Time/Money Commitment

[neuturbo]

I'm new to this forum and this whole hobby, I just thought it'd be awesome to start a salt water aquarium and have been reading the forum and looking into it in the past week or so. I have a few questions for the guys here so I can decide if it's something I'd be able to do.
First off I've ordered the two books most reccommended on the forums: The Conscientious Marine Aquarist & The New Marine Aquarium. So I'm waiting on those to find out more but the big questions I have are about time and money.
I'm thinking of starting a real small tank... maybe 30 gallons or so and really only want a few fish (less than 4 definitely). I've even thought of just having one Lionfish... that or a few clowns. But on to the questions:
How much time does it really take? On Average how much time per week (or per day) do you spend doing fish maintenance stuff.
How much does it cost? I'm mainly concerned with recurring costs... how much per month do you spend on your fish?
Any answers you can give would be very helpful, I'm really psyched about reading about this hobby and hopefully starting a tank - just worried about cost and time.
Andrew

 

[dskidmore]

Are you planning a reef tank, or just fish?
A fish only tank is considerably cheaper to maintain. Both in time and money.

 

[neuturbo]

As far as a Reef tank or not, I'm not sure. I guess I'll be reading up more on it shortly when I get the books.
I don't really want a lot of extra work so I think I'm alright with just fish, but would I want live rock as well? Everything I read seems to indicate it reduces wrok by acting as filtration... is that right?
Need more advice I guess, can I just do fish? would the fish have enough to do? places to hide etc...
Andrew

 

[spline9]

You can do just fish, nothin wrong with that. Fish with live rock (FOWLR) is probably best. Live rock (LR) helps with the biological filtration so yeah, it reduces some maintenance action. Fish only is also definately cheaper. Dont have to worry about expensive lighting needs or other craziness.
Looks like youre being smart and doing your homework before starting up, unlike me, heh. Thats awesome. Just be careful, this is a very addicting hobby as anybody on here can tell you.
:happyfish
BTW, welcome to the boards (and the hobby)!

 

[big911dog]

I'm not addicted. I can quit anyime I want.....BRB, gotta check my tank....

Maybe we need a forum on a 12 step program...:yes:
P.S. WELCOME to the boards fellow newbie!

 

[flipper263]

Welcome!
Like Spline said...it is a VERY ADDICTING hobby...I started out with a 29 gallon and within 3 months purchased a 120 gallon set up. I have no regrets...but it gets expensive when you go to the fish store and look in their tanks....your wish list gets bigger and bigger.
As far as time consuming, if you ask my husband...that's all I ever do is take care of my fish...if you ask me...it's not so bad. Once your tank is established, it is somewhat easier to maintain in my opinion.
Read the books, ask a lot of questions and take it nice and slow it's a great hobby!
Here is my addiction

 

[ams153]

hey i recently got started almost two months ago and when i started i planned on doin only seahorses but then i got into researchin and saw how much there is to get so i ditched the seahorse idea and i know have a huge want list to trust me once you get started youll want more im already wishin i had a better tank and i just started adding fish also it does take quit a bit of time but really u can put as much or as little time into it as you want depending on how u go
Andrew

ps ask lotsa questions this board is totally helpful.

 

[dragonboy]

Saltwater will cost money in general but if its a reef tank your looking alot of expense and can quickly add up as you go within the months.

 

[acez28]

You spend lots of money and time on the front end but after everything is established then its simple. A lot easier than a freshwater tank. I maybe spend 3-4 hours a month(guessing) doing actual maintenace. Cleaning the glass, doing top offs, cleaning the skimmer, feeding. All the rest of the time i am just staring at it...... :yes:

 

[latino277]

welcome!!!
if I were you I'd start with FOWLR, especailly if you want a lion fish. this fish like to pearch on and under thing to ambush its prey. this is besides the face that it will help with you bio... it should be your bio!
if you plan everything right you'll take only 1 big hit at the begining... $ and time wise.
after that... the only thing you need to really buy is salt and food.
as for time. I only spend about 1/2hr a day messin with my tank. the most time consuming thing is waiting for your RODI water to be made.
Good luck

 

[g8er_h8er]

I can give you a decent estimate of my costs.
I have a 36 gallon bow tank with 45 lbs LR, 10 lbs LS and 20 lbs regular sand.
Livestock:
20 blueleg hermits
20 turbo snails
3 peppermint shrimp
If I had to guess, I would say I've spent about $900 getting this thing setup.
Tank and stand were about $350. Filter, powerhead and heater ran about $60. LR was around $200, livestock so far is about $50. Then you've got your test kits, refractometer/hydrometer, buckets, turkey basters, syringes, salt mix, lights, and the list goes on. It can add up quick.
I'm now at the point where I only have to spend money on food and water changes (or on extra fish when I want them). I buy seven gallons of distilled water every two weeks for my water changes, and use another gallon a week for topoffs. That's pretty inexpensive maintenance. Then again, like the others said, I have a fowlr tank so I don't have to worry about all the extra lighting, additives, and other things needed for a reef tank.

 

[blitz99]

i started my tank several weeks ago.. WITHOUT researching the time and costs... i used to work in the industry so i figured "eh, i can throw one together for a couple hundred bucks"..
wrong...
instead of a cheapy 29 i went with a 40 high (same diminsions but higher)... that was about 160 for tank stand and hood.. i got a NEW hood cuz i want to keep some mushroom corals... i have 40 lbs of rock in there worth about 200 bucks... filter, live sand (80 bucks combined).. test kits (50 bucks)...
and i'm stopping now before i get to the fish money cuz this will just upset me that i spent this much money to have 2 fish in my tank...
it looks cool though.