I really want a saltwater aquarium but I dont know if I can afford it. if you can, please give me an estimate on what it would cost to get one.
I really want a saltwater aquarium but I dont know if I can afford it. if you can, please give me an estimate on what it would cost to get one.
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for a small tank – 20G or so, it will cost you in the neighborhood of $1000, depending on what equipment you get, whether you make your own water or buy it from a local store, etc.
around 30 to 40 bucks at a pet store
It depends on size, fish, matenance, etc… they can be quite expensive =(
saltwater aquariums are NOT CHEAP. You have to get a special filter, the fish are more expensive, and it’s very hard to maintain. YOU MUST DO YOUR HOMEWORK, and learn everything you can about a saltwater tank before you go out and waste your money. My suggestion would be to start with a brackish (half salt, half fresh) tank first, then if you can handle that move on to the full saltwater.
If you don’t have anything at the moment at least $1000-1500. The bigger the tank the easier the setup. I would recommend no less then 50 Gallons/ 200L for your first setup. The salt is also expensive and all the testing gear. ($300) Not to mention the cost of fish. However the result is very rewarding. If you are wanting corals and liverock in your setup. Another $200 will go on top because of special filters, additives and the base rock isn’t free either. Once your tank is setup right it should not require much maintenance at all. maybe a change once a month. worse case senario.
it depends on how big you want it to be but id say 30-60$
Saltwater aquariums can be very beautiful and exciting to watch, but they require a lot more attention than a regular fresh water tank. You can probably expect to spend around $200 for a small tank, just to start out. You have to routinely monitor the water with test kits specifically designed for saltwater tanks. You have to check PH, salinity, nitrates, nitrites and more. When starting out, you want to get your water adjusted to proper levels before adding fish. Start out with inexpensive fish first, until your tank gets established, then, after a couple of months, if everything seems to be alright, you can start adding more fish. Sometimes it takes several months, even a year or more, before a good saltwater tank really comes to life. You can eventually add fish like Tangs, Flame Angels, Clown fish, Anemones(invertabretes) and much, much more! If you stick with it, you will enjoy hours of enjoyment from a saltwater tank from exotic colors and shapes of fish, but it can take a bit of work and you can invest a lot of money over time, dependant upon how far you want to go with it. Try to learn as much as you can about the different stages your tank will go through and how it can affect the fish and you will be much better off because changes in the waters PH and other things can cause loss of fish, which can be disappointing and frustrating. Hope I didn’t discourage you because they can be a lot of fun! Good luck and enjoy!!
The cost will be based on what size a tank your looking for and what you have decided to keep inside of it.
Some people can get away with a 6 or 12 gallon Pico tank setup that will cost them about $60.00 to $120.00.
Then there are the setups for Nano tanks (24-30 gl) that come with tank, stand, hood, and filter at sale prices of $250.00 and higher. If I were to go that route I would get the more pricy ones with the better light setup. Also a good idea is to look into what protein skimmers will fit the premade all in one tanks, and if they can be modded to fit better equipment. You will still prouble have to buy some type of powerhead for water movement. They run between 15-60 dollars.
For all the tanks I would recommend buying Live Rock. I prefer Fiji live rock because it seems to be more porous and lighter, making for more rock for building your display and more surface area for benificial bacteria. Use cheap base rock for the foundation, with some good rock for the top to add some benificial bacteria and coraline algea.
Lights can be very costly depending on what you plan to keep inside. Flourecents ($50and higher) seem to be the most common and the cost is not as high as Metal Heialides(sp) ($350 and higher) but those MH lights are great for small polped stony corals, and will benifit most other light loveing corals. It will all depend on the needs of the animals stocked.
Live sand ($45 for 20 lbs)substrate needs to be looked at due to different animals that use it for homes and food. Crushed coral ($20 for 20 lbs) is cheaper but is not in favor as the current trend but it is a cheaper alternate.
Outside filters can run from $20 to the hundreds depending on the needed amount of filtration. Depending on the size of tank I always get at least 2x the amount of filtration and if possible 2 different kinds to suplement each other.
Remember there are also water changes, and it is not recommended to use grocery purched water unless it is distilled, and also different water additives may help. Tap water is the worse thing in my location.
You will need a hydrometer. Thay run about 10 bucks for the cheap plastic ones, and a couple buckets most likely for water changes and holding fishes and things for acclemation before adding them to the tank.
Then there is the livestock that you will keep. small tanks will do fine with small gobies wihic are not to expensive, but remember some marine fish can go into the hundreds of dollars.
If anything good luck and hope to see another helpful reef fanatic online soon.
more than youd think, i was given a full 100 gal set up, tank, stand, hood, sump refugiunm, skimmer, uv filter, and all the hoses, pumps and power heads, i have already spent around $600 on salt sand and live rock, i still need to spend another $200 – $350 on lighting, and i havn’t put a fish in yet, soooooo
the best bet is to figure out what you want vs what you can afford, start saving your money now,