Start up cost

And you would have time on your side, it would allow you to comfortably own tangs and other large tank species.

It has almost the same footprint as a 55g, but over twice the volume of water. Such a good choice.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
LOL If my wife new how much I've spent in the last year...building a 40b dt with a 40b sump...I've spent around 800$ dollars so far, lights, tanks,skimmer,heaters,50pounds marko rocks & 40 pounds sand, getting ready to build stand, ro/di + booster bump,, now looking at controllers for heaters and fans,, almost forgot ATO
 
I've learned that when the wife asks, always say, "I got a deal, traded some of my old stuff, and ended up paying $10". When in reality, I just spent $120 on a pair of designer clownfish..

Lol white lies

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
leviburns89 said:
And you would have time on your side, it would allow you to comfortably own tangs and other large tank species.

It has almost the same footprint as a 55g, but over twice the volume of water. Such a good choice.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yeah, I do want a yellow tang. I only have one spot to put the tank, so the max I csn have is a 4 foot tank.
 
exsequor said:
Holy cow. I'm from california, but even where I'm from I can't imagine it being that high. Must be a San Francisco thing lol. I mean, afterall, for what you can get a studio for, I can get a mansion.



So there's bound to be a price difference for reef gear especially livestock.



I have $500 maaaaybe invested in my LED/PC 29g BioCube with 60 pound+ live rock. That is also including all gear and live stock including a 55w Orbit LED with remote control.





Heck, I've got a fully stocked 36.25x24x13 tank with around 80-100 pounds of live rock and 40+ pounds of live sand (probably more). I've got over 40 types of coral in the tank and 9 fish. 35 or so hermits, 12 turbos, 5 misc purchased snails, 6 nar snails, 4 emerald crabs, CBB shrimp, christmas tree worm, 3 large F.D., and I've got maybe $3,000 into it. Probably closer to $2,000. I'll have to tally all my receipts for it.



The tank is 6 months old, so I didn't just buy small frags, either.



Here's a quick pic:



12963376_10153417806582353_7006442583554169275_n.jpg
Click to expand...


I'm sure some of it has to be because of where I live.
 
It's all relative. If you can wait long enough, a deal will show up. If you haven't already, join your local reef club. They can help you immensely.

But realistically, if you plan for $2 k, you should be very very well off. That price should also cover a nice round of corals and fish.

If you shop online, you can take advantage of the free shipping option most vendors have if you spend X amount of dollars, usually $150. With that, you could get a dozen corals, or half dozen corals and a few fish.

But if you go with the recommended 120, you will still have exceptional room for growth. Your biggest hurdle would be an rodi unit, and rock.

Live rock is preferred, but dry rock would be by far your best option. It all becomes live after the first month anyway. Craigslist is a great resource for this.

Next would be if you want a sump. This could take some planning.

I personally run sumpless and no skimmer. Yes, I have to do 5% water change twice a week, but for me, that's far cheaper than shelling out an extra $1k for skimmer+sump.

Remember, most of the products in this hobby have been invented within the last 10 years, yet this hobby has been successful for over 40. So most of it is merely for convenience, for the trade of cost.

Most people want something to look at with as little maintenence as possible. I don't mind spending an hour a week cleaning glass and changing water. So in turn, I save a couple thousand, which I spend on corals and designer fish. And in the end, we all have the same amazing tank.

If you're not lazy, you can go cheap. If you are lazy, you can't go cheap.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
I've kept track of my costs, and I just ticked over the 4K mark. And I'm cheap, real cheap. I'm also pretty handy with tools, and I DIY a LOT of stuff.

If you are really worried about costs I would go nano and be satisfied and save your money.
 
How much more would a sump setup cost. I was thinking just a hang on skimmer, but i don't know if one would work on my system. Would it work with my bio load?
 
Kind of a loaded question. What do you want the sump to do exactly? And there are some hang on skimmers that work really really well. Reef octopus 1000 is a great option.

But a sumps main purpose is to increase water volume, and hide equipment.

A refugium is a completely different subject, and most times when people incorporate a refugium in their sump, they are simply wasting space as you need a substantial amount of macro algae to remove any phosphates. And if you split a 40b into 3rds, one mechanical filtration, one refugium, one for a skimmer and other equipment. This leaves you with only 13.3 gallons of volume for macro algae, in potentially a 160 gallon total system. So pointless in otherwords.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
leviburns89 said:
Kind of a loaded question. What do you want the sump to do exactly? And there are some hang on skimmers that work really really well. Reef octopus 1000 is a great option.

But a sumps main purpose is to increase water volume, and hide equipment.

A refugium is a completely different subject, and most times when people incorporate a refugium in their sump, they are simply wasting space as you need a substantial amount of macro algae to remove any phosphates. And if you split a 40b into 3rds, one mechanical filtration, one refugium, one for a skimmer and other equipment. This leaves you with only 13.3 gallons of volume for macro algae, in potentially a 160 gallon total system. So pointless in otherwords.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Unless you are using the fuge to produce pods in a safe environment for fish to eat when the pods are finally sent up the plumbing to the DT.
 
davehead86 said:
Unless you are using the fuge to produce pods in a safe environment for fish to eat when the pods are finally sent up the plumbing to the DT.
Click to expand...
Correct, but that's not what most people expect from their fuge. Most people run a small fuge in hopes that the macro algae will out compete tank algae. Which, unless you have an entire sump dedicated to macro algae, won't happen.

But the as for keeping a healthy level of copepods and amphipods, they can be great, especially if you have a fish that eats microfauna exclusively, like mandarins and a lot of goby species.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
Salty168 said:
I was mostly wanting it to hide some equipment. So heaters and a skimmer. But I might just use a hang on skimmer.
Click to expand...
If you do decide to have a sump, I would recommend an in sump skimmer. They work much more efficiently, and you never have to worry about livestock getting caught in the pump.

Personally I would run a sump, and use it strictly for housing all of my filtration. Run several filter socks, heaters, skimmer and a carbon reactor.

Since phosphate is such a huge deal that most overlook, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have 2 reactors, 1 set up with just carbon, and another to tumble gfo, or even better, a phosban reactor. These can all be found 2nd hand for fractions of the cost. Ebay can be a good source. Just keep in mind most equipment uses external pumps to power it, so you may find a super beefy skimmer, but will likely want to get a new pump to power it. But it could still save you several hundred dollars by buying 2nd hand.

You should also have a large portion dedicated to biofiltration. Such as a chamber full to the brim with rubble, or better yet, the square bio blocks which are essentially a perfect shaped peice of rock with super porosity.

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Left Tank for a long time, now want to reboot
Replies
8
Views
234
SantaMonica
S
E
Setting up 10g quarantine tank
Replies
9
Views
284
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
L
Lighting Advise for 36 x 18 SPS
Replies
7
Views
426
Uncle99
Uncle99
sickman
Juwel Lido 200 - really reef tank ready all in one? Really Really?
2
Replies
39
Views
504
Reefing102
Reefing102
E
What's Old is New Again
Replies
2
Views
415
Uncle99
Uncle99
Back
Top