How much would it cost to start a 30 gallon Salt Water Aquarium?
I have a 30 gallon aquarium, i have the gravel, decorations, hood, light and I’m just looking to see how much it would cost for, salt, chemicals, salt water filter etc.
Hiya
You can`t have gravel and you wont want tacky decorations in a salt water aquarium. Marine setups require coral sand and live rocks and some setups are reef compatible requiring different corals. Secondly, most marine tanks do not need a filter but a sump which is basically another externally connected aquarium which acts as a filter and a refugium.
This is not a route for the inexperienced aquarist, you should do a lot of research prior and only setup once you are 100% sure on what you are doing. As for the cost, this can cost anything from £500 to £1000 (Sorry, I am not american and dont know dollars but i think it is pretty much double). Upcost will be an extra £15 – £30 per month in electricity, about £20 a month in maintenance chemicals and foods and about 2 – 3 hours a week in maintenance and an extra 10 – 15 minutes a day in maintenance.
If you want fish I highly recommend having tropical fish first and for a long time before even attempting marine. Many people also begin marine with nano fishless setups to learn how to look after coral and maintain perfect water conditions.
Good luck
Deren
Probably about a grand, and then monthly upkeep of about 100.
November 8th, 2009 at 8:09 amReferences :
um, alot!!
November 8th, 2009 at 8:14 am$_$
References :
About $200
November 8th, 2009 at 8:42 amReferences :
probobly around 2 grand because ull be adding stones and corals so it looks good plus probobly decoration and cost for fishes that can not be caught in some areas
November 8th, 2009 at 9:08 amReferences :
Hiya
You can`t have gravel and you wont want tacky decorations in a salt water aquarium. Marine setups require coral sand and live rocks and some setups are reef compatible requiring different corals. Secondly, most marine tanks do not need a filter but a sump which is basically another externally connected aquarium which acts as a filter and a refugium.
This is not a route for the inexperienced aquarist, you should do a lot of research prior and only setup once you are 100% sure on what you are doing. As for the cost, this can cost anything from £500 to £1000 (Sorry, I am not american and dont know dollars but i think it is pretty much double). Upcost will be an extra £15 – £30 per month in electricity, about £20 a month in maintenance chemicals and foods and about 2 – 3 hours a week in maintenance and an extra 10 – 15 minutes a day in maintenance.
If you want fish I highly recommend having tropical fish first and for a long time before even attempting marine. Many people also begin marine with nano fishless setups to learn how to look after coral and maintain perfect water conditions.
Good luck
Deren
November 8th, 2009 at 9:46 amReferences :
okay, first of all. it’s not going to cost you 2,000 dollars. If you have the tank and stand. that’s about 300-400 dollars taken out already of start up costs.
A lot of your inital costs will be determined by: the fish, corals, which filtering system, etc.
monthly costs would probably be between 50-100 dollars per month.
inital costs- could be anywhere from 200-400 dollars or more (dependds on fish coral and so on)
YOU NEED CORAL SAND IN A SALT WATER AQUARIUM
November 8th, 2009 at 10:04 amReferences :
ok well if you are doing a coral tank it will cost over a grand. If you are not it will cost you about 200. Buy some aragonite sand, a filter for a 40 gallon tank, some lace rock for hiding and cool structures, and the fish.
November 8th, 2009 at 10:54 amReferences :
Why does everybody assume he’s keeping corals?
As a begginer this shouldnt even be a thought in your mind… stick to a fish only or fish only with live rock set up untill you master SW a little more, corals and other invertibrates are much more delicate than fish.
You’ll need a hydrometer and some salt (at the VERY minimum) about $50 total
It’s VERY highly recommended that you use some sort of calcium based sand (aragonite, oolite, dolomite, crushed coral etc) over quartz or silica based sand (regular FW gravel)
You should also have about a pound per gallon of good porous live rock
You could start off with just a little, to get things going. You could mix it with base rock to cut some cost down
Live rock is about $7-10 per pound
Base from $2-4 don’t use more than 50% base rock
A couple of powerheads (say $20 each) and MAYBE a skimmer if you extra money (starting at $100, a good one would be around $150, aquaC remoras are good as are CPR bakpaks
November 8th, 2009 at 11:10 amReferences :
Check Craigslist. A lot of times people are getting rid of the entire set up..Good Luck
November 8th, 2009 at 11:56 amReferences :
You should probably get a freshwater tank if you’re looking for something cheap, the fish are cheaper, and there are still some really colorful freshwater fish, and if you got freshwater fish you could get more fish. You could get a 30 gallon tank and stand including the hood and light for like 100 bucks or less from craigslist if you’re ok with a used aquarium, and then all you need to do is get filter, heater, fish net, thermometer, fish food, water dechlorinator, amonia remover, and plants, you could probaby get that stuff for under 60 bucks from Petco
November 8th, 2009 at 12:21 pmReferences :
petco
craigslist
55 gallon freshwater tank
75 gallon saltwater tank