what is the bare minimal cost to upgrade to salt water?

[Luckyduck]

That’s not bad. I have close to 7k in equipment in my 45. Another 8k in my water box 120. That doesn’t count coral and livestock. LOL

Haha but it looks like 7 and 8 grand I bet! I just spared no expense. I have several hundred dollars in chemical addivies alone and several hundred in test kits. And besides the rock the biggest expense is almost always the light. Doing a fish only tank he'll be able to have it be less expensive too cuz corals can be beaucoup bucks!

 

[sp1187]

15 - 11 hundred dollars . When does it stop?

if you stay in never.

 

[Mark Bradley]

Not exactly. The founder of BRS started the hobby with a 120gallon reef tank and had no previous experience with a simple HOB filter. Ironically they now make videos supporting and pushing thousands of dollars worth of product. But back then live rock and sand was the filter. For new reefers buy live rock

It’s not that you can’t set up cheaply - but does that make it right? How many fish/corals have been lost by people ‘giving it a go’?

 

[sp1187]

It’s not that you can’t set up cheaply - but does that make it right? How many fish/corals have been lost by people ‘giving it a go’?

I get the essence of what you are saying, but you can still setup, on your budget without a lot of the "you NEED this to be successful".
what was available when the hobby started? undergravel filtration for one. I used one way back when. and I was successful (fish only tanks). would I use one today in my reef tank? no. could you? probably depending on what your coral selection was.
what was available for lights? fresh water lighting. and it worked in my fish only tank.

fish/corals get lost by people that aren't "just giving it a go". that spend on all the latest "have to have" bells and whistles.

 

[fish farmer]

hey guys, i have been keeping fresh water fishtanks for allmost 4 years now and i allways wanted to try salt water, i have a 240 liter (60 gallon) fish tank, i'm not gonna start off with corals, as i wanna start out just seeing if i can maintain just regular salt water fish first, so my question is what is the cost of going bare minimum to change to salt water, seeing as i dont want live coral (yet) and what would i need to keep just the fish for now? thx guys

I won't contribute much to the cost question, but you can fish only affordably.

The big question you should ask, since you said you don't want to do corals yet...is do you plan to run this tank as a coral tank in the future? Think about fish load and nitrate/phosphate processing now. You could run this fish tank with elevated nitrate and phosphate( for a time), but when you get to the point of "hey I want to put some corals in" and your phosphate has elevated and have bound into your substrate since you ran the tank nutrient heavy, you may have a problem that will need to be solved that you didn't expect starting it as a fish only.

 

[Luckyduck]

I get the essence of what you are saying, but you can still setup, on your budget without a lot of the "you NEED this to be successful".
what was available when the hobby started? undergravel filtration for one. I used one way back when. and I was successful (fish only tanks). would I use one today in my reef tank? no. could you? probably depending on what your coral selection was.
what was available for lights? fresh water lighting. and it worked in my fish only tank.

fish/corals get lost by people that aren't "just giving it a go". that spend on all the latest "have to have" bells and whistles.

That is very true. I'm losing tissue on a Monti right now and it has nothing to do with lighting or parameters. I have one right above it that is thriving. Sometimes it just happens. Some people have made some really good points in this thread though so it'll definitely give you some stuff to think about. I think the main point someone made was a good one was are you ever going to decide to put corals into your tank? If so at that point you may be re-buying some of the same things like lights to support growth. Definitely something you're going to want to decide at the start. Fish only is definitely less expensive though! Unless you buy a Black Tang and a rare Angel. Lol

 

[Journeyman]

$40 for salt mix. $100ish for a 2nd hand skimmer and you can go fish only. Your maintenance cost will be probably $5-10 weekly to buy saltwater for water changes.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Haha but it looks like 7 and 8 grand I bet! I just spared no expense. I have several hundred dollars in chemical addivies alone and several hundred in test kits. And besides the rock the biggest expense is almost always the light. Doing a fish only tank he'll be able to have it be less expensive too cuz corals can be beaucoup bucks!

