No Money, Honey: How do you feel about the cost of starting a tank?

[Reef Puncher]

without an overflow you wont have a sump. sure you can use a canister....but canisters are ehhhhh

 

[Northern Flicker]

without an overflow you wont have a sump. sure you can use a canister....but canisters are ehhhhh

I don't have either Cannisters are kind of pointless in any system with lots of rock anyways.

 

[KrisReef]

How do you feel about the cost of starting a tank?

I feel my tank is an oasis of Mother Earth that is protecting our most delicate ecosystems in the world, and worthy of my protection. The government should be paying for this tank, the electricity to run it and sending over people to do water changes and check the minerals each day if they really care about the environment.

 

[bob88884]

Weird question, considering how every tank and every reefer's goals are different. I have far stronger opinions about the ongoing cost of operation and the cost of replacing garbage equipment.

It took me two years to put together enough money for a *functioning* tank (my 90g display tank sat empty in my living room for 18 months); my tank is now two years old, and I'm still bankrupting myself on equipment instead of coral, though I've spent plenty on coral too (which is fair--that was the goal after all).

Last Tuesday, my third Apex controller just went up and decided it couldn't stay connected to the internet (even with a hard ethernet connection), and it completely stopped working. The controller it replaced did the same last February. I'm now using a brand new Apex provided by Neptune after the failure in February. Seriously, I have two BRS titanium heaters from the beginning of the hobby that have outlived three Apex controllers. I'm considering a switch to Hydros, but now it looks like BRS has dropped the brand because all controllers, probes, and everything is out of stock with no explanation.

All my other equipment may be expensive, but at least my display tank doesn't just decide to shatter every nine months.

I am switching to the Hydros system as well, not all at once but as I can budget for it.

From my understanding, BRS is pushing Neptune as well as other brands that are owned by their parent company; I am not sure if BRS dropped much of the competition or the other way around.
If I am wrong someone please correct me

 

[pwfess]

Starting a tank is all rainbows and butterflies until you step up to the cash register. Although there are ways to get more bang for your buck, there is no denying that our tanks are investments of time and definitely investments of money. But how much money? When you consider the cost of the tank and stand itself, and then factor in sand, salt, rocks, lights, test kits, water filtration, livestock, and all the other stuff you need to start an aquarium...

How do you feel about the cost of starting a tank?

It’s expensive. Especially if you want your tank to be what IG shows. I find my taste to be in the $300-$500 dollar corals. Sucks but it’s what I like. I work a per diem job once a week to cover extra household expenses and this hobby. One 7.5 hr shift once a week adds an extra $1750 to my income per month, after taxes. That’s pretty healthy hobby/investment fund. I also don’t have student loans nor a car payment. Just a mortgage and a guy with an expensive hobby lol. Rather have money for reef tank and corals than a super fancy car. Just not my interest…

 

[thelonereefer1]

I think some things are fairly expensive for what they are. Others seem to be priced fair. However, I grew up in the horse and cattle world so if we’re comparing apples to oranges then reef keeping is insanely cheap lol

 

[mwilk19]

The cost of aquariums has gotten ridiculous.

 

[BPCGuy]

You can do reefing cheaply, but people are so focused on convenience, speed, and not interacting with people. Getting second hand equipment, DIY, and fish or frags from other hobbyists can be very cheap or sometimes even free. Ordering online is incredibly expensive.

 

[DrV4n]

REEF is the real opposite of FREE.

 

[CDBias5]

“Starting” is a fuzzy word. From scratch? 2nd or 3rd? Isn’t supporting equipment included like testing supplies, water mixing and storage, quarantine tank and equipment, medicine?
The cost are enormous and they should be made public.
Cost surprises are a big part of the failure rate.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen true cost listed because you always have the trolls that claim they started one for $300.

 

[deome]

From my understanding, BRS is pushing Neptune as well as other brands that are owned by their parent company; I am not sure if BRS dropped much of the competition or the other way around.
If I am wrong someone please correct me

From what I've seen in other threads--ie, complaints about the last update that bricked so many Apex controllers--I'm getting the impression that BRS is both pushing Neptune products due to parent company.

From my experience since last December, yeah so many products have been discontinued, and it's often not clear why. The Hydros line is definitely disconned, per BRS website, and that happened sometime since last May when I was looking at it on BRS website. They've also disconned a lot of less expensive equipment since last December, often without a clear reason why. BRS has been my main supplier since setting up my tank in 2022, so I'm frequently browsing their site and bookmarking products for future purchase, but this year tons of them are labeled either out of stock or discontinued, and now I have to research other trustworthy suppliers.

Discontinuing the Hydros line has really made me suspicious of buying from BRS.

 

[ChickReef]

The introduction price tag to get into this hobby is steep especially since you don’t know if you are going to love it. I wish it was cheaper so more people would be willing to try it out.

You could just buy the necessary items at first but the more you spend, the more prepared you are to handle the initial challenges. When I first started I didn’t purchase any testing equipment. Not even to test my salinity. I quickly learned I needed the get some.

 

[cilyjr]

This will likely be unpopular.
I'm ok with a "barrier of entry" cost. These are living things and should be taken seriously. The easiest way to get a lot of people to do that is have it cost real money.

It would bother me in the mid 2000s when I see the same young guy buying the same tang week after week because he "just can't keep it alive". It's not as common with a $100 price tag.

 

[Northern Flicker]

This will likely be unpopular.
I'm ok with a "barrier of entry" cost. These are living things and should be taken seriously. The easiest way to get a lot of people to do that is have it cost real money.

It would bother me in the mid 2000s when I see the same young guy buying the same tang week after week because he "just can't keep it alive". It's not as common with a $100 price tag.

Preach!

Reminds me of people who scoff at paying a $300 fee to adopt a puppy. Not really showing a willingness to properly care for the animal.

 

[Reef Puncher]

This will likely be unpopular.
I'm ok with a "barrier of entry" cost. These are living things and should be taken seriously. The easiest way to get a lot of people to do that is have it cost real money.

It would bother me in the mid 2000s when I see the same young guy buying the same tang week after week because he "just can't keep it alive". It's not as common with a $100 price tag.

facts, i agree

 

[skrtchsr]

I've been building out my reef tank for about 6 months and it's almost ready for livestock. At this point I'm in for around $12,000 *gulp*