New Tank start-up and the costs involved

[darvishus]

Hi there,
I am a soon to be saltwater hobbyist!!! It is exciting.
Here is the detailed information I recived from a local Pet shop. I usualy tend to ask lot of questions before spending this much money on a hobby. Please have a look:
60 Gallon Combo (with stand) 300$
Emperor Filter 65$
Salt 46$
Hydrometer 9$
Heater 200 W 25$
P.H Reverse flow 2 x 40$ = 80$
Sand 63$
My main concern is the Filter, they offered a Canister filter system which cost 170$. Am I supposed to go with the canister or the 65$ filter system is sufficient?
The tank is supposed to be a fish-only tank.
Thanks for any input, comment on prices and so on
Nader

 

[bill109]

Originally Posted by darvishus
Hi there,
I am a soon to be saltwater hobbyist!!! It is exciting.
Here is the detailed information I recived from a local Pet shop. I usualy tend to ask lot of questions before spending this much money on a hobby. Please have a look:
60 Gallon Combo (with stand) 300$
Emperor Filter 65$
Salt 46$
Hydrometer 9$
Heater 200 W 25$
P.H Reverse flow 2 x 40$ = 80$
Sand 63$
My main concern is the Filter, they offered a Canister filter system which cost 170$. Am I supposed to go with the canister or the 65$ filter system is sufficient?
The tank is supposed to be a fish-only tank.
Thanks for any input, comment on prices and so on
Nader
go witht the 63 and look into skimers. or just a skimmer? not sure on this as long as you have a lot of lr. i cant say without you sayinf if your buying lr.. its about 8-10 bucks a lb.. and for a target 1 lb per gallon.
skimmer is/can be expensive but ONE of the best investment to make. check out aqua c remora urchin pro models.. thts what i have (so man ynames to it sorry if i messd it up

)

 

[barchtruong]

welcome,
you need to list more specific the types of sand, salt, filter model,
you need to cross out the hydrometer and replace it with refractometer.
you need to know what type of sw aquarium you want to set up, fish only w liverock, or reef tank or reef with fishes.
your milestone is at 1 now, cuz this is your first post )
you are going to need to do alot and alot of reading on stuff you find here before you even start it.
Make sure you ask lots of ques.

 

[fishkid2]

lr.. its about 8-10 bucks a lb..
i know a place online you could get lr (Live Rock) for only $2.25 a pound.

 

[michaeltx]

60 Gallon Combo (with stand) 300$
Shop around for the tank and stand you will probably find it cheaper.
Emperor Filter 65$
No need for this unless its for surface agitiation powerheads give us the motion in the water
Salt 46$
always get more than you need for emergencies
Hydrometer 9$
dont waste your moeny get a good refractometer and be done the hydrometers are highly inacruate
Heater 200 W 25$
get good heaters 2 of them one as a back up in the tank so if one malfunctions the other will kick in
P.H Reverse flow 2 x 40$ = 80$
no need foir the reverse aspect so you might be able to afford higher end powerheads.
Sand 63$
how much sand is this for?
a few things that you didnt mention
RO filter is best to have to start with the best water possible
live rock 1 to 1-1/2 pounds per gallon
skimmer
and if you are wanting a reef what lighting are you looking at normal lights that come with tanks wont work for a reef applicarion
test kits
I am sure more things will be added to the list.
Mike

 

[michaeltx]

BTW welcome to the board.
this is a good place to look at for your dry good needs until you are ready for fish and inverts and then they have those aswell.
mike

 

[sepulatian]

Hydrometer 9$
dont waste your moeny get a good refractometer and be done the hydrometers are highly inacruate
I agree. I had a hydrometer for awhile. I bought a refractometer from this site ($39.99 came already calibrated and checked it against a friends refractometer. Dead on!!!) I found that my qt was at 1.030 (thought it was 1.025) My display was at 1.031 (thought it was 1.026) They can read high they can read low. Hydrometers are awfull that way.

 

[sepulatian]

Oh yeah, (sorry for my rudeness!) Welcome to the boards!! Any questions that you may have, please post them anytime!!!