Almost 50% of the money is below the tank.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

I know! Honestly half of that is corals. I have some really nice show pieces. Jason Fox, Cornbread pieces, rare Gonis and some really nice SPSs. So it's definitely inflated because of that. I should have specified. My bad.

Well than now it is completely justified!

 

[Luckyduck]

Almost 50% of the money is below the tank.

Oh, yea I see the glowing orange logo lol How many devices you got for the Apex? I'll get one some day, just can't justify it on a 15 gallon tank although im VERY tempted lol How big is that tank?

 

[Thespammailaccount]

Almost 50% of the money is below the tank.

Very nice however a trident for a soft coral tank is not needed

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Very nice however a trident for a soft coral tank is not needed

It’s not just soft corals. The coral on the top left is a frogspawn colony now the size of a football lol. There’s also a larger torch, hammer, and a few sticks. I’m supposed to be adding more acros but every time I go to the store I leave with zoas ;Hilarious . I also threw in a pic of my old RBTA I had to get rid of because it got too big.

Oh, yea I see the glowing orange logo lol How many devices you got for the Apex? I'll get one some day, just can't justify it on a 15 gallon tank although im VERY tempted lol How big is that tank?

It’s a 45 gallon cube!

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Oh, yea I see the glowing orange logo lol How many devices you got for the Apex? I'll get one some day, just can't justify it on a 15 gallon tank although im VERY tempted lol How big is that tank?

Two dos, the trident, the auto top off, afs, two leak detectors (one below my external cheato reactor and another under the stand), two flow monitors (for return pumps) , the wxm for my mp10, a few mpr’s (one for probes, one for dosing lines). The apex, dosers, fmm, and wxm are all Mounted on a false wall I built into the stand to keep everything organized

 

[Luckyduck]

Two dos, the trident, the auto top off, afs, two leak detectors (one below my external cheato reactor and another under the stand), two flow monitors (for return pumps) , the wxm for my mp10, a few mpr’s (one for probes, one for dosing lines). The apex, dosers, fmm, and wxm are all Mounted on a false wall I built into the stand to keep everything organized

Awesome!

 

[DSEKULA]

You can absolutely go fish only relatively cheap. The issue I see is the consideration to add coral later. If a reef is the end goal id go about the setup differently. The differences won't necessarily add to cost now but I basically suggest some increased pre-planning. I'd make two lists, one of things you need and will add now (this could be minimal) and one of your future planed gear. If your later gear includes a sump, ats, fuge etc etc.. I'd plumb the tank for these things put a valve on the end of the line and leave it closed. This does need to be done with some thought as how to not create big stagnant spots and should be flushed to a waste container when first opened etc. Other than that while running the fish only tank I'd always have it in the back of my mind what the end goal is. There are many awesome fish that are not reef safe or not safe with specific coral, reef fish in general do live a decent life span when kept healthy so I'd say it's best to just keep in mind your future plans as you stock. Certain fish or coral do better with different rock structures. again, just keeping in mind your end goals is important here as pulling your bio media a year in and reworking everything is a big pain. I'd also keep this in mind when keeping a maintenance schedule, as others noted keeping a nutrient rich system doesn't seem to work well for certain coral and having to change this will be a slow process.
Overall I think you have very realistic goals and wish the best of luck!!

 

[Luckyduck]

It’s not just soft corals. The coral on the top left is a frogspawn colony now the size of a football lol. There’s also a larger torch, hammer, and a few sticks. I’m supposed to be adding more acros but every time I go to the store I leave with zoas ;Hilarious . I also threw in a pic of my old RBTA I had to get rid of because it got too big.


It’s a 45 gallon cube!

You're like me with Leptoseris' & Cyphastreas lol I just love them. Leptos I have a Jason Fox Lava Flow, Raging Dragon, Jack-o-lantern & Green Goblin. Cyphastreas, Red Brick, Avatar, Bling Bling, Fire storm & Hawkeye. Probably gonna keep collecting Gonis too even though they're tough I've got some nice ones. Basic Flower Pot, & my favs Home Grown Honey & Combustion. Kind of a sucker for Zoos too but I don't have many. Thinking about pulling the trigger on some AIOs though. Your tank looks good man! How long you had it running?

