What is your maintenance cost??

[lennon]

Hi everyone. I wanted to get input on maintaining your tanks per month. I want to make sure I have the funds for it. I am sure it gets costly between food, equipment maintenance etc...
Please post your size and such.
I am getting either a 55 gallon or 65 gallon. Will start with FOWLR and then convert to reef.
Thanks so much to all who respond. It will make a difference in how I decide.
:joy:

 

[kdfrosty]

50g reef tank
These are prorated amounts:
Salt = $10 (weekly water changes)
60 gallons RO water = $17.40 (evap 2g/day)
Food = $3 (at most; feed 3 fish every other day)
Carbon = $10 (run carbon twice a month for 1 day at a time)
Filter pads = $6 (for a penguin 300)
so...not including electricity about $45 per month. You can cut down some of these costs significanty...I just haven't decided to yet. you can cut these costs down by A)buying and RO unit, B) not running the extra carbon bi-weekly, and c) doing less frequent (bi-weekly) water changes.

 

[lennon]

Originally Posted by KDFrosty
50g reef tank
These are prorated amounts:
Salt = $10 (weekly water changes)
60 gallons RO water = $17.40 (evap 2g/day)
Food = $3 (at most; feed 3 fish every other day)
Carbon = $10 (run carbon twice a month for 1 day at a time)
Filter pads = $6 (for a penguin 300)
so...not including electricity about $45 per month. You can cut down some of these costs significanty...I just haven't decided to yet. you can cut these costs down by A)buying and RO unit, B) not running the extra carbon bi-weekly, and c) doing less frequent (bi-weekly) water changes.
Thanks for replying. I thought that seems more realistic. I read another site post and he said to expect to pay $150-200 a month on maintenance. I cannot imagine spending that much. I can...but that seems steep to me. I would rather spend as much on the initial purchase and equipment.
Anyone else spend this much or more???

 

[crazyzeus1]

We have our LFS service our tank twice a month (water changes, clean tank, test water, bring out any livestock we chose, etc.) They charge $159 per month & the only "materials" that includes is the replacement salt water. We buy all suppliments, food, chemicals, etc. We have only been adding suppliments for 1 month, & still have a lot left of the types we bought, so I don't know the average cost of those yet.

 

[lennon]

Originally Posted by crazyzeus1
We have our LFS service our tank twice a month (water changes, clean tank, test water, bring out any livestock we chose, etc.) They charge $159 per month & the only "materials" that includes is the replacement salt water. We buy all suppliments, food, chemicals, etc. We have only been adding suppliments for 1 month, & still have a lot left of the types we bought, so I don't know the average cost of those yet.
thanks for responding..this is very useful in deciding what to do...
anyone else?

 

[sweetdawn]

i buy saltwater premixed a dollar a gallon say 10.00 a month. have wet dry so no carbon cost. one filter a month for wetdry around 8.00 a month but you can rinse those out and reuse them so not really every month for that test kit was 44.00 but that lasts a long time so not a monthly expense. razor blades to clean glass but those are cheap. cant think of anything else that would be considered maintanace. food additives for tank but those bottles last a long time. and those depend on what your keeping in the tank my flakes for two of my tanks lasted about a year. maintance isnt the cost its going to the lfs and seeing a coral you just have to have.

 

[escape2thewater]

Well it is hard to put a dollar amount on it for me. Sometimes I can go a month with very little maintenance & expense and then the next month have to spend tons & time & money. I have a 120g reef and 75g aggressive. I save some cost by doing water changes on my reef then using the old reef water to change out on my aggressive. My tanks run me about $40/month in electric from what I can tell. I have to regularly dose CA & alk supps for my corals too. Its just those little things that you forget about that add up on you, Like when you have to replace all your light bulbs because they are over 6 months old & they are losing spectrum & could cause an algae bloom if you dont. Also I run ROWA phos 24/7 that gets replaced prob every couple months or so. Then carbon, equipment maint, etc. Like I said its hard to say but for me I would prob avg $100/month if you divide all that up. Of course im always trying to improve my tanks with better equipment & improved systems & new livestock & corals, thats where all the $$$ comes in!!! Good luck with your tank though!
Escape

 

[verde_ad]

well, I would budget at least $50 a month on unseen costs (ie pump going out, algae outbreak and need better clean-up crew, lights need replacing, etc). You may only spend $20 one month, but there will be plenty of $100 problems. Depending on your lights, pumps, chillers and local power cost you can plan on a $20-$75 power increase. Water, both salt and fresh, can get pretty spendy unless you buy a rodi unit. Then you have to replace filters and your water bill goes up, because of waist water. It is expensive to be in this hobby, but well worth it. If you are frugal you can keep the costs reasonable. If you become obsessed, then watch out.

