My Grand Total. OMG!

I've been researching reefkeeping for quite awhile now but hadn't taken action until one month ago when I filled up my first tank. When I ordered my tank and stand, one month ago today, I bought cured Caribbean LR (and live crushed coral) from my LFS and began to cycle it in my Eclipe System 12.

One week later when my BC29 HQI arrived, I moved the LR & CC into the BC and added bought more LR & CC. I've really been "cycling" for one month now. Week 3 of my BioCube 29 HQI and I finally added up everything that I've spent getting this tank going. The grand total is *drumroll please* $1,500

I think I'm gonna be sick:-X ...That's $500/week!

I'm sure that most of you spent much more than 3 weeks into your first SW tank, but I got a really amazing deal on my tank. I got the BC29 HQI for under $400 shipped when MarineDepot had it on sale, and that was the single most expensive piece.

I don't regret spending this because I love my new hobby very much. Its had its ups & downs in the 1st month (the only down really being the mantis shrimp hitchhiker I had to hunt). I understand that its all downhill from here as far as spending goes. Share your stories...

 

well think of it this way, your "investing" in a stress reliever...when i have a bad day i sit and just watch...but hold on youll spend ALOT more....its very easy to drop alot of money, but if you do it right the first time its worth it. Congrats though

 

Good way to put it...that's what I keep telling myself. Thank you

 

Haha, those tank sales will get you. I had been doing research on starting a reef tank when petsmart had 20% off tanks. Of course I went a bought one and now I wished it would have been reef ready. So now I get to spend more money to get it there yay! The magic number so far...... $1200......and I have the bare minimum, lol.

Thanks for sharing.

 

you made me go back and think about how much ive spent...i have a rough # of about $4000-4500...and i got my 75gal tank for FREE...its been a year and a half though so once its all set up, youll just be spending maintenance costs(unless you buy something new)

 

That's where I'm at now ;D The last piece of hardware is on its way from Amazon....a Nano-Glo fuge light to help my Chaeto grow, resulting in more copepods, for my Mandarin to stay nice and chunky.

Going forward, all I will need to spend on is livestock, marine salt, filter media replacements, and RO/DI water filter replacements...all of which are ongoing expenses.

 

yup, but like i said its all worth it IMHO/E

 

I have no idea what I spent....but I started out with a 29g biocube.(good luck at stopping at that!) ...within a few months went to a 75g in addition to the 29g. Then I started getting a few nano tanks here and there for other types of fish (mantis, angler). All of the sudden my 75g was not big enough so I gave that to my parents and bought a 135g tank about 6 months after. I then decided I wanted a golden puffer fish, so that meant I had to buy YET another tank for that one..........That was my last tank for 1 year, when my 135g blew out a seam and dumped everything into my living room. about 5 months later bought a new 125g to replace the broken one. Unfortunately during that time I lost EVERYTHING that was in the original 135 (all the other tanks I had and I could not store anything in any of them except rock), so am restocking now (2 months wtih tank up)

Right now I have 2 nano and the 125g and the predator tank! Wish I could say that I will not be spending any more "big" bucks on equipment, however we are going to finish the basement and do the predator tank inwall (new bigger tank of course!) with a fish room that ties all the tanks together!

 

I LOVE PREDATOR TANKS!! talk to Incognito she knows alot(she has like 13+ tanks)

 

thanks! I have had Goldie now for 2 years...she is the BIGGEST golden puffer I have ever seen! FAT also! She will spit water across the room at you if she thinks she did not get fed enough (in fact she started a fire like that...shot water across room right into a powerstrip)

We have a golden puffer, a show male blue trigger, a mean red big hawk fish, a porcupine puffer and a huma trigger. All the other fish (except the hawk) are puppies though! The puffers let me pet them when I feed them.