Saltwater Hobbyists

[Chiefmaster30]

How do y'all afford this hobby? What do most of you do for a living?

 

[reeferfoxx]

30% of monthly income goes to living expenses. I work for a living.

 

[sbash]

30% of monthly income goes to living expenses. I work for a living.

Yes, agreed. Responsible financial decisions, budgeting and saving help a lot.

This can be an expensive hobby, but then so can tennis. It can also be fairly inexpensive. For example, several months ago, I purchased a full 65 Gallon system, with sump, pluming, pumps, powerheads, liverock, soft and lps corals, four fish, skimmer, and sand, all for about $500. Granted that is more expensive than a simple goldfish or guppy aquarium, but it is far more complex.

So, since I am not quite done rambling, shall we see how inexpensive we can actually make a saltwater aquarium...

20 Gallon tank: $20 (used, easy to find, probably comes with a simple light)
Water - 5 x 5 Gallon jugs of RODI (not including jug deposit), $5 each: $25
HOB filter (assuming your used 20 gallon did not come with one): $20 new (mainly for some flow, aeration, and extra rubble filtration)
Live sand: $25 (I could not find a small bag of sand)
Dry rock: $20
Salt (Instant Ocean 50 Gallon): $16
Heater - 50W: $10

So there you have it. This basic tank totals a $146 startup plus livestock and food. Did I miss anything? I would imagine for $20, one could get a whole 20 gallon aquarium with the HOB, heater, light from an old generic freshwater kit. Either way, this will get you a system which will host a couple clowns. From there, it is a matter of adding on whatever you want to build it out.

 

[Martin H. Lawton]

live..... at home...XD I'm a college student.

 

[Prozack199]

I'm a Diesel Mechanic.
The Start Up Is The Worst Part Once Your Tank Is Up And Running Your Corals Grow Out And Helps Cover Some Of The Cost.
Gotta Pay To Play!

 

[Pruett-nc]

Power line foreman . Buy a little at a time . Mostly frags and search differnt lfs's and frag swaps when not working 7 days a week lol . Refuse to pay some of the ridiculous prices some people ask .

 

[Saltwaterwill]

Work a ton of overtime

 

[Chiefmaster30]

That's the thing! I work 6-7 days a week. There's jus so much stuff that I want that I haven't gotten yet. Patience I guess!

 

[Pruett-nc]

Yeah just get a little at a time . Anyone can have a saltwater tank . You just have to use common sense on what you can afford .

 

[Martin H. Lawton]

Work a ton of overtime

.. This too

 

[Baby Ray]

I am only in middle school but I plan on being a dentist. Only work 4 days a week and you make a good chunk of change. YES PLEASE! I am also thinking of being an orthodontist. :p

 

[Waters]

I am in IT...the key for me though is a two income household (and convincing your wife that everything you want is extremely important) :)

 

[Taso1]

I am a store owner, so my store is my "hobby" although its a business and it's hard.

 

[Chiefmaster30]

I wasn't tryin to be nosey or anything. There is just so much stuff I want and can't afford. And I see everyone else's stuff and just makes me wander. I also work full time a lot of overtime and fight the battle of convincing my wife how important saltwater stuff is. Haha

 

[Chefbill]

My girlfriend and I purchased a new 29 gallon BioCube several years ago. Including in that purchase was cultured live rocks and water yada yada yada. Two years after that I spent my income tax return on my 90 gallon setup. After that it was just a piece here and a piece there as I decided I needed or wanted something. I have never spent more than 60 or $80 for a single coral and trading the occasional frag helps to cover maintenance costs.

 

[Chefbill]

And um...as username suggests, I'm a chef.

 

[smokin'reefer]

I haul cars now. It's just a temporary job until the economy turns around. Then I can get back to my chosen career path.

 

[rebekwl]

I'm an insurance agent and my husband is an HVAC tech. Just save up for the big stuff and buy 1 thing at a time. Once the setup is up and running for a while, you can always sell frags to upgrade equipment. Patience is the most important part!!

 

[erinmegan85]

I work from home and my significant other works on military aircraft. We just budget accordingly and it works out well :)