Please Stop Stating This Is An Expensive Hobby.

[Paul B]

For every Paul B, there are thousands who buy an Ali express LED light and kill an anemone.

I don't even know what that is.

I also don't consider this an expensive hobby at all. If you keep killing fish it can be. I have a 32 year old fireclown and he was probably 10 bucks. So he cost me what? 30 cents a year or something lie that.

If your fish live 9 or 10 years and they cost 20 or 30 bucks, it's just pennies. If you feel the need to change water every week, that could get pricy. I change some water 4 or 5 times a year so it isn't much.

I figured it out once and I think it cost me about $900.00 a year including electricity which is the biggest expense.

 

[Dave1993]

my tank costs over £2 a day to run it adds up

 

[PeterC99]

All depends on one’s situation and point of view.

What is important is the enjoyment & satisfaction relative to time, cost, & effort

 

[nothing_fancy]

Well this thread is fun. The cost of coral now is for sure radically higher than it was when I started in the hobby. Fortunately for me I was killing a lot of corals back then and currently I am not doing that. Not so fortunate for those corals, RIP. My opinion, it's expensive if you want it to be. A beginner system with a modest light fixture, a few easy fish, some low demand corals, can be setup affordably. If you have someone that can mentor you or are savvy about doing your research here on this forum, you can save a lot of money early on in the choices you make with DIY'ing as much as possible and avoiding expensive additives. However, most long term hobbyists who wanna keep a lot of high demand anything are gonna have a big initial investment especially now with the costs of electronics which will continue to rise at least for the foreseeable future. That's why its so important to follow what some of the more experienced folks on here are doing to save money on their larger systems. As someone who got back into the hobby a year or so ago after a long break I found that sort of info invaluable to me especially in expendables like monthly costs for things like chemicals, media, food etc.

 

[Troylee]

Okay let’s just say it’s more expensive then it was a couple years ago when it was expensive.. haha

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

This is an expensive hobby by the standards of most people. This is clearly why people keep complaining about how expensive it is. If you truly enjoy it though, the cost shouldn't matter so much. But yes, you're probably going to buy expensive equipment and livestock. Some equipment won't work as well as you expected some livestock will die almost immediately for not reason. You aren't getting that money back...

Yes, it's subjective. Let's all take a leap and say therefore nothing in the world is actually expensive by definition. I'm sure Bill Gates wouldn't mind paying 10 X whatever price a shop makes up for a coral. THIS HOBBY IS SOOOO CHEAP (to him).

It is what it is. Complain if you want but it won't get better. I'd say it's expensive but not complain about it.

 

[Lebowski_]

I don't even know what that is.

I also don't consider this an expensive hobby at all. If you keep killing fish it can be. I have a 32 year old fireclown and he was probably 10 bucks. So he cost me what? 30 cents a year or something lie that.

If your fish live 9 or 10 years and they cost 20 or 30 bucks, it's just pennies. If you feel the need to change water every week, that could get pricy. I change some water 4 or 5 times a year so it isn't much.

I figured it out once and I think it cost me about $900.00 a year including electricity which is the biggest expense.

Maybe the hobby isn’t expensive because livestock and equipment has tripled since you last bought anything lol.

 

[Lebowski_]

This is an expensive hobby by the standards of most people. This is clearly why people keep complaining about how expensive it is. If you truly enjoy it though, the cost shouldn't matter so much. But yes, you're probably going to buy expensive equipment and livestock. Some equipment won't work as well as you expected some livestock will die almost immediately for not reason. You aren't getting that money back...

Yes, it's subjective. Let's all take a leap and say therefore nothing in the world is actually expensive by definition. I'm sure Bill Gates wouldn't mind paying 10 X whatever price a shop makes up for a coral. THIS HOBBY IS SOOOO CHEAP (to him).

It is what it is. Complain if you want but it won't get better. I'd say it's expensive but not complain about it.

Nobody is forcing you to read it. Sometimes it’s just nice to vent with others.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Nobody is forcing you to read it. Sometimes it’s just nice to vent with others.

I'm venting now...just the opposite way you are

 

[Lebowski_]

I'm venting now...just the opposite way you are

The equivalent of walking 3 kms to a bakery, then getting there and complaining to everyone in the bakery about all the bread.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

The equivalent of walking 3 kms to a bakery, then getting there and complaining to everyone in the bakery about all the bread.

I've truly never heard such an odd analogy before...hmmm

 

[bakbay]

"This hobby is very inexpensive - trust me. I'm not spending a lot of money on it! Besides, I'll frag these super rare corals and this hobby more than pay for itself." -- that will always be my answer when my wife asks!

 

[glb]

As many others have said, saltwater is pricier than freshwater. You can easily have a beautiful smaller tank in the affordable range. Do a ton of research to see where you can save money on equipment and when it’s not worth it. A fish only tank is far more affordable because you don’t have to worry about lights. A lot of the things that add up are to add convenience, like a controller, auto water changer, or dosing pumps. I’ve have a 40g for over six years and have quite a bit invested at this point. But I did save with DIY projects like the sump. I built my own stand (which is not cheaper but way stronger than premade ones). For general upkeep, the BRS brand for dosing pumps, additives, and RODI equipment saves a lot of money and is great quality. You can spend an enormous amount on custom tanks with special glass, or you can buy an Aqueon at Petco like I did. I did a year of research before I started and it really paid off. Ask a lot of questions here. We all want to help!

 

[BZOFIQ]

Anyone? Financing offered.

From another forum

 

[glb]

Ps it also helped me to take a long-term view of my aquarium. I slowly added things over six years. I kept it as fowlr for two years until my budget allowed for the ATI t5 fixture I really wanted. I tried to not buy cheap equipment that I’d only replace later, which I thought was a waste of money. I have an Apex Jr (they don’t make this one anymore) that does everything I need. Four years in I was able to get a DOS for AWC’s. The tank is a lot easier to run now then when I started because I’ve been able to automate things, but I didn’t buy everything up front.