Thinking About Salt Water?

[Balloons&killies]

Hey everyone ! I was maybe thinking of setting up my old fw 30g and starting a salt water tank. Ivr heard its not hard nor easy sometimes . But id like to here from you guys! How is it?


P.s. How much money Should I be looking at?

 

[lljdma06]

Hey everyone ! I was maybe thinking of setting up my old fw 30g and starting a salt water tank. Ivr heard its not hard nor easy sometimes . But id like to here from you guys! How is it?


P.s. How much money Should I be looking at?

It requires more maintenance, but I don't find it especially more difficult, but I've got a lot of years in the hobby.

Depends on what kind of system you want. We'd need more information.

But first have a read of our Resource center.

MARC

 

[SaltNoob]

haha... money..

Kiss it all goodbye! lol just kidding. Depends on what you keep, but it can get pricey! I run a 29gallon and it cost me

$220 in Live Rock
$130 for lights (T5's)
$40 tank, which you have..
$30 for the sand
$35 for a heater
$60 for two powerheads
$20 for light timers
$8 for a digital thermometer
$45 Refractometer
$50 in test kits

I do not run a skimmer or a sump, (this would cost a couple hundred + more easily)

Still need to add salt water, and R/O water for topping off evaporation. And saltwater for water changes.

I hope I am not missing anything.

-Tyler

 

[ainsy]

The MARC is a great place to start.

It can be harder as there can be more juggling getting the chemical make up of the salt water correct - but if you can use a test kit and follow a recipe then there is no reason why you would find it too hard.

Plus it can be very rewarding!

The cost is a 'how long is a piece of string' type question. It is perfectly possible to set up a small tank on a budget (like Saltnoob mentions) But if you get addicted (and you will!) it can be costly.

I don't know about on your side of the pond but over here one of the factors is that anything that you stock is much, much more expensive than most things that you will find in freshwater.

 

[SaltNoob]

Most of the fish are really not too bad. It is the CORALS that bring the expense up. Expect to pay up to 7 bucks a pound for live rock.

Zoas and mushrooms small things like that are anywhere from $5 up to w/e your wallet can handle for bigger colonies. Obviously the smaller frags will be cheaper.

My LFS store is small and the guy is really cool runs it with him and a friend. He takes amazing care of his stuff, does a lot of fragging, and is willing to sell stuff at low costs. He figures if he cuts you a deal you keep up the hobby, we keep coming in and spending money and then eventually upgrade etc etc. This place is small but he does a lot of business.

Some corals can cost $30 to $40 just to start. I have seen some in the $300 range easy. I am lucky to have my LFS. This guy has a real passion for the hobby, you can tell when you start to talk to him.

-Tyler