Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 What would it cost to set up a smallish marine tank? What gear would I need? What size tank? This would be a first marine, not ready yet but mabey in 6 months or so Thanks :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RnB Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 deja vu they do that when they twist the matrix..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 He's saying, Gee how many times a month does someone ask that What size do u consider small?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Depends how good you want it to be, to do right you need around two to four thousand dollars. ( Minimum ). Nobody believes this when they start, hence RnB's post. What normally happens is people try to set one up for a budget of, say, $500.00 or so, and to do that get cheap lights, cheap or no skimmer, spend the precious few dollars they have on a cannister filter when they don't need one, etc..... At first all seems well with the tank, but within a few months things start going wrong with the tank, and they are forced to spend money to fix the various issues. At this point people either leave the hobby, or buy the equipment they should have had in the first place, and lose the money they spent on the cheap stuff. Sound cynical? just I've seen this over and over. There are several ways to set up a small tank properly, but here is one ( basic ). Tank & stand $150.00 Live rock $250.00 skimmer $750.00 lights $400.00 heater $30.00 powerheads $150.00 test kits $200.00 livestock $500.00 These prices are just an idea of what you might be able to get away with, could be more or less, but it's a basic idea for you, plus there may be a few other bits and pieces you may need such as thermometer, additives, fish food, etc.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Would a tank 200 wide do? If so, mabey 100l ish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 200 wide is less than 100 litres. But there are several people here running good tanks around 100 litres, it can be done. Helifax is one springs to mind, but there are others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Fine then, 95l. So what brands models of stuff do I need? Do I need sump? I would like just a coral mabey 2 and a couple of fish or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krama Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Aquarium Dude. Look at wasp has posted as far as cost go, and that will probably be what a 100l tank will cost, always more that you think. You can get an external skimmer, and many do not use a sump. size of tank is the smallest cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelifaxNZ Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Hi, welcome to the forum. Checkout this link. It will give you some clues as to where to start. http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?s=&name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1 And then look at how I setup my tank. http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/1-vt9619.html?postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 You will be looking at Minimum $1800.00 just for the equipment alone, but you can start purchasing the stuff a bit at a time. Do a lot of research on this site and on http://www.reefcentral.com Good luck and don't be discouraged. Make sure you get it right THE FIRST TIME. It will save you money, time and heartache in the long run. My tank has been running for 14 months and loving it. Well worth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelifaxNZ Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Krama is right. The tank cost next to nothing compared to the other equipment!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 yea but 200 wide is easist Is a sump going to make it better? Ive got plenty of room for one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 What do you mean by 200 wide? If you're talking mm then, assuming say 600 long, 600 x 200 x 300 (tall tank) = 36 litres, thats very very small I've never crossed to the dark side purely because there is no way I could afford to, I can't even afford MH lighting for my freshwater aquarium but still I do read this forum a lot, and '200L' seems to be a common minimum size I see recommended a lot, 1200x450x380=205 litres, can be found new for ~$150, but looking at the prices of equipment, and corals, and livestock, the cost of the glass is the least of your worries. Certainly looks to be worth every single penny, you've just gotta have a lot of pennies! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Here is a picture of Helifax's tank. I have seen this tank in person and it is even more attractive in real life. It does have a sump. A sump makes life easier as you can hide all the equipment such as skimmer etc. in it, although a sump is not absolutely essential, I don't have one, but because of that my tank is clutzed up with ugly equipment. You can have a tank 200 mls wide, however because of the way corals grow, and the kind of current you need, such a narrow tank will add quite a lot of difficulty to making the right conditions for your corals, in fact you will never really get it right. However, it can be done, if you HAVE to. When Helifax started his tank he did a LOT of research and therefore did not fall into many of the pitfalls that beset new reefers, but i think he has upgraded some of his equipment since he started, nonetheless. If you set up the size tank you want, then followed his model as per his thread, you will not go too far wrong. He is also a nice guy and would be happy to chat with you via pm. ( Sorry if I'm wrong Helifax :lol: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaneo Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Maybe you should invest in a good book or two and clock in some hours on the net reading up on reef systems etc smaller tanks can be alot harder to keep than larger systems. Helifaxnz he must put alot of work into his tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks guys, I am really tempted to do this (after my new freshwater) the only problem is space How bigger tank could I get into the hallway......hmm...... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Ive got a book, but it said that setting up a reef tank is no more expensive than freshwater :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie extreme Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 How bigger tank could I get into the hallway bad idea to put a reef tank in the hallway. you want to see it all the time and thats not really possible in the hallway. also a hallway has to much traffic that will scare the fish, ie. causing whitespot due to stress. try to find a quiet place where you can enjoy the tank (and not just as a piece of furniture in the hallway) it should be more then that, otherwise why bother? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Yes you want your reef tank where you will see it all the time, you will want to just watch it and sitting in the hallway watching a tank with a beer on a friday night is not a good look. Oh try and keep it off carpet but you will know this from your fresh tanks. We have seen a lot of people with fresh tanks want to keep a reeh tank also. But the $$$ and skill and rewards of a reef tank you will find very few reefers have fresh tanks. They generally only have one tank which upsets the wife enough. Try going on holiday for two weeks with a 1000l reef tank, worse than dogs and cost more than the wifes car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Ive got a book, but it said that setting up a reef tank is no more expensive than freshwater must be an old book??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Ive got a book, but it said that setting up a reef tank is no more expensive than freshwater :lol: HAHAHAHAHA you try that mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duke Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Its called learning to dive... a cheep reef tank and little up keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarium Dude Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 I thought the bit about cost was rubbish :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xfactor Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 I am in the middle of setting up my first tank at the moment. I have been researching solidly for the last three weeks. I've shopped around to get the best deals, while still getting quality equipment, and totally agree with all the advice on budgets you've recieved. I have had some seriously sweet deals and am still looking at $1800 to kick off, without livestock. I think there a lot of costs that are the same in both salt and fresh, but a good skimmer and higher costs for livestock quickly make a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krama Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 yep. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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