 

[Luckyduck]

You can absolutely go fish only relatively cheap. The issue I see is the consideration to add coral later. If a reef is the end goal id go about the setup differently. The differences won't necessarily add to cost now but I basically suggest some increased pre-planning. I'd make two lists, one of things you need and will add now (this could be minimal) and one of your future planed gear. If your later gear includes a sump, ats, fuge etc etc.. I'd plumb the tank for these things put a valve on the end of the line and leave it closed. This does need to be done with some thought as how to not create big stagnant spots and should be flushed to a waste container when first opened etc. Other than that while running the fish only tank I'd always have it in the back of my mind what the end goal is. There are many awesome fish that are not reef safe or not safe with specific coral, reef fish in general do live a decent life span when kept healthy so I'd say it's best to just keep in mind your future plans as you stock. Certain fish or coral do better with different rock structures. again, just keeping in mind your end goals is important here as pulling your bio media a year in and reworking everything is a big pain. I'd also keep this in mind when keeping a maintenance schedule, as others noted keeping a nutrient rich system doesn't seem to work well for certain coral and having to change this will be a slow process.
Overall I think you have very realistic goals and wish the best of luck!!

Excellent points my friend.

 

[Texas Rick]

Fish only isn’t too bad but you need to decide if you want to do a reef tank. The bare minimum for fish and bare minimum for reef are very different. You can get away with a hob and even a canister for a fish only but you’ll need a sump or a very different kind of hob for a reef. You’ll also need very different lights. It’s best to choose now so you don’t have to buy everything twice. I’d say around $1k to build a 60g with a sump and decent lights for a reef. For fish, you could stay around $500 no issues. There are some corals that are extremely easy to care for. Most of us call them weeds LOL. Green star polyps, zoas, and leather corals are super easy. You really don’t have to do much at all. Buy once cry once!

I agree with this guy. About 1k to $1500. You don’t want to buy the cheap equipment. For sure, you will be buying it again and regret you spent money on the cheap stuff. When I got started with saltwater. I didn’t know about this forum. I found it by accident. Listen to what everybody has to say. I would buy the better equipment. I had to buy it twice because I didn’t know. I came from freshwater. I had freshwater many many years ago. I’ve decided to do a saltwater tank. I bought a 30 gallon nanotank to start and see where it has taken me. It has become a bit pricey because I’ve had to buy it twice. At first, I bought the cheap stuff. Then, I regret it. I’m buying everything again. Well, I didn’t know better. Now I do. But it has cost me twice (ugh). Now I want to upgrade my tank to a Red Sea. Looking into a 60 gallon tank. I’m actually really enjoying it.

 

[Thespammailaccount]

It’s not just soft corals. The coral on the top left is a frogspawn colony now the size of a football lol. There’s also a larger torch, hammer, and a few sticks. I’m supposed to be adding more acros but every time I go to the store I leave with zoas ;Hilarious . I also threw in a pic of my old RBTA I had to get rid of because it got too big.


It’s a 45 gallon cube!

Very nice. Have not added any sps only one year into the hobby. Lps/zoa tank but do love zoas too their color is amazing. I am a tech geek and the idea of automation I like but malfunction stories scare me so I dose the big three and trace daily and top off twice a day. I do have an ATO and have had it for months but have not installed it. This tank is not even six months old. The secret? I started with well established pukani rock from a well established tank and was only five mins from my house. Not a speck of algae can be found on the rock it is already fully established and already covered in coralline algae therefore the only place algae grows is in the sump and particularly on my $40.00 diy ATS

 

[Luckyduck]

Very nice. Have not added any sps only one year into the hobby. Lps/zoa tank but do love zoas too their color is amazing. I am a tech geek and the idea of automation I like but malfunction stories scare me so I dose the big three and trace daily and top off twice a dayI do have an ATO and have had it for months but have not installed it

Nice lookin tank man!! Your Sun Coral is very happy. What do you feed your Harlequins?