What’s your average monthly tank expense(s)?

[Daniel91]

Having a small piece of the ocean is an ongoing expense for most. Majority of us do not look at this expense as anything negative but rather an investment to be proud off.

In a ballpark, how much is your average monthly expense to keep you and the tank happy and what drives it? (Maintenance, equipment upgrades, livestock additions etc.)

To start the thread, I think I land in the $101 - $150 range, with $20-50 being spent on maintenance and I try(!) to spend less than $100 on new corals every month.

Sorry if similar pool/thread has already been created.

Daniel

 

[dugthefish]

Following

 

[KrisReef]

Electricity $40
Water $10
Salts $20
Food $25
Frags $20-&125.(highly variable)
Fish $5
Time 5 hrs ( maintaince)
What I tell her “~maybe $20-ish.”

 

[Daniel91]

Electricity $40
Water $10
Salts $20
Food $25
Frags $20-&125.(highly variable)
Fish $5
Time 5 hrs ( maintaince)
What I tell her “~maybe $20-ish.”

Ha! Good call!

 

[Slim64684]

So I'm not the only one who comes home with new corals and when the wife asks what I spent i tell her a number between $10-30?

 

[Crabs McJones]

The only continuous monthly bill I have would be running the tank, which tanks to my apex tells me its around 35 bucks. Salt I can usually go 8 to 10 months, food I buy enough to last me 6 months (frozen) 2 part usually lasts 3 to 4 months, RO/DI filters and resin 6 months. Water i'm unsure, I should really calculate it out once lol

 

[Slim64684]

Electric $16
Water $25 (I use distilled)
Salt $10
Food $5 (figured on high side)
Plus what ever i spend on livestock, coral, fish, inverts

 

[Hemmdog]

Electric 30
Rodi& sw 40
Frozen food 45
Fresh food 110
2 part & acro power 30
Fish & coral 200-1000 (the goal is zero lol)


How is everyone not spending a lot on food? A blister pack of pe mysis is $15. I use one a week. And reef nutrition is $15-30 for a laughable sized bottle.

 

[rkpetersen]

More than $1000 a month, sometimes well over. I really shouldn't but it's hard to resist all the pretty colors.

However this number is starting to drop as my tanks fill up with critters.

I'm thinking about starting up another tank.

 

[Kremis]

Id say $150-200 between salt and electricity. Corals I no longer need to pay for out of pocket because I sell frags to make up for expenses

 

[Slim64684]

How is everyone not spending a lot on food? A blister pack of pe mysis is $15. I use one a week. And reef nutrition is $15-30 for a laughable sized bottle.

I have a newly set up 20 gallon tank with 5 corals and no fish. Not much to feed.

 

[Daniel91]

More than $1000 a month, sometimes well over. I really shouldn't but it's hard to resist all the pretty colors.

However this number is starting to drop as my tanks fill up with critters.

I'm thinking about starting up another tank.

Is there any other way to continue this wonderful adventure? :-D

 

[Daniel91]

I have a newly set up 20 gallon tank with 5 corals and no fish. Not much to feed.

Don’t worry, that’ll change really quick.

 

[EmdeReef]

I guess too much, been in the $1000 range but hopefully going down in a few months when there’s no more room for frags and fish in my tank...

Electricity is a b in NYC...adds up to 25c/kWh and more during summer with all sorts of bs taxes and whatever the gods of ConEd feel like charging for delivery...probbaly highest maintenance cost.

 

[Daniel91]

I guess too much, been in the $1000 range but hopefully going down in a few months when there’s no more room for frags and fish in my tank...

Electricity is a b in NYC...adds up to 25c/kWh and more during summer with all sorts of crap taxes and whatever the gods of ConEd feel like charging for delivery...probbaly highest maintenance cost.

Is maintenance/electrify the main drive for the $1,000 or do you like to spoil yourself to some nice additions?

 

[EmdeReef]

Is maintenance/electrify the main drive for the $1,000 or do you like to spoil yourself to some nice additions?

90% fish, corals and new gadgets

Maintenance is cheap if you resist tinkering with your tank and adding new gadgets.

 

[ca1ore]

Excluding 'sweat equity' and an inability to resist buying new and unnecessary stuff, my routine running costs per month are:

Electricity - $180-200 (higher in the Summer due to chiller)
Fish Food $40
Salt - $20
Filtration media (GAC, GFO, polyfilters) - $20

 

[doughboy]

currently about $40-$50 due to heater. under $30 in summer. small 50 gallon tank.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

5 tanks above 100 gallons and 4 under a 100 gallons here is what I have figured out for my expenses.

Electricity - $150 or close to that all year around thanks to my new geothermal heating and cooling in my house. Year before last it was much more as all tanks that were setup had MH. I had to run chillers for tanks and A/C more in the house.
Water -$0 as it comes from a well with about 25 tds and the well pump is used for bath and showers, so lets assume $5 has been added to the electricity. My RODI filters and resin last a long time, and the waste water goes back into the well to be mixed with whats there and then filtered again.
Salt - $50 I guess. I bought a pallet of red sea pro at a carrier auction a while back and been using that.
Food $30 at most as I DIY my own food, grow phyto, rotifiers, and brine shrimp.
Corals - $0, most the time as frags get traded in for store credit and then I get something else with that or I get salt, LRS food, etc. There are the exceptions and I do splurge sometimes for some more zoas.
Fish - $0 as I haven't added any in a while, but that's about to change once I quit being lazy and setup a 500 to replace a 125 that is scratch to heck and back.
Equipment - $500 or so at the moment, as I am moving all of my tanks to Apex with auto top off/auto water changes since I love it on my SPS tank. Anymore than that and the wife tends to get a little angry lol. I just tell her in the end it saves money and makes money. Which in truth it does, just cannot convince her lol. Stable tank grows out, frags are sold, money is made or used for other tank stuff. Again, me trying to convince her.
Time - Tons of it as the wife and kids are all in this too. But this isn't a cost as we all get in and do it together.

 

[Reefinny]

More than I would like. I hate the new EB832's. I would say electric is most of my expenses. Considering my bill is double my neighbors I would say we are about $300 for electric. Running 3 tanks, one is upstairs so hammerhead running 24-7 and then the others are ran by a Dart.

I would say just to maintain - I am probably at around $400 a month. That is with out a new addition, a new toy, a new pump oh yeah just bought two red dragons to replace the hammerheads to "save" some money... lol

I am thinking that Solar panels may be in order.