125 gallon tank cost

I've been looking into starting a reef tank and i was going to but a smaller 30 gallon tank to start until my boss at work said she had a 125 gallon glass tank. I was wondering what the startup cost would be for a tank this size if I built my own sump and used base rock with some live rock? Also if you could name any types of skimmers and lighting that would work well with this size tank would help me in my research. I think the tank is 82 incks long by 16 wide and 22 tall.

 

acquire the tank for free if you can.. if you dont use it you could always sell it.

 

There is a huge range of costs associated with starting up a tank, it depends whether you want to go deal hunting and getting used equipment or if you want to go with new equipment and do it right the first time. It also depends hugely what you want to keep, if you want to keep a wide range of corals, go SPS dominant, all softies, etc. What fish you want to keep will impact your decisions as well.
I would look around and do some research on what livestock you want to keep and a little bit about what their requirements are and what their compatibility is with other livestock and then you can get an idea, or you can just decide you want to be able to keep all kinds of corals and accept that you can only have reef safe fish/inverts.

I'm in the "save up until you can do it right the first time" camp so if you are looking for a budget build I probably don't have any opinions you want to hear.

Here are the sites I use to research costs.
www.reefgeek.com
www.bulkreefsupply.com
www.marinedepot.com
www.liveaquaria.com
www.drsfostersmith.com
www.premiumaquatics.com

Stand (does it come with one? if not that tank is an unusual size so you may need to build one or have it built for you)
Canopy (if not using a light fixture or if you want to keep jumping fish, otherwise you have to look into using pond netting or something to cover the tank and not impede light)
Lights (at least $500 for new lights I would think ballpark, that's for 4x 60" T5 bulb retrofit kit for a canopy which will keep most things even some high light stuff)
Sump (cheapest is to just buy another glass tank and put your own glass/acrylic baffles in not sure what this would cost but should be pretty cheap and easy to figure out)
Return pump ($100)
Powerheads (The amount of in-tank flow can vary widely with what you want to keep, I would plan at least $200 and that's without the cool features like controllable/variable flow)
Plumbing (this might not be a large expense if you're doing a simple system but google the herbie method for drains for IMO the best system, if you've never worked with PVC before you may find you need some tools etc, I would budget $100 but you probably won't need that much and you can used leftover budget here for some of the other incidentals i'm pretty sure you'll need at some point)
Skimmer (I think an Octopus Extreme 200 skimmer would work great and is about $300)
Rock (using mostly base rock is perfect and does save a ton of money then just get a couple smaller pieces to "seed" it, $243 for 100lbs of dry rock from bulkreefsupply)
Sand (at least $50 maybe more especially if you decide on a deep sand bed)
Salt (at least $80 to start off I would think for 2 buckets)
RO/DI unit (some people don't think this is required but I disagree you can get a great ones for around $150 I think unless there's a sale sometimes you can get them cheaper )
Heaters and controller (you can get by without a controller but I would never run a tank without one, heaters fail off or on WAY too often to risk it IMO, for 2 heaters and a controll maybe $150 on the low end)

I also consider these things to be required for me personally but if you want to do more manual maintenance then you can do without them, be aware not having some of these systems can make it difficult/risky to go on vacation.
Auto-topoff system
Carbon/Phosphate reactor
Calcium Reactor or dosing pumps for 2-part

Hope that helps! (I hadn't planned on typing that all out but I got carried away ) Also again this is just my opinions, there are lots of ways to setup a reef tank so I'm sure others will have other ideas/opinions.

 

If you were looking into setting up a 30 gallon tank, multiply everything by around 2.5 for a ballpark estimate on the 125. You can start up a tank for very little money, but you dont want to buy stuff now that you will have to upgrade later.

~Will.

 

I don't know the exact number because i don't want to but I custom built my own stand and canopy and tried to find the best deals without sacrificing quality. I used about 75 lbs of base rock and 50 lbs live to seed which I got for abouit $250. I did buy an acrylic sump which I found at drsfostersmith.com I just didn't want to have to worry about a DIY one. All that being said I would estimate my initial setup to be around $3000 which I think is pretty good for a tank of this size. I will say that the best advice is to do things right the first time and don't rush anything this is a huge decision and a huge project that should be approached with great respect. Best of luck can't wait to see pics of your beautiful new reef!

 

I'm doin a 50 gal tank and it looks like its goin to cost me about a $1,000 to get it up and running rite that with base rock 60 lbs t5 light skimmer and a fuge no fish no coral

 

I found when I started up my freshwater tank it cost me about $10 per gallon based on tank size, and when I converted to saltwater it cost in the range of $35 per gallon. I'm sure it could be a little less or a little more depending on what you buy. Generally it is best to buy the good stuff the first time because you will be upgrading later down the road, then it will cost even more.

 

So i measured the tank a little better and its 72Lx24hx16d. I've been looking at lighting fixtures and i want to go with a T5 setup for around $500. Would a 60" fixture work or shoud i go with a 36" and 24" spaced out? Also what brands are good?

The tank is free by the way and it has a stand and canopy.

 

Prob two 36" set ups where is the bracing on top of the aquarium?

 

60" T5 setup over a 72" tank works great. To save cash, look into retro setups instead of pre-made fixtures.

~Will.