need a price range for all these items...

[skateroffallen]

1) 1 - 1.5lbs of live rock per gallon-45lbs
2) 30lbs of substrate, not crushed coral though..go for aragonite sugar sized grain sand. Helps well with keeping the pH in balance
3) Protein skimmer
4) Powerheads for water circulation
5) Lighting - this will depend if its just fish or you intend to have corals
6) Hydrometer
7) Test kits for Ammonia, nitrITE, nitrATE, pH..Other may be needed if corals
8) Thermometer - not the stick on type, they are waste of money
9) RO Unit to produce clean water
10) A container for mxiing saltwater in with a power head and heater
11) Heater for the tank - best off with a titanium type, 200w

i need a $ price for all of these items together. if you can tell me please do. thanks.

[skateroffallen]

anyone please help?

[mayran]

You obviously have internet access. Look them up. There are plenty of web sites that sell equipment and each thing that you have listed could fit within a huge price range. I find the results more believable and gratifying if I do the research myself.

[legendaryfrog]

Not to be rude, but do it yourself.

[Reefscape]

sorry, i know your a mod and all that and shout at me for steppin out of line, but i think thats a little bit harsh to somebody who has only just joined the forums and is looking for advice...Fair enough if it's someone like me who has been around here a while, but, how does somebody get to know what equipment to buy and the related costs etc etc if people dont help them out...

I thought the whole idea of these forums was to help new people into the saltwater hobby..I was given a very warm welcome when i joined and i was only asking similar questions back then and i would always do the same to any other new people who come here for advice..

Niko

[skateroffallen]

ya i should look them up and thanks atnixon :)

[fsn77]

I'm not saying your comments are wrong Niko, as I do see your point (especially regarding courtesy to new members), but that's a pretty comprehensive list for a total newbie to have just put together. It's not a "what do I need?" post where someone's really in the dark and looking for a list of equipment / relative prices. A couple of the descriptions are rather specific as if a particular product is already in mind (i.e. 200w titanium heater, thermometer that's not a stick type). If the original poster knows that much, then he/she should be able to find the prices quite easily on his/her own.

[darthgoby]

Let me tell you how much I paid. I bought these items at a LFS and can provide you an approximate cost.

1) 1 - 1.5lbs of live rock per gallon-45lbs- I paid $5.99 a pound for rock. Bought 60 pounds for 55 gallon tank.
2) 30lbs of substrate, not crushed coral though..go for aragonite sugar sized grain sand. Helps well with keeping the pH in balance- I paid about $1.50 a pound for 60-70 pounds. I bought 3 large bags plus 1 smaller bag.
3) Protein skimmer- I paid about $100 for a CPR Backback
4) Powerheads for water circulation- Didn't buy any initially but got two later for about $20-30 a piece
5) Lighting - this will depend if its just fish or you intend to have corals- Bought the VHO flourescents which attached to a hood that I got with my tank. I spent about $300 I think.
6) Hydrometer- $20 for dip in water
7) Test kits for Ammonia, nitrITE, nitrATE, pH..Other may be needed if corals- $40 for Red Sea test kit. Don't like it since I have problems with reading the colors.
8) Thermometer - not the stick on type, they are waste of money- Digital thermometer with a probe that goes in the tank. Thermometer is outside of the tank. $25.
9) RO Unit to produce clean water- Didn't get one. Buy my RO and Saltwater from LFS. RO at $.25 a gallon. Salt at $1 a gallon.
10) A container for mxiing saltwater in with a power head and heater- Didn't get one, see above.
11) Heater for the tank - best off with a titanium type, 200w- Bought 150 W on clearance at LFS for $20. I live in Southern Calfornia so the heater is less important than other places. Don't have a problem keeping tank at the temperature. In fact, may need a chiller at some point.

Hope that helps.

[skateroffallen]

tyvm! youve been very helpful unlike others...lol

[Reefscape]

FSN77...understand your comments, but that was a list that i gave to Skater in another thread, he/she just posted it into the this section so people could give some kind of guide as a helping hand mate..

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=102155


Thanks Datrhgoby for putting the info in there mnate

Niko

[fsn77]

Niko -- Ok, now your comments make more sense to me. I was unaware that you provided the list in another thread. I had seen that thread listed in one of the forums, but never read it since I'm anything but an expert when it comes to the needs of sea stars. Thank you for the clarification.

That said, I no longer feel like Skater is asking for us to do the shopping around for him, and will gladly toss in a few of my own comments to supplement what DarthGoby posted...

LR: can be found for less than $1 / lb. if you catch someone needing to tear down their tank in a hurry or as much as $12 / lb. at some LFS. Around where I live, the average is around $6 / lb. with people tearing down their tanks commonly selling the LR for $2 / lb. Some online sources have it for $3 - $4 / lb. including shipping.

Powerheads: Maxi-Jets can be bought for around $15 - $20 online (depending on the size), but you could easily spend >$500 on a Tunze if you really are looking for a way to blow a paycheck.

Hydrometer: Instead of spending $15 - $20 for one, I'd seriously recommend investing $40 - $50 into a refractometer. It's much more accurate at determining specific gravity and will last much longer.

RO or RO/DI unit: A good quality one will run about $150. They can be found more cheaply on places like eBay, but the quality isn't quite as good as buying from some of the more reputable online RO/DI unit merchants. You may want to browse these sites to see the range of what's available:
http://www.thefilterguys.biz/
http://www.purelyh2o.com/
http://buckeyefieldsupply.com/
http://www.spectrapure.com/
http://www.airwaterice.com/
If you contact any of the above retailers, they can help you choose a unit to suit your specific needs. Some will even test your water for you for free if you pay for the shipping to their facility. That might not sound like something worth doing, but it can be very useful in determining what type of unit will work best based upon the quality of the water coming out of your tap.

Saltwater mixing container: any clean (preferably new), well rinsed bucket and lid is good for mixing sw. I buy salt mix by the bucket, then use the empty buckets to mix and store sw.

The bulk of our set-up came together when we bought our tank used, so there's not much else for me to add regarding individual pieces of equipment. However, some commonly used online retailers for equipment and supplies are:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/
http://www.marinedepot.com/
http://www.bigalsonline.com/
I also buy from these sites on a fairly regular basis:
http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/
http://www.hellolights.com/

Again, sorry for my misunderstanding. I hope that my comments regarding equipment and pricing prove useful despite the point of view I shared in my previous post.

[Reefscape]

FSN....Your a diamond mate, thanks alot for the valid input your have given here in this post..Theads like this not only provide a helping hand to the thread creator, but to future new people who are thinking of joining the saltwater community and are just browsing the forum looking for basic pricing and cost for a new setup...

Am sure Skater will be very greatfull for your help..Just wish certain "others" would be more generous with the info they have...

Cheers Mate

Niko

[skateroffallen]

tyvm you guys, youve been very helpfull!

[DarkSoul]

RO Unit, $140 CAD shipped from ebay, The Aqua Safe Pure Water Shop.
6 Stage RO+DI.