Monthly cost of large tank maintinace

B

BlackTip

Active member
You are probably tired of this question, but here it is again:

What is the average monthly cost for maintaining a large reef tank, 200g+?

I can calculate the electricity cost. I am curious about the cost of supplements, media, filters, food, test kits, etc.

Thanks,
 
Last edited:
The first question is, "What would you like to keep?"

Common guidance would have you changing 20-40 gallons/month on a 200 gallon, so figure about $15/month. Test kits might be $10.

Supplements, assuming you are referring to calcium/alkalinity/magnesium, can vary quite a bit. "Premium" stuff can be pretty pricey, but using a DIY 2-part is pretty cheap. It will vary greatly depending upon your coral and clam choices and their growth. At some point, running a calcium reactor becomes more cost effective. If you plan on running an SPS heavy system, you might consider getting one instead of setting up for 2-part dosing. Many people run kalk (aka: pickling lime) in their top off water. This is pretty inexpensive, but is tied to your evaporation.

Food can vary quite a bit as well, but $20 or so should cover it.
 
Really depends what you are keeping in there. Ask 10 fellow reefers what they are spending monthly, and you'll get 50 different responses.

Keep enough LR, DSB, CUC, SS's and don't overfeed.... the cost would be vastly different than choosing otherwise. With this set up I only change 10% of my water each month (maybe two). Cost of food is negligible. Very rarely am I making trips to the store to pick up food (two, three time a year max?).

Most of your cost comes up front. Buy brand new and expect to pay 200-300% more than keeping your eyes peeled for deals. There's Reefer's leaving the hobby every day. Tanks this size require significantly higher priced equipment. The only other consideration I would offer is top off. Takes a lot more replacement water to handle a 200g vs a 50g (especially if it is a long vs tall tank).

I'm afraid there isn't a good solid number to provide and any number given to you is probably going to be inconsistent with your experience depending on how you choose to stock the tank.

Power is the biggest cost IMO and it sounds like you have a grip on that.
 
Thank you guys for the response. I don't know what I am going to keep in the tank yet. I don't have any experience with reef. I know, however, I want fish and corals. I'm going to buy all of my equipment brand new, and I am not going to be cheap. I am considering an ATO system, LED, and an Apex controller. I want to start on the right foot. Tank will be 8' long. With energy efficient pumps and LED lights, I am expecting about $100 in electricity. $40 in salts, and $10 in water. Is it safe to assume another $50 for food and media a month?

One of my main concern is the cost of keeping water temperature at 78f. Currently, the house stays at 67f in the winter, and 70f in the summer. I am going to have few submersible pumps run at about 280W. What temperature gain shall I expect from the pumps?

Thank you very much,
 
If you are buying new and not going cheap then monthly maintenance is probably going to be a non-issue. That is unless you have a significant other demanding to know total costs before you start this endeavor, or you are an accountant/architecture (or something of the sort) and numbers keep you up at night).

If any of those reasons are the case, tell them (or budget) $100/month (as long as you are not factoring live stock into monthly operating cost) and you'll be a hero when your costs come in much lower!

You are going to be WELL, WELL, WELL under a hundred bucks as month - and anything close to that amount would require running a chiller or heater non-stop (which again goes back to electricity). Keep us posted on the build. Very interested in seeing what you've got planned!
 
If I ever added that up I would probably have a heart attack and my wife would kill me. Think of it like buying a Lamborghini or Ferrari, If you have to ask how much an oil change is is probably not the right car for you.
 
I am a numbers kind a guy. I like to calculate, plan, and budget everything. It is in my nature. I don't prescribe to the saying "if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it". In fact, I hate this answer...sorry. I came from nothing, and even if I become a billionaire, I most likely will still ask how much. It is just me.

I am comfortable with $200 a month for maintenance only. .... I have other expensive hobbies..;)
 
If you are going to keep your tank that much warmer than the ambient temperature of your house you can count on some significant humidity concerns. Be sure to include some sort of fan to pull the humidity out of your house. This may entail the need for a HVAC unit depending on where you live.