 

[lennon]

Thanks everyone! I still want to hear others costs too. It is so helpful to know.
The article said to average $150-200..that to me seemed steep for monthly maintenance.
I could understand that things come up..but every single month..that would be too much for me. I also assume that since I am going with a smaller tank..maybe it won't be as much. I just wanted to make sure it was not that much for sure. I often wondered how some of these younger hobbyist and students..some still in their teens would afford $200 a month. That is why I figured it was a high estimate.
Keep those inputs coming everyone!!

 

[murph145]

i have a 100 gallon reef
general maintenance......
10 gallons fresh saltwater twice monthly is .75 a gallon so $15
run chemi-pure carbon in 2 fluval 404's change every 6-8 weeks at $10 per baggy
fresh ro/di water for my auto top off system is about $18
dosing runs about $15 a month
theres also a one time cost for cleaning materials and some test kits... ??
you could take into account changing your bulbs every 8-12 months for your PC, VHO, or MH fixtures if i average the replacement cost of the bulbs over the months its about $12 a month
electricity probably runs my tank $25 a month with my lighting and chiller being the main consumption
food cost is about $20 a month from the frozen brine to the krill to the squid and formulas for feeding corals....
thats all the monthly cost i can think of right now .... then i usually spend another $200 a month on live stock or other new gadgets for the tank....
but my general monthly cost just to run the tank are probably around $125 a month....
wow it does add up fast i was wondering why my wallets always empty lol....
hope that helps some!

 

[lennon]

Thanks! So maybe being that I am just doing a 49 or 55 DT..then my food and maintenance cost may be less. I surely hope so!!
I would love a 100 gallon...but I think I would wait quite a few years to have some good knowledge under my belt first.

Keep those estimates coming everyone!! :cheer:

 

[sweetdawn]

murph has an aggressive tank so the food cost would be higher if you go with things that dont have to eat meat it would be cheaper.

 

[lennon]

Originally Posted by sweetdawn
murph has an aggressive tank so the food cost would be higher if you go with things that dont have to eat meat it would be cheaper.

thats good to know. I plan on doing fowlr for now to make things easier on me. Someone said if I do not do corals..that I can get away with just topping off.
My tank will not be aggressive...so I guess I will save alittle on food. Plus I wont have too many fish in there. I don't want overload..
thanks

 

[squidd]

I try not to think too much of the "monthly" costs or "long term" costs of maintaining my tank(s)...
It's kind of like having kids...If I'd have known it was going to take $500,000+ each to raise them (over the course of their life)...I don't think I would of had 4 of them....
Having a tank is kinda like having a kid...First you have the high initial costs of bringing them home from the LFS (or hospital) then It lightens a while, while you feed and raise them, then there are the "upgrade" costs as they grow (new cloths, better skimmer, a bicycle, maybe a bigger pump) and the unexpected costs (broken arms, sickness, Ick or a bad transformer) and then your back to feeding and cleaning up after them...
And of course there are the "expected" regular maintenance costs of school supplies, new bulbs, more new cloths, and an additional "specimen" or two...
Then just about the time you get your head above water (so to speak) they hit you with the big expences..Collage, Car, Bigger tank, Closed loop , Chiller...It just goes on and on...
At least with the Kids they'll eventually move out and get married...the tank then becomes more like the wife..your stuck with it for life...
I gotta stop now...I'm depressing myself...

 

[lennon]

Thanks Squidd..that was great.

I also have 3 kids and one on the way. And I do consider what they are going to cost me in the long run. I decided to have as many as I could afford to send to college. So I did
take money into consideration.
That is also why I ask about cost with the tank. I just want to get an idea from everyone just to see if I am able to provide for these beautiful creatures...
Hopefully I can and will... :joy:
thanks for the input!!

