hobbzz
How do I change this?
I started my first saltwater tank in '99. About three years ago I took a break and recently started back up. I still had a lot of parts left over, but also had to purchase a lot of things to get a tank up and running. When I was pricing everything out, I forgot about a lot of the little things that can nickel and dime you to death. So I figured I'd make a build list with prices for anyone starting a new tank, whether it's their first tank or not.
First off, there are an infinite number of options that can greatly affect the price of a tank. What will it house? SPS? Lps? Mixed reef? Fish only (FO)? Fish only with live rock (FOWLR)? Sand bed (shallow sand bed SSB, deep sand bed DSB)? Barebottom? Skimmer or skimmerless? Sump or sumpless? These are all things that affect the price and what equipment you will need. Top of the line equipment is not usually needed, especially for a beginner trying it out. Online purchase vs. local fish store (LFS) can have a big difference in price. I try to use my lfs and support them whenever I buy something new. Also used vs. new can save you a lot of money. I try to buy used whenever I can, unless I think I'd like a warranty. I'll try to denote, whenever there is a large difference in price, whether or not an item is needed, or I just wanted to have it. I will not debate one method over another here, as there are plenty of threads for that already.
That being said, this build is for a 40 gallon breeder, barebottom display tank, with a 20 gallon sump. It will be a mixed reef with fish, sps, lps, mushrooms, zoanthids and softies, but mostly sps. This price list is from purchases over about a three month period, which is why you will see I buy things twice after needs change (like powerheads).
- 40 gallon breeder tank from Petco's $1/gallon sale - $47 w/tax (regular price from Petco is $110)
- Metal stand - $65 (Least expensive stand at Petco)
- 20 gallon high tank for sump "“ $0 (I already had it, probably $20-$30 from lfs)
- Hole drilled for overflow - $20 (lfs)
- Bulkhead "“ Free, I had one left over, but they usually run about $10
- Pvc and wood for bottom of stand - $75 (Home Depot)
- Silicone for sump baffles and overflow "“ $30 (lfs, Walmart, Pet Supermarket, I got black from the lfs for overflow, and clear for sump from Walmart. Ran out of regular from Walmart so went to Pet supermarket after upgrading sumps later on)
- Spray paint for back of tank - $4 (Home Depot, I wanted to have a black back)
- Mj1200 Pro - $42 (lfs, probably around $30 online)
- ¾" SCWD - $0 (Already had it. It has one input and two outputs, and is hooked up between the return pump and returns. It switches back and forth, making for varied flow. Some people like them, some people hate them. I think they're great on smaller tanks, and also think that the majority of the people that hate them are trying them on larger tanks instead of higher quality $400 motorized units)
- Mag7 for return pump - $40 (used, new is about $75 online)
- Modded MJ1200 - $10 (used)
- Standard MJ1200 - $10 (used, for use with Sureflow kit I already had)
- Rodi - $50 (used)
- Cutting boards for bottom of tank - $30 (Walmart, if you use cutting boards instead of Starboard or HDPE make sure they are untreated. Starboard, and cutting boards are made from HDPE, High Density Poly-Ethylene)
- Reef Octopus NW150 skimmer - $214 w/tax (Bigger than I needed, but I like to have heavily stocked, heavily fed, and overskimmed tanks.)
- Live rock - $100 (from two locals, $1 and $3 per pound, lfs is anywhere from $4-$12/lb)
- Refractometer - $25 (used. If you can't find a good used one, a hydrometer will do, but refracometers are better for the long run)
- Screen for top - $6 (Home Depot, I have fish that jump, so I needed to make a screen cover)
- GFO - $5 (from someone local)
- Frame for screen top- $15 (Home Depot)
- Phosban 150 - $60 (LFS, can be had online for $40 + shipping)
- Pads for reactor - $6 (I wanted to run gfo and gac in one reactor, so I bought filter pads to make more discs to separate the two)
- Handle for screen top - $2 (Home Depot)
- Homer buckets/lid - $7 (Two 5 Gallon buckets w/lids from Home Depot)
- Digital thermometer - $7 (lfs)
- Di resin for RODI - $25 (Ebay, color changing)
- Locline for returns - $30 (Ebay and lfs)
- Filter socks - $25 (Ebay, Purolator brand, sturdy and I've used them for years)
- Rodi line to run outside - $10 (Home Depot, 25ft. My rodi has to be connected to the kitchen sink and the storage container is outside on the back patio)
- Spectrum Pellets - $10 (lfs, fish food)
- Omega One Flake - $12 (lfs, fish food)
- 400w, 20k MH bulb - $83 (lfs. I'm using my PFO 400w mh ballast because I already had it, and don't have the money to go to leds yet. Ideally you would use 250w if going mh. Startup costs for lighting this tank for an sps reef would have been roughly $450 for MH, T5 or LED.)