Dave.M
 
dave.m said:
If you are going to keep your tank that much warmer than the ambient temperature of your house you can count on some significant humidity concerns. Be sure to include some sort of fan to pull the humidity out of your house. This may entail the need for a HVAC unit depending on where you live.

Dave.M
Click to expand...

How do you guys deal with humidity generated from evaporation inside the house?
 
I have a large dehumidifier that sets near my tanks. I keep it on about 40% humidity setting and let it auto cycle.
 
I have 550g total volume sps and I would say my monthy expense is about $200 per month including electricity.
 
Funny you should ask... I was just doing my yearly reef budget. I have a 300 Gallon DD and a 60 Cube. Both of which are no older than 2 years old and SPS Dominant. Here is a breakout:

300 Gallon DD:
Electrical - $32 per month - .085 per KW/hr
Food: $20 per month - PE, Hikari, Spectrum
Salt: $40 per month - 200 Gallon IO (bring to reef levels with 2 part)
Water: $10 Per month - Top off and W/C
Total: $102 per month

This doesn't include any extra fish or coral I get. Hope this helps, also be prepared to spend lots of time (1-2 hr per week day and more on the weekends) caring for the tank. I learned the hard way a large tank is awesome to have but requires a lot of attention even when its all going good.
 
Breadman03 said:
The first question is, "What would you like to keep?"

Common guidance would have you changing 20-40 gallons/month on a 200 gallon, so figure about $15/month. Test kits might be $10.
Click to expand...

If it is a medium - heavily loaded system I would be changing about half the water volume a month. 20-40 gallons wont make a dent, maybe for FOWL it would be ok.
 
What's the your electricity rate in your area.? That's the biggest money drain for your reef in California.
 
That was very helpful guys and very assuring. Someone told me that I should expect $1000 a month in maintenance, and I was thrown off by that, so I had to ask and triple check my numbers.

The electricity rate in my city is $.0937 per KW. Without a chiller or a heater, I estimated my consumption to be 475kw a month.
 
BalckTip said:
That was very helpful guys and very assuring. Someone told me that I should expect $1000 a month in maintenance, and I was thrown off by that, so I had to ask and triple check my numbers.

The electricity rate in my city is $.0937 per KW. Without a chiller or a heater, I estimated my consumption to be 475kw a month.
Click to expand...

My area increases the rate depending on how much you use and a large tank will use quite a bit. The other big expense is the increase cost to cool your house with AC in the summer. My tank easily adds $50-100 to my normal AC bill in AZ. I've had electric bills over $400 before wich isn't that bad considering some othe people report summer bills much more.
 
I have a 320 gal system. Other than electricity, I use about 20 lbs of CO2 every 6 months and about a gallon of Ca reactor media per 6 months. I change 50 gal of water per week. I order about 100 dollars of frozen food every 4 months or so, mainly mysis and plankton. I have a 5 gal container Kalk that last about 1 year. Mg, Ca and aAlkalinity test set last me a bout 1 year.
I have a frag tank and frags my corals. Every swab meet, I often sell enough for about 500.00 or so which just about to cover all my expenses.
 
Back to your question on handling humidity. My living room is 15 x 30 and I've got a FW Discus Tank that is maintained in the mid to upper 80's and a 155 FOWL that sits onten feet away and is maintained about 10-12 degrees cooler. I guess it depends on where you live, but down here in SE TN we can't get by without our HVAC systems which tends to suck up the additional moisture.

It would be different for me, if it was a much larger system in a smaller space, then either a humidifier or venting placed through the ceiling would be the way to go.

$1,000 a month, huh?! Where's this electricity being pumped to? The North Pole?? LOL

Sound to me like someone may have been trying to persuade you towards another hobby!

Seriously, can't wait to see the pics as it sounds like it's going to be a great build. Keep us in the loop.
 
Oh, just noticed I didn't put tank size on discus.... it's a 110 with a 40g sump and a 30g sump on the 155. Sorry about that.
 
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