Start up and maintenance costs question

tbone

tbone

AC Members
Feb 15, 2005
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Vancouver, Canada
What would be a good ballpark of converting a 29 gallon to a saltwater tank? the stuff i would need like a new filter probably i have a hob filter now. Is it doable? will a 29 gallon be ok?

My next question what is the difference between maintanence for salt tanks obviously doing water changes you will need alot of salt. I have heard that salt tanks are much more to maintain then a typical freshwater.

What about buying a start up kit. Big als sells startup kits i think $500 for a 40 gallon with filters and stuff. Then stocking with corals and fish would cost alot too.
 
The first thing I'd do is as much research as you can. It's hard to give even an estimate of how much it might cost you, different systems will vary greatly.
Once you figure out what you'd like to keep, it'll be much easier to guage the cost. My best guess for relative costs:

Lowest cost:
FO (fish only) - you could use your HOB filter, possibly a skimmer, NO (normal output) fluorescents are fine for just fish
FOWLR (fish only with live rock) - rock isn't cheap but will make the tank more natural and add a lot of bio-filtration

Medium cost:
Reef with soft corals/mushrooms - you'll need LR (live rock), at least a Power Compact fluorescent light fixture and a protein skimmer

Higher cost:
Reef with LPS (large-polyped scleretinian corals)/SPS (small-polyped scleretinian corals) - you'll need even more lighting, probably MH (metal halide)

Check out www.reefcentral.com for more information than you can shake a stick at.

HTH :)
 
a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate $30+
a hydrometer for test salt water mixtures $15
tank, you got that
stand, you got that
hood and lights, you got that
better hood and lights if doing fowlr or reef $100-200
filter, you got that
power head, you need that for fowlr or reef $15-30
heater$25-unknown
depending on your filter maybe a better one unknown your choice
calcium tester if you have fowlr or reef unknow
live sand or you could use crushed coral and let the live rock seed it $1-3/pound
live rock $1-3/pound

i hope this might help, prices may be off, that is expected for an estimate.
 
IME LR is more than $1-3/lb, even base rock often costs more than that. I'd expect to pay somewhere closer to $5-$8US/lb for decent rock with interesting shapes and lots of life.

It's likely you'll also want a skimmer; costs vary greatly by brand (stay away from the cheapies like Seaclones, you get what you pay for) and a bucket of salt (200g worth) will probably run you somewhere around $40+ but will last a long time. Salt is cheaper in bulk, and I like the fact that when you're done with it, you end up with a bucket - I don't know about you, but I can always use another bucket ;)

JMO, I'd skip the hydrometer and get a refractometer - they cost more, but they last indefinitely and are accurate. Hydrometers are notorious for being off and can become more so with time. The Drs Foster & Smith website has one for around $45.

I didn't see in your first post that you want to keep corals - lighting for a reef can be pricey, but if you look around there are some good deals. Check out eBay and the classified sections of forums like www.nano-reef.com and reefcentral. The amount of light depends on what type of corals you'd like to keep - I'd figure that out first so you don't end up buying more/less than you need.
 
For this very reason, I asked people how much their tanks cost to set up. It's rather astounding: http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27378&highlight=cost

For a 29, here's what I'd do:
2X65 watt PC light: about $100
CPR bakpak skimmer about $120
45 lbs live rock: about $100 plus shipping
Bag of playsand: cheap
A few maxijet powerheads: $35
Then you add livestock, books, plumbing gizmos and so on.

If you want more demanding corals, something like a 175 watt halide would be great. A pre-made hood would be expensive, but you can DIY for less.

Just one point of view.
 
Electricity costs are included in our rent, so I have no idea what that costs. Monthly spending varies; since the tank is still new (recently upgraded) we're still spending for fish, corals, inverts, rock etc. For general upkeep, I'd say in a month we might spend $5 for frozen foods, $25 in phyto/rotifers, $10 in distilled water (we're going to invest in a RO/DI system soon). A $45 200g bucket of salt lasts me months, the monthly cost is probably <$5. All of this is in Canadian dollars BTW.
 
wanabefishguru: you don't need calcium test kits for fowlr

My 29gallon ended up around 700-800 dollars. Probably around 1300 with fish and corals, extras....

If you alrady have a tank, heater, NO lighting you can have a Fish Only with Live Rock tank for the price of sand, fish, and time for the tank to cycle. Where I live its .08 per Kwhr for electricity.

You have to do some simple physics unit conversions to find out how much it'll cost you.

For example, I have 2x 250watt metal halides. thats 500 watts, or... 0.5Kwatts (kilowatt is 1000watts). So it costs me .04 cents an hour to run both of my bulbs. If I run them for 10 hrs that .40 a day, for 30 days... 12bucks. Then you have a heater, power heads, filter (which are all usually on 24hrs a day) and it can add up. Keep in mind you'll prolly have 135watts for power compacts (thats the system i have on my 29gallon) or just a plain 15-35watt NO blub, so your not looking at that much a month.

You have to buy a bucket of salt at aprox. $44, nitrogen cycle test kits (salifret aprox $55), misc costs too...

Neil.
 
haha, i dont get why everyone wants so much coraline algae as soon as possible... :huh:
 
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