Freshwater vs Saltwater Aquarium

I have owned a 29g, a 14g and my current 29g biocube. Ive been in it since i was 14 and really have not had an income besides mowing lawns a few times during the summer and getting birthday money..The only thing really is if your going BIG(75-anything and up) it may cost you alot! But you can go off and get yourself a 29g/14g biocube and turn it into a reef spending around $600 or so..I i have spent around $835 on my 29g biocube..But that is with all the corals,fish included..I dont mind spending that on my reef becuz i dont have anything to look out for really(No bills,car payments etc) at the moment. But you dont have to go fast! You can go as slow as you want, so you can get the 29g biocube or 14g and wait a few months, buy the rock, wait a few months buy some coral..etc..

I have upgraded my lighting on the biocube though..Thats expensive..I have a $400 light..But i got it for $175, you got to find deals on things at LFS maybe, or craigslist..

Here is a rough cost for a 14g biocube and 29g biocube(depends on which one you like)

14g biocube-$150-$200(depends on if you buy new or used) 29g-$250-350
Live rock-$3-5/lb(you will need about 10 pounds for the 14g and around 35 lb for 29g)
Sand-$20-$40(Depnds on brand, and how much, 20lbs for 14g and 20-40 for 20g, i have 40 in mine.)
Refractometer-$20-$50(got mine used for 20)
RO/DI undit-$100-$200(depends on size, and if you have an LFS that you can buy water from, you wont need to worry about an RO unit for a bit.)

All of this will get you started and cycling. Once the cycle is done, you can add corals and a fish SLOWLY!

And then for extra filtration, you can remove stock bioballs and add LR rubble to replace, you could add a fuge, you may need some carbon, some filter pads, a skimmer..All of these things will roughly cost you around $100(depending on how much, and what type of skimmer)

and then the cost of coral, but all of this will get you started.

Here is a link to a biocube.
http://www.oceanicsystems.com/products/biocube.php

 

Sure, again, look online for local reef clubs in your area, you can always find a good deal locally from other hobbyists on pretty much anything.

 

I have a 28 gallon bowfront that I am cycling.

A rough outline of what I have invested so far:

Tank itself: 100
Stand: 100
(both on closeout)

30# Base rock: about 60ish.
Sand: 20 (aragonite. Originally bought twice that, ended up not needing second bag)
Salt: 50
Test kits: 30
Heater: 30 I think (ebo 150w)
2 koralia 760 powerheads: 50ish
Couple pounds live rock + cup of live sand from generous LFS: 5

Grocery Store water: 35 cents a gallon
refractometer: 50ish I think.
Random stuff (thermometers, buckets, ect) I am guessing 20ish?

yet to buy (since I am cycling):
Skimmer (spending about 200)
Lights (spending about 260)


I am going sumpless and using live rock as my primary filtration.

Def expensive, but rewarding... and I dont even have any fish yet

 

I agree with the going slow. Just a warning thouhg, it can become addicting where you just wanna get it started cycling already ;D

Also, be sure to shop around with our sponsors and any discounts they offer 3reef members. It's already saved me a ton of money!

 

March 2010 I was considering switching so I lurked on several forum/sites did alot of research. Then in Aug 2010 I switched a 45g tall tank over from fresh.
Here were my start up costs.
Lighting TEK 5 T5 HO with ATI bulbs $499
Boyu DG 2520 Protien Skimmer $199
Rio Plus return pump $70
65 lbs of Figi Live rock $300
60 lbs Carib sea Live sand argonite $130
Koralia wave makers x 2 $90
20g long, acrylic baffles and silicone $50
Plumbing for overflow and return $50
Test kits, ATO, misc $200
Ro/DI unit and salt $300
My current livestock list $500
Food; Omega flakes, pellets,
Phyto, mysis and cyclopeze $50
Since then I have added another larger Koralia wavemaker, a dual BRS GAC/GFO reactor and built a new stand and canopy. Yesterday I ordered another reactor for biopellets. So as you can see the further into the hobby you get the more you spend and I'm sure I missed something and this was just a little 45g tank. However I did my research and bought equipment that I could use if I upgraded the size of my tank which everyone eventually wants to do. I now consider this set-up as a grow out tank for my 150 - 180g peninsula build coming this fall 2011. Hope this doesn't scare you off saltwater is much more rewarding and I may switch this one back to a freshwater planted when my bigger set-up is complete.

These are Canadian prices and I didn't include the $300 - $400 already invested in equipment used on my freshie like HOB filter, media, Heater, scrubbers etc...

 

One thing I love about SW keeping is that your clean-up-crew (crabs,snails) takes care of a lot of the crap you woulda had to clean in a FW tank. After getting my FOWLR up and running I felt it was actually easier to maintain than my FW tanks.

Like everyone has mentioned, go slow, do your research. Don't skimp on good quality equipment at the beginning. The more knowledge/good equipment you have from the beginning, the more succesfull you are bound to be.

 

Please tell me where I can get the high end biocube for $350.

 

I am obviously not talking about the HQI version.

 

depends what you want to do, fish only or a reef. reefs are alot more expensive.

with fish only, the bare minimum increase in cost would be buying the salt, which is roughly 60 dollars per enough to make 200 gallons of saltwater.

A good investment would be a protein skimmer(roughly 200 dollars for average size). It would reduce the amount of water changes necessary drastically.
another good investment would be biopellets with tlf reactor and maxijet(about 100 dollars). This would ridiculously reduce the amount of water changes needed.

if you spend the 300 dollars upfront the increased cost of keeping the saltwater FO tank is really small.




Now with reefs there would be 2 extra added costs, lighting and dosing elements. Both of those really depend on what you want to do with the reef. Ok there may be a third powerheads.

honestly its not that expensive once your set up. of course I didn't cover livestock at all.



NOTE: The biopellets need a skimmer to work properily, however the skimmer doesn't need the pellets.

 

as istated before around $600 to $1000 to get started.

Do not get overloade with all the info being thrown at you as other have said Just take it slow..There is no way youll learn everything before you start. this hobby your always learning.


There is somthing people have mentioned that may not be in your buget or just that are not neccessary to get started. just these essentials

Lighting
Live or dry rock, live sand.
hydrometer
salt.
filtration
heater.powerheads.


things you DONT need to start but you may want.

you DON NOT need a skimmer to start of you want to get started for minimal. (Live Rock only can handle a SMALL bioad of a couple fish, inverts and a couple frags) When your ready to stock your tank then you can get the skimmer.
you DO NOT need an ro/unit to start (u can purchase at grocery or fish store) A 5 gallon bi weekly water change will cost you $6 a month for that size tank (not including salt.)
you DO NOT need Sump to start but they are great for many reasons. As other have said "its easier to do it to start but dont let it discourage you from getting started if you dont have it in your budget.
focus on the things above and shop craigslist.


People have given examples of alot of extras and highend equipment. although its all great stuff, Dont let that scare you off. A large majority is things that you can get as you go. (only if your on a budget) if not, its best to get as much as you can to start. I believe the reason most people dont have reef tanks is because they ask what it will cost and people overwhelm them with these costs and they get scared and decide to stick with freshwater or leave all together. The truth is if you read up, find out the minimal youll need to start, research and write down you costs and plan and buy strategically, you will find you can get started for less than you think...and you will love this hobby.