SW Tank Price Advice

Thanks Ace25. I owe you. :)

FWIW...LFS is a bit pricy...and offers 1/2 of what the sell stuff for. Maroons are 30-40 each iirc...so 15-20 each trade. Of course, the down side of that is they only offer store credit...so the same mark up that gives me more $ for the trade, costs me more for the replacement fish. :)

Thanks again. I will stop badgering you with stupid questions for now. :)
 
Normal fish markup is 3x for LFS outside of pickup range of wholesalers. So when you see a Maroon clown for $30, that fish cost the store $5+$5 shipping, then they mark it up 3x to get $30. Maroon clowns are actually usually $7 wholesale, normal clowns are $5, but they do have certain fish on sale each week. So by that math $7+5 give you a $36 fish, some LFS round up to make a couple more $, some will round down to sell the fish and because they are usually hardy and will last. This also helps them recover cost of the fish that die, and there is always at least a 10-20% mortality rate in shipments. Then husbandry also comes into effect, what does your LFS due to acclimate/hospital new arrivals? Then the price of running the store, cost of tanks, lights, pumps, electricity, water changes. There are a lot of factors that play into the final price of a fish.

Just saying that because when a person like you or me take a fish back to a LFS they are usually only willing to pay you their cost+shipping on the fish, not 50% of the cost. If your LFS does 50% store credit that is actually a really good deal and I would jump on it.
 
Shaggy52282 said:
I have had 2 or 3 LFS tell me straight up 50% of what they sell it for.
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i actually can back this up i bring in corals to the same lf stores that shaggy goes to.

they give 50% for what everi bring in :)

and their maroons are horribly over priced, i got my last one (a small one) for $40
the larger ones go for more.
 
"I am not sure the type of live rock, however I would estimate about 10-15 lbs. The sand that I have purchased to replenish the aquarium floor is also live.
The model protein skimmer is Aquarium Systems by Instant Ocean. I bought one good for up to 100 gallons.
The lighting system is PowerCompact/Moon-lite and holds 4 lamps at 65 watts each."

I was hoping to get a better answer to my last email to the guy. Sounds like you were right. Lower end products, with not enough live rock/sand.
 
So there you go, looks around 15lbs of probably tonga. You would need at least another 60lbs of rock. Bare minimum you want it 1lb per gallon.

Skimmer is junk. It is an Instant Ocean 100, not even a 150 like I though it might be. I had one myself back in the mid 90's on my 55G.. it was actually my first skimmer since I was new to SW back then. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone today. It required constant messing around with the air intake to get it to work just right, but then would always need adjustments. If you went to wet you could overflow it and spill onto your floor (which I did many times). Also, general rule with any skimmer is buy one rated at least 2x your tank capacity. Skimmer should be at least rated for 150G, perferably more.

Light is exactly what I thought.. again, ok for just fish, not ok for a reef, but then again, that tank would need a lot of work to make it reef ready.
 
I think I might pass on SW completely now that I think about it a bit more. I have done well with 2 FW tanks (25 and 30g) for 1.5 years, but saltwater seems to be more labor intensive both in the start up and maintaining. I do 25% water changes with treated tap water every 2-3 weeks with fresh water (testing ammonia, nitrites and nitrates once a week), but it sounds like "normal" maintenence for saltwater is more, so I am not 100% sure I am ready for that. Thanks again to everyone who assisted me with information. :)
 
Shaggy52282 said:
I think I might pass on SW completely now that I think about it a bit more. I have done well with 2 FW tanks (25 and 30g) for 1.5 years, but saltwater seems to be more labor intensive both in the start up and maintaining. I do 25% water changes with treated tap water every 2-3 weeks with fresh water (testing ammonia, nitrites and nitrates once a week), but it sounds like "normal" maintenence for saltwater is more, so I am not 100% sure I am ready for that. Thanks again to everyone who assisted me with information. :)
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:P

lame :D

you know you want to! :evil_lol:
 
I might have found a good deal...and I am considering it (after a bit more research on SW care). It's a bit larger then I was looking for...but the price shows lots of promise.

http://denver.craigslist.org/for/947731919.html

And advice/opinions based on just what info is in that ad?

Edit: Called and the seller stated that the only thing that needs to be done to make it "plug and play" is the spare tank needs to be sealed, supported, and turned into a sump.
 
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Wow.. now that looks like an AWESOME deal. Even if the tank isn't that good, the rest of the items alone more than justify the price, the RO/DI unit, 3 250w MH w/ ballast, Icecap ballast., Protein Skimmer, CA Reactor, Ocean Motion wave maker (that 1 piece alone cost more than $250!).. it needs a little work, but that sounds like a 100x better deal that your original one. Dang, if I were closer I would have jumped on that deal and been there picking it up already.. seriously good deal!!!
 
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