- PE mysis - $9 (lfs, frozen fish food)
- JBJ ato - $106 (lfs, automatically tops off evaporated water with fresh rodi water to keep salinity stable)
- Suregrip - $25 (Bulk Reef Supply, BRS for short. Magnet mount for one of the MJ powerheads.)
- Rodi filters - $12 (BRS)
- Carbon - $17 (BRS, I got the middle grade carbon)
- 6" tweezers - $3 (BRS, had a credit and couldn't find anything else for $3 lol)
- Dual inline tds meter - $25 (BRS)
- 40 breeder tank for sump - $40 (used with baffles already in place. Got it and the following stand that fits a 40b under another 40b from a local)
- Stand - $20
- Koralia 1050 - $40 (used from local, $50-$70 new from lfs or online. Found out I had too much flow for my wifes lps so I need a smaller powerhead for in the tank.)
- Heater - $20 (Used, usually $20-$50 from lfs or online depending on wattage, brand etc)
- Vortech MP10es Wireless - $305 w/tax (lfs, EcoTech marine uses MAP pricing, so price should be the same about everywhere. This level of powerhead is not needed, but I wanted to try them out.)
So that's about it. About $1800 including fish and coral, $1600 without. Like I said, it can be done for less, and there are a million ways to do it. This is just one example. Future purchases will be LED's ($450) and an APEX JR which I'm only waiting for it to arrive ($150) and possiblly another MP10. So far I have about $200 in fish and coral as well, but those prices are easy to come by and will vary greatly depending on your taste. Hope this helps!
First off, there are an infinite number of options that can greatly affect the price of a tank. What will it house? SPS? Lps? Mixed reef? Fish only (FO)? Fish only with live rock (FOWLR)? Sand bed (shallow sand bed SSB, deep sand bed DSB)? Barebottom? Skimmer or skimmerless? Sump or sumpless? These are all things that affect the price and what equipment you will need. Top of the line equipment is not usually needed, especially for a beginner trying it out. Online purchase vs. local fish store (LFS) can have a big difference in price. I try to use my lfs and support them whenever I buy something new. Also used vs. new can save you a lot of money. I try to buy used whenever I can, unless I think I'd like a warranty. I'll try to denote, whenever there is a large difference in price, whether or not an item is needed, or I just wanted to have it. I will not debate one method over another here, as there are plenty of threads for that already.
That being said, this build is for a 40 gallon breeder, barebottom display tank, with a 20 gallon sump. It will be a mixed reef with fish, sps, lps, mushrooms, zoanthids and softies, but mostly sps. This price list is from purchases over about a three month period, which is why you will see I buy things twice after needs change (like powerheads).
