentioned above (yes, the skimmer too but a pump drives the skimmer).

Heres an example: Most reefers choose one of two options for their main source of flow in a high flow tank (most commonly SPS). Powerheads, or Closed Loops pumps.

Im sure you know what a powerhead is. Point it, they don't suck up much power. A Tunze 6125 pushes 3,170 GPH at only 22W. That costs you as much as a desk lamp to run.

Now, a closed loop. The pros of using a closed loop set up (an external pump pulls water from the tank and return its straight back to the tank) are:

• Less showing in the tank
• Aesthetically pleasing
• Potentially cheaper than power heads.

But, these large pumps pull more power. A large ReeFlo pump can pull up to 1000+W, but an average is ~300W.

With the lights, well you could probably guess.

Metal Halide and T5 are cheaper to purchase, but more expensive to run and replace bulbs. LEDs are more expensive to purchase, but a lot cheeper to run, and will save in the long run. Its your choice.
Hope this helps.

 

[saleen2881]

how much do 300 gallons go for with stands and canopy's?

 

[TheFishTeen]

Depends. Glass, or acrylic? Drilled? Stock size or custom dimensions, shape etc.

 

[sdietz2469]

And also condition and equipment. A new 300 gal dd 6 ft long by 3 ft wide be 27" tall, with starfire is only ~1700+ stand~800+ depending on quality and material,

 

[alton]

I have about $4K in my 300DD, I upgraded from a 200g. I do 50 gallon water changes a month and add two part to maintain calcium levels for SPS and LPS. I run 3 - 250w radiums and change lamps once a year. I also use 6 blue stunners for viewing the tank 13 hours a day.

 

[psusocr]

An easy answer is you can spend 1 hour a week on maintenance and $20 bucks a week on cost or you can spend 20 hours a week on maintenance and $200 a week on cost for a 300 gallon and more..

Like above, how nice do you want to to be? are you going to do water changes weekly? biweekly? monthly? what are you going to dose and how much are you going to dose? chemicals arent cheap, salt isnt cheap,feedng isnt cheap 60 gallon water changes everytime arent cheap. Are you going to have cheap equitpment or top of the line equitpment.It all depends how addicted and dedicated one wants to be to their tank.

 

[Smokingcbr]

Just a guess would be $150 in electric and $75-150 in chemicals/salt.

 

[Alex T.]

Way too ambiguous a question to have an accurate answer. You could give 10 people the same 300 gallon tank with the same equipment and same reef goals and get 10 different maintenance cost. If you want it to look spic and span, tidy and brand new looking all the time there's a cost involved, and a lot of dedication.

 

[bag151]

Sure it's an ambiguous question, but you can at least get an idea of the costs involved. I have a 336gal peninsula, be prepared for at least $200-250 a month in cost. I pay $110 a month in added electricity and the rest is divided up between water, food, and additives. It easily could cost you more or less, but your not going to get away with a lot less and still have a healthy ecosystem unless. I have an SPS dominated tank so 3x400w metal halides and a chiller account for $50 of the electricity bill.

If your doing your homework you can calculate exactly what the electricity will cost you per month for your setup, the rest can be estimated and then add a fudge factor like 10% because it will cost you more then you think.

FYI the tank and the canopy is the cheapest part.

 

[bag151]

Sure it's an ambiguous question, but you can at least get an idea of the costs involved. I have a 336gal peninsula, be prepared for at least $200-250 a month in cost. I pay $110 a month in added electricity and the rest is divided up between water, food, and additives. It easily could cost you more or less, but your not going to get away with a lot less and still have a healthy ecosystem unless. I have an SPS dominated tank so 3x400w metal halides and a chiller account for $50 of the electricity bill.

If your doing your homework you can calculate exactly what the electricity will cost you per month for your setup, the rest can be estimated and then add a fudge factor like 10% because it will cost you more then you think.

FYI the tank and the canopy is the cheapest part.

 

[maik1]

If you have to ask how much something costs, you can't afford it. I'm sorry if that sounds rude but if you have a budget it's going to hurt.

Dubble your budget and then add some more!

Maik1

 

[kawicivic]

also - you running a remote sump or one under the tank. My biggest energy hog is my return pump and lights.

 

[jgsensor]

California - that tank is going to cost you. I have a 375 in central Ca and it's roughly $175-$200 a month in energy costs alone. The rest will depend on what type and how many animals you maintain plus equipment upkeep/replacements here and there. For me $300 is a real safe bet. I am currently looking into ways to cut my energy cost.

 

[shawn.short]

I have a approx 410RR gallon setup with SPS,LPS
I also have a AI SOL Blue LED system running it and my bill went up from my 120 about 35 a month. Leds are expensive but worth it in the long run. I dont worry about bulb changes or ballasts. The LFS cant believe how fast my coral are growing, and I only have the lights @ 62% power.

 

[Unome]

When we would get support calls where people didn't give any information about their setup/system, an ex-boss of mine used to give back the question of "How long is a piece of string?"

He would get a long of "Huh?" and would then explain that if they couldn't give us pertinent information regarding their setup/system, then we couldn't provide an answer to their question. That would straighten out(most) people quickly.