How much does a reef aquarium cost?

[ScaperDave]

Hi, I literally know nothing about reefs in fact I don’t even know why am on this forum? But I do know I have always wanted a beautiful coral reef in my bedroom maybe about 6‘ x 2‘? What does something like that cost around? And do I have to have somebody come maintain it all the time? I really don’t want that but once in a while is OK

 

[vic5hands]

Hi, I literally know nothing about reefs in fact I don’t even know why am on this forum? But I do know I have always wanted a beautiful coral reef in my bedroom maybe about 6‘ x 2‘? What does something like that cost around? And do I have to have somebody come maintain it all the time? I really don’t want that but once in a while is OK

How much money are you looking to spend.? You can spend Thousands .

 

[ScaperDave]

How much money are you looking to spend.? You can spend Thousands .

I can

 

[workhz]

Well stocked. If you’re talking a 6’ tank. I’d say budget $10k and you should be good. I’m up to $3k on a 90 gallon in under 6 months.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

It really depends on quality of equipment and rarity of corals and fish. I’d say a rough estimate is $50-100/gallon for good quality.

 

[Pico bam]

Are we talking

Or:

?

Ive got a 6'x2' im my living room. You can really spend about as much as you want but I went used. Lol, if your not hands on its likely gonna cost ALOT. Idk what aquarium maintenance costs but I'm guessing quite a bit. I belive most people here are more on the hobbie side of it. Not to mention the cost of coral and fish.

 

[G Santana]

I'm close to 3K and my 130 gallon is fairly empty and I already owned the tank b4 I started lol

Big tanks cost big money to fully stock and equip.

 

[fachatga]

Cost? How to begin to answer. Your sanity. All your marbles. Your dreams of getting outside for the day. Depends on what denomination we’re talking about.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Hi, I literally know nothing about reefs in fact I don’t even know why am on this forum? But I do know I have always wanted a beautiful coral reef in my bedroom maybe about 6‘ x 2‘? What does something like that cost around? And do I have to have somebody come maintain it all the time? I really don’t want that but once in a while is OK

Lol, ok, once in a while....I'll be honest , it depends entirely on what type of reef you want to have.....you are ranging in low thousand to several, what is your ideal tank size? Do you know what a gallon size in relation to full view even represents?

 

[ScaperDave]

Cost? How to begin to answer. Your sanity. All your marbles. Your dreams of getting outside for the day. Depends on what denomination we’re talking about.

Money is not a problem

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

I have over 2k, including corals in a 14 gallon all-in-one. 9.5 gallons of volume with 2 fish. This is a budget friendly reef.

 

[MaxTremors]

A six foot tank is going to be quite expensive. In reality, you could set up a decent four foot 90-120 gallon reef tank for $1000, but it would be a basic, no frills tank. You could alternatively set up a pretty great nano tank (~20 gallons) for $1000. Not including livestock, if you wanted a top of the line, totally automated, capable of keeping pretty much anything 6’x2’ tank, I would think you’d be spending at least $8-10k on just the equipment. And alternatively you could spend $4-5k on a totally spec’d out nano tank. It really just depends on what you want, how much maintenance you want to do, what you want to keep, what kind of aesthetic look you’re going for, there are just a lot of variable. Most people who put together a large, decked out tank plan it for months if not years. There’s a lot of research that needs to be done and a lot decisions that need to be made. If you want more of a plug and play type of thing, there are more options in nano sizes, but for larger tanks that kind of come with most of what you need, I’d look into a Red Sea tank, you can order it to come with pretty much everything you need in sizes up to 200gallons (I think that’s around where they top out), and they’re fairly easy to setup and maintain. But they are pretty pricey, on the larger side, you’d still be looking at $8-10k, for everything that’s included you could piece together a similar tank for substantially less (but again, it’s still going to be thousands).

 

[JumboShrimp]

If “money is not a problem,” I believe you can hire Mr. Saltwater Fish (.com) to design a full A-Z tank system for you, come to your house and build it/install it, get it wet and stock it; and tutor you about how to keep it running.

 

[CanuckReefer]

I'm close to 3K and my 130 gallon is fairly empty and I already owned the tank b4 I started lol

Big tanks cost big money to fully stock and equip.

And dang! Here I am with my 90, wanting to upgrade, you throwing the blanket all over it lol...130 is a leap for me.....hmmmm.....hmmmmm.....I like to jump, eventually....

 

[CanuckReefer]

I have over 2k, including corals in a 14 gallon all-in-one. 9.5 gallons of volume with 2 fish. This is a budget friendly reef.

This does not surprise me nowdays in the least.....

 

[G Santana]

And dang! Here I am with my 90, wanting to upgrade, you throwing the blanket all over it lol...130 is a leap for me.....hmmmm.....hmmmmm.....I like to jump, eventually....

If you have a 90 then the jump shouldn't be a big jump, you have everything you need already just live rock or dry rock to augment what you have. I always check the Facebook aquarium section, there are plenty of large tanks at reasonable prices.
But 90 ain't nothing to sneeze at lol

 

[Screwgunner]

That would be a 180 gallon at my lfs the tank is 1000 skimmer 400 sump 500 heater 150 sand and rock 2000 pumps 500 that is on the cheap side. Plus fish ,coral , cuc. Some fish are 300 for one most in the 50 . Have you started yet. Ato,controler another 1500 .dosing pump. So on and on.dont forget a stand. I got my 125 6'x18"x22" in a kit stand tank return pump skimmer and pump sump for 1200 17 years ago .don't think you can do that now. May be used . Yep 10k .

 

[Theulli]

Hi, I literally know nothing about reefs in fact I don’t even know why am on this forum? But I do know I have always wanted a beautiful coral reef in my bedroom maybe about 6‘ x 2‘? What does something like that cost around? And do I have to have somebody come maintain it all the time? I really don’t want that but once in a while is OK

I am currently condensing my two small tanks into one large one, 100 gallon, so smaller than 6x2, so I am working through the budgeting right now!

$1400 for the tank
$200-300 for the pump
$50 for a heater
$150-$200 in rock
$100 or so in sand
$150 for an rodi system
$200 for a light
Probably about $100 for my DIY sump, those can run $400 if you buy a fancy pants one

And that’s with no livestock, and with me already having all the basics (salt, filter media, food, test kits etc). Fish, unless you go for the rare ones, aren’t so bad, especially if you have a trusted local store so you don’t get hit with shipping costs for every addition. You can really drop a wad on corals if you want big and colorful.

 

[CanuckReefer]

If you have a 90 then the jump shouldn't be a big jump, you have everything you need already just live rock or dry rock to augment what you have. I always check the Facebook aquarium section, there are plenty of large tanks at reasonable prices.
But 90 ain't nothing to sneeze at lol

Ah geez...stop talking lol, you gonna land me in divorce court and my wife is a family law clerk....yet deep down 120-150 gallon worth I know she wants it....well, I think....stay tuned lol....

 

[Jekyl]

Hi, I literally know nothing about reefs in fact I don’t even know why am on this forum? But I do know I have always wanted a beautiful coral reef in my bedroom maybe about 6‘ x 2‘? What does something like that cost around? And do I have to have somebody come maintain it all the time? I really don’t want that but once in a while is OK

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