- 40 gallon breeder tank from Petco's $1/gallon sale - $47 w/tax (regular price from Petco is $110)
- Metal stand - $65 (Least expensive stand at Petco)
- 20 gallon high tank for sump "“ $0 (I already had it, probably $20-$30 from lfs)
- Hole drilled for overflow - $20 (lfs)
- Bulkhead "“ Free, I had one left over, but they usually run about $10
- Pvc and wood for bottom of stand - $75 (Home Depot)
- Silicone for sump baffles and overflow "“ $30 (lfs, Walmart, Pet Supermarket, I got black from the lfs for overflow, and clear for sump from Walmart. Ran out of regular from Walmart so went to Pet supermarket after upgrading sumps later on)
- Spray paint for back of tank - $4 (Home Depot, I wanted to have a black back)
- Mj1200 Pro - $42 (lfs, probably around $30 online)
- ¾" SCWD - $0 (Already had it. It has one input and two outputs, and is hooked up between the return pump and returns. It switches back and forth, making for varied flow. Some people like them, some people hate them. I think they're great on smaller tanks, and also think that the majority of the people that hate them are trying them on larger tanks instead of higher quality $400 motorized units)
- Mag7 for return pump - $40 (used, new is about $75 online)
- Modded MJ1200 - $10 (used)
- Standard MJ1200 - $10 (used, for use with Sureflow kit I already had)
- Rodi - $50 (used)
- Cutting boards for bottom of tank - $30 (Walmart, if you use cutting boards instead of Starboard or HDPE make sure they are untreated. Starboard, and cutting boards are made from HDPE, High Density Poly-Ethylene)
- Reef Octopus NW150 skimmer - $214 w/tax (Bigger than I needed, but I like to have heavily stocked, heavily fed, and overskimmed tanks.)
- Live rock - $100 (from two locals, $1 and $3 per pound, lfs is anywhere from $4-$12/lb)
- Refractometer - $25 (used. If you can't find a good used one, a hydrometer will do, but refracometers are better for the long run)
- Screen for top - $6 (Home Depot, I have fish that jump, so I needed to make a screen cover)
- GFO - $5 (from someone local)
- Frame for screen top- $15 (Home Depot)
- Phosban 150 - $60 (LFS, can be had online for $40 + shipping)
- Pads for reactor - $6 (I wanted to run gfo and gac in one reactor, so I bought filter pads to make more discs to separate the two)
- Handle for screen top - $2 (Home Depot)
- Homer buckets/lid - $7 (Two 5 Gallon buckets w/lids from Home Depot)
- Digital thermometer - $7 (lfs)
- Di resin for RODI - $25 (Ebay, color changing)
- Locline for returns - $30 (Ebay and lfs)
- Filter socks - $25 (Ebay, Purolator brand, sturdy and I've used them for years)
- Rodi line to run outside - $10 (Home Depot, 25ft. My rodi has to be connected to the kitchen sink and the storage container is outside on the back patio)
- Spectrum Pellets - $10 (lfs, fish food)
- Omega One Flake - $12 (lfs, fish food)
- 400w, 20k MH bulb - $83 (lfs. I'm using my PFO 400w mh ballast because I already had it, and don't have the money to go to leds yet. Ideally you would use 250w if going mh. Startup costs for lighting this tank for an sps reef would have been roughly $450 for MH, T5 or LED.)
- PE mysis - $9 (lfs, frozen fish food)
- JBJ ato - $106 (lfs, automatically tops off evaporated water with fresh rodi water to keep salinity stable)
- Suregrip - $25 (Bulk Reef Supply, BRS for short. Magnet mount for one of the MJ powerheads.)
- Rodi filters - $12 (BRS)
- Carbon - $17 (BRS, I got the middle grade carbon)
- 6" tweezers - $3 (BRS, had a credit and couldn't find anything else for $3 lol)
- Dual inline tds meter - $25 (BRS)
- 40 breeder tank for sump - $40 (used with baffles already in place. Got it and the following stand that fits a 40b under another 40b from a local)
- Stand - $20
- Koralia 1050 - $40 (used from local, $50-$70 new from lfs or online. Found out I had too much flow for my wifes lps so I need a smaller powerhead for in the tank.)
- Heater - $20 (Used, usually $20-$50 from lfs or online depending on wattage, brand etc)
- Vortech MP10es Wireless - $305 w/tax (lfs, EcoTech marine uses MAP pricing, so price should be the same about everywhere. This level of powerhead is not needed, but I wanted to try them out.)
So that's about it. About $1800 including fish and coral, $1600 without. Like I said, it can be done for less, and there are a million ways to do it. This is just one example. Future purchases will be LED's ($450) and an APEX JR which I'm only waiting for it to arrive ($150) and possiblly another MP10. So far I have about $200 in fish and coral as well, but those prices are easy to come by and will vary greatly depending on your taste. Hope this helps!
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