 

[jer4916]

i have a 125 gallon reef.
salt a month costs me around $10/15 ..depending
chemicals around $10
electric bill for tank around $40
so you could say my tank costs me around $65 a month to take care of...but i also run an ecosystem filter which takes care of 90% of my dosing/filter issues...i have crystal clear water and i NEVER run carbon...etc...it was much more expensive up front...but its WICKED cheap and easy to take care of now...
~Chris

 

[lennon]

Originally Posted by Jer4916
i have a 125 gallon reef.
so you could say my tank costs me around $65 a month to take care of...but i also run an ecosystem filter which takes care of 90% of my dosing/filter issues...i have crystal clear water and i NEVER run carbon...etc...it was much more expensive up front...but its WICKED cheap and easy to take care of now...
~Chris
HI Chris. Is carbon not good? I thought that is what you use when the water gets cloudy. I guess I will need to read more.
What kind of filter is an ecosystem? I would love to read up on it.
Keep those estimates coming everyone!!

 

[jer4916]

Originally Posted by Lennon
HI Chris. Is carbon not good? I thought that is what you use when the water gets cloudy. I guess I will need to read more.
What kind of filter is an ecosystem? I would love to read up on it.
Keep those estimates coming everyone!!

carbon is good for some systems...it truely depends on the person your talking to,...i ran it in my FO tank...but i personally wont put anything near my reef tank unless its natural.... i use plants to remove nitrates...and miracle mud in my ecosystem to maintain a healthy system...my tank is extremely stable and i dont even run a protein skimmer. People scream at me when i tell them i dont run one...but my corals multiply like their in the wild....fish are extreeeeeeeeeemely bright and healthy....on problem is at the moment i dont use RO water...so i get some red stuff in my sand once in awhile...but that will soon be fixed...once i get paid again..hehe
thanks for asking
also my filter is
ecosystem 3612
please dont buy one...make your own...i got mine with my system for an extremely discounted price....my opinion anyone who is willing to pay $800 on a filter is a fool. You can make the same thing out of a 30 gallon tank for like $120 (thinking high) ...only thing that will cost you money truely is the light for $100 and the mud for $200...so a total of around $400...and your getting a good discount ...reminder i DO NOT dose my tank for anything. and my levels on everything are perfect

 

[lennon]

Originally Posted by Jer4916
carbon is good for some systems...it truely depends on the person your talking to,...i ran it in my FO tank...but i personally wont put anything near my reef tank unless its natural.... i use plants to remove nitrates...and miracle mud in my ecosystem to maintain a healthy system...my tank is extremely stable and i dont even run a protein skimmer. People scream at me when i tell them i dont run one...but my corals multiply like their in the wild....fish are extreeeeeeeeeemely bright and healthy....on problem is at the moment i dont use RO water...so i get some red stuff in my sand once in awhile...but that will soon be fixed...once i get paid again..hehe
thanks for asking
also my filter is
ecosystem 3612
please dont buy one...make your own...i got mine with my system for an extremely discounted price....my opinion anyone who is willing to pay $800 on a filter is a fool. You can make the same thing out of a 30 gallon tank for like $120 (thinking high) ...only thing that will cost you money truely is the light for $100 and the mud for $200...so a total of around $400...and your getting a good discount ...reminder i DO NOT dose my tank for anything. and my levels on everything are perfect
Well, nobody should scream if it works for you. That is all that matters.
But I still think you should bottle your formula

Unfortunately, I am not such a handy woman when it comes to things like this and would not have a clue how to make this. Is this what is considered a refugium?
I wanted to use maybe a 20 gallon tanks as to leave enough room for a water reservoir for the auto top off system. I will be using ro/di water too..But I want to know details on everything you use!!!lol
unless that was all of it. How about lights and powerheads? I am only having a 55 gallon..so I don't think I need much..Plus, I definitely want to avoid high heat lighting like MH. I am going to have a canopy and do not want to deal with chillers etc..So if I have to avoid certain coral..I will.
do you have any pics??
I truly appreciate your help. It's nice to have someone to turn to for this.

:cheer:

 

[lennon]

Anyone else with an idea of your monthly estimate??