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All my research said the average 55g fw tank setup including fish cost around 1500 dollars, where the average sw set up costs around $5000 dollars

Where did you get those numbers. I set up my 75g for around $500 and my 125g for $1000 and thats with an eheim filter and oak stand.

Yes you can, but the less live rock you have, the longer it will take for the reef bones to seed. There are pods and other things in the live rock that you want.

Dan



Dan

yes, you could but it will have to depend on how much reef bones and how much LR i think.

Dan,
Would you be able to run a SW tank with just the reef bones and some small portion of live rock to seed it without any fish or inverts?

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Here is one of the best prices I have found. http://www.petsolutions.com/Default.aspx?ItemID=12517147 You place this first, then add live rock on top of it. The live rock will sead it making it live rock in a few months. After 6 to 12 months, you wont even be able to tell the difference. I suggest 50% to 75% reef bone dependong one how much you have to spend. The more live rock you have, the faster it will sead. I also suggest soaking the reef bones in a seperate container for a week or so in salt water befor adding it to any tank with fish in it.

Dan


Dan

What would be a good price for reef bones and how long does it take them to become live rock. Can you do anything to speed it up.

Last edited by greenmonkey51 at 05-Apr-2005 08:30

Get play sand and save about $150, then get half to two thirds of your live rock as reef bones and save another large sum. I suggest looking around a lot.

Dan


Dan

wow you should think about buying online I even converted it to us dollars and it was 3 grand. I can guarentee that it wouldn't cost that much around here. I know I couldn't have anything bigger that a 20g at those prices.

Well, for example, I just replaced my 90g tank which sprung a leak for a 75g. The total cost of the tank, glass top, and fibreboard wood stand was $550. The cost I paid for my Eheim 2217 was $150. The cost of sand for a SW tank, I priced tahitian moon sand cuz I liked it a lot, and the cost of enough for a 75g tank was $180.
So far that is a total of $900. Then the cost of live rock, as I was thinking a Reef tank, was estimated me at $7.50 a pound for live rock, and the estimate on 90 lbs, that was just about $700 dollars here. So now my estimate was up to $1600 dollars, and I had not even added fish yet. So I then priced out the following fish I was interested in:
Small Colony of Royal Grammas: 4 fishx 59.95 each=239
2 Tank Bred Tomato Clowns x 45.00= $90
1 fancy anemone of some kind = $150
1 Brittle Star= $99
1 Urchin of some type= 39.95
6 Green Chromis x 19.95= $120
1 Purple Firefish Goby= $110
6 little blue Damselfish x 20.00= 120
Several little sea mushroom things 3x 12.00= 36.00
-----
Total at this point: $2603.95
Add on the following:
Salinity Refractometer: $265.00
Salt per bucket: $156.00 x 3? per year? I dont know how many 1 needs for a 90g tank.
Refugium cost: $300
That brings the total up to $3636 Canadian.
Well, not 5000 but pretty close.
I suppose a Fish only tank wouldnt be this much, but it certainly isnt cheap to keep SW any way you look at it.
My FW tank set up alone= 90g tank= 150 used
replacement tank for leaky tank 1 year later= 550
Filters x 2, eheim & fluval= 250
Substrate = 100
Plants= 300
Fish= 1000
-------------
$2350 just for a single FW set up
Not cheap either

Mind you, if you live in a place like Edmonton, or Toronto, you can get all these things at much much better prices than what I have to pay here on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.


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Im seriously thinking about changing my 55g to saltwater. The only thing is that I can't afford to get live rock. Is there anything different with a FO SW tank than a regular FW tank besides the salt. There is already sand in the tank.

Ok, let's get a few things clear here. There are several different types of SW tanks. Soem cost a LOT, others do not. A fish only tank is the same as a FW tank with the exception of salt. You do not need to check salt levels every day. The larger the tank, the less work it is. The only time I check my salt levels is when I mix salt, once a month or so. I top off with kalk water, one tank is auto topping, the other I just add one 24oz cup per day. As for cost, I have two 125gal tanks, one reef, and one FOWLR. I have less then $5000 invested in the whole set up. If you shop around you can find great deals. You can also build most everything if your handy. An example of places to save money is this. Sand can cost $7 for a 5 pound bag. I have about 400 pounds, so that $560 in sand alone. But I bought mine at home depot, caribien(sp) southdown play sand is the same thing, and costs $7 for a 50 pound bag, that's $56. I saved over $500 on that alone. Reef bones instead of live rock is another way. Less then $1 a pound for reef bones, and $5 to $8 per pound for live rock.

Dan


Dan

I have converted 2 FW tanks to SW tanks, and cost is a big issue, be prepared to spend alot of time keeping up on the tank. Study is the most important thing (ive learned the hard way) Once you have had the tank going for awhile, its no problem to keep them up, I maintain 4 SW tanks and 13 FW tanks. Its not that bad.

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Well, I know that every day you have to check the salinity, and mix salt up, and make sure everything is ok.
All my research said the average 55g fw tank setup including fish cost around 1500 dollars, where the average sw set up costs around $5000 dollars
the average FW set up requires approx. 4 hours of maintenance a week, whereas the average sw set up requires a minimum of 1 hour maintenance per day.
That is why i have decided not to go SW yet. But thats just me...some people dont mind the extra work or money spent.
Also, the cheapest "nice" SW fish I have seen run around 60 dollars++++ a fish, and some upwards of the 250 dollar range...whereas I have only 3 fish in my FW tank that cost more than 60.
I am not trying to convince you not to get SW...just be aware it takes much more time and much more money.


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It's not that hard. You just need to mix salt. If you can read a messuring cup, you can mix salt. As for lighting, nothing special, just get marine lights, somthing like a 50/50. Fish cost about 5x as much, but you also put in 1/5 as many fish. The only problem is when one fish dies.

Dan


Dan

Why does it take 3-10 times more time and effort. I know that mixing the salt takes time but what else takes more time and effort. What do i need special for the lighting. Also when you think about it the fish arn't really more exspensive because you stock less of them.

The only real difference between a FW and a FO SW tank is the salt, and the lights. You will also need powerheads to move the water around. FW tanks do not use as much water movment.

Dan


Dan

There are some differences that I have encountered in my looking into setting up a saltwater tank.
First: A Refugium or Sump added to the tank may be necessary depending upon which type of fish you want to keep.
Second: All that salt for keeping the salinity up is expensive.
Third: A Salinity Refractometer is also expensive.
Fourth: SW fish are very expensive.
Fifth: The time and effort required to maintain a successful SW tank is 3-10 times more than that of a FW tank.
Finally: Patience is required, as is in depth research into the types of fish you desire to keep and their needs, preferences, attitudes, and feeding requirements.
Aside from that, not much difference.

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If you want to do a straight fish only tank, there really is little difference.