salt water tank general cost

Look, folks here are trying to be brutally honest because way too many people get into this hobby not knowing what they're getting into and ruin their fun and their animals lives and health. Everyone has a fair point, but lets not go overboard.

When I used to smoke, folks would tell me I could save thousands if I quit. I quit. I don't have a pile of cash sitting in my lap, I just spend it on something else.

This is an expensive hobby and there is ongoing maintainable expense. If you're like me, there is also the ongoing I want more cool newer stuff expense. If you can manage your lust however, it needn't be unreasonable.

I would set up a 29, a 40 breeder, or an all in one. Make sure you have a sump. Make sure you have a great skimmer (a good quality octopus will do the trick; there are other great skimmers). Get a good light set. I hear good things about reef breeders on is forum. I have AIs and I love LED, but I'm not sure I'd start with them, or at least I'd consider t5 as an option starting out (fewer unknowns while you learn).

Most important, don't keep changing stuff and changing your mind. I do it too often and it drives my wife crazy and runs up the bills. Nothing is going to work perfectly in the first year. Stick with your plan, do lots of water changes with good clean RODI, and watch carefully for serious problems that force you to do something in spite of your desire not to.

There is no reason you can't enter and enjoy this hobby on a budget. Remember however there are continuing costs. Startup will be about $1000 and up depending on what you want. The advice others have given in that regard is excellent.

 

Feel better?

 

If you're not in a hurry, which most of us tend to get in an excited rush. Lol then you can take your time and do it not fairly reasonable $

Sign up for the local reef clubs and look at the for sale section everyday. Or my reef club as a free for the taking section.

Check Craigslist there a lot of people that break down their tanks on a daily basis. Usually can pick up a tank for a descent price. Lights as well on Craigslist people are always upgrading or changing their lights.

I would start out bigger than you want. Try a 55g. That's a good starting point. You will soon want to upgrade. As was stated previously.

Starting a nice tank doesn't have to make you broke all at once. You can take your time and do it right and at the same time inexpensive.

Don't get me wrong, this is an expensive hobby.

 

Owning a dog/dogs is very expensive. The train hobby is probably twice as expensive as the saltwater hobby. A sports car or more is expensive. Owning cats is expensive. RC cars and or planes can get way up in $$. There are so many hobbies or pets that some people don't realize are very expensive.
The list goes on and on.

Don't turn your tank into a computer...that'll help keep cost down

 

Patience + craigslist is the best bargain route their is in this hobby.

 

I think the best advice is:

Wait until your not a student...

A 29-40 gal can quickly go from $600 to $1600 easy.

If you don't carefuly plan out the build, you'll keep dumping money into it to keep it from tumbling down.
If you try coral and you really dig it, you'll be spending valuable time then money ENDLESS upgrades.


What I would do is:
Get a 10 or 20 gal tank and do a salt water fish only. Used equipment.
Keep is super simple.
Spend the bulk of your $ on a nice Eheim or Fluval canister filter rated for 6-10 times the rated tank size. You can put some rock rubble in there, gfo, carbon and pads to polish the water. Plan on weekly water changes and the buckets and hoses needed. Make maintenance as easy and efficient as possible so you'll do it! You can get away with a cheap T8 fixture or some cheap non coral growing LEDs.
Throw in a cool salty fish and dream of a big reef when your finshed with skool.

 

Honestly, try to buy a complete setup used. I did this with my 36g bow front. Sure, it had it's issues (was ran on tap water for 2yrs prior to me) but it has not been nearly as expensive as starting fresh like I'm doing with my 40B/40B setup. So far, including the new lighting, I've dropped maybe $400 total. Shop around, as others have said, buy used stuff when someone breaks down a tank.

If you insist on starting brand new, wait for sales. Petco does $1 per gallon sales every other month it seems. Shop online for the best prices on powerheads, pumps, skimmers, etc. Just be smart about it. Don't jump in head first and expect everything to fall in place. Start with a fowlr setup. Get the hang of keeping your levels where they need to be as far as cal, ph, etc. Learn how to deal with algae and cyano before you have thousands of dollars in corals.

Most of all, go slow. Let it grow.

 

Waiting until I'm done with school is a good idea although I want to become a surgeon lol which takes many years of school and I am only a freshman.....

 

Do you have a permenant home, or are you in a dorm? If you have a semi-permenant place to keep the tank, go for it. I would be very careful not to bite off more than you can chew. Like many have said, have a plan and stick with it.

 

I live at my parents which is the second floor of an apartment.