Will the reef tank be a money pit regardless which route I take?

[albertski]

I started with the intent of purchasing the Waterbox 20 as my first saltwater reef tank, but after listening to people say to go bigger, I am down to these options:

WaterBox 20 (20 Gallons)
Marine X 35.1 (22 Gallons)
Marine X 60.2 (36 Gallons)
Marine X 90.3 (59.3 Gallons)

I'm the type of person to spend more money upfront with the intent of everything running easier and better and enjoying this hobby more. I was so close to purchasing the Marcine X 90.3 because it would look perfect in this spot in our house but then I watched this video on costs (He ends up spending over $4k and he only purchased a tank used for $250) and I'm having doubts. If I spend $3k on the system, now my electric bill will go up, water bill goes up, etc. and that doesn't include livestock. Should I go back to the WaterBox 20 or will it be a money pit regardless of which route I take?

 

[Dave1993]

my bill went up £20 (27 dollers) a month on a 90 gallons its the heater that spins the clock around and it will be a money pit no matter what route you take imo cannot comment on water rate as mine is the same price no matter how much water i use

 

[albertski]

my bill went up £20 (27 dollers) a month on a 90 gallons its the heater that spins the clock around and it will be a money pit no matter what route you take imo cannot comment on water rate as mine is the same price no matter how much water i use

Thanks. $27/month isn't that bad actually.

 

[albano]

It’s gonna be a money pit no matter what… I say get the bigger tank now…upgrading in a year or two from the smaller options is more of a waste of $

 

[Jekyl]

The costs down the road outweigh startup

 

[ctopherl]

I started with the intent of purchasing the Waterbox 20 as my first saltwater reef tank, but after listening to people say to go bigger, I am down to these options:

WaterBox 20 (20 Gallons)
Marine X 35.1 (22 Gallons)
Marine X 60.2 (36 Gallons)
Marine X 90.3 (59.3 Gallons)

I'm the type of person to spend more money upfront with the intent of everything running easier and better and enjoying this hobby more. I was so close to purchasing the Marcine X 90.3 because it would look perfect in this spot in our house but then I watched this video on costs (He ends up spending over $4k and he only purchased a tank used for $250) and I'm having doubts. If I spend $3k on the system, now my electric bill will go up, water bill goes up, etc. and that doesn't include livestock. Should I go back to the WaterBox 20 or will it be a money pit regardless of which route I take?

A couple pieces of advice based on my experience.

* Research the fish/livestock you would want in your tank. How big of a tank is necessary to house them all? Work backwards from that. A great path to spending even more money is starting with a smaller tank, ultimately wanting more/bigger fish and then upgrading to a bigger tank anyway.
* I would never say reef tanks are "cheap", but at least in my experience, the (1) prettier you want the tank to look and (2) more automated you want everything to run, the higher the cost goes. There are certainly ways to reduce cost across a number of areas if you are willing to be more hands on and put in some elbow grease, and/or have it not look as pretty.

 

[landlubber]

maintenance costs are one thing but the variety of options for how you want to run your tank can lead to it being more or less expensive than the next guy too.
little things like changing water more often, the method you use to mitigate nutrients ancillary equipment like controllers and redundancy equipment can push the expenses through the roof or leave them very manageable... and then of course the livestock lol.
overall i think any reefer would agree it is definitely tougher to keep things cheap in this game.

 

[Acros]

Expect to spend 6k during the first year on a marine x 90. Corals and fish can add up to a lot.

I suggest start small (if you don't have 6k to spend on reefing in a year) and stay small until you are comfortable spending big bucks.

 

[ggNoRe]

Yes. Definitely a money pit

 

[Jekyl]

Expect to spend 6k during the first year on a marine x 90. Corals and fish can add up to a lot.

I suggest start small (if you don't have 6k to spend on reefing in a year) and stay small until you are comfortable spending big bucks.

My 90 gallon only cost me about a thousand to start up.

 

[Just John]

I would say that that IME if you are going to keep an AIO as it is (not add tempting but expensive upgrades) the tank may not be the big cost compared to the amount you will eventually spend stocking it. You can keep less expensive corals and fish that are beautiful, but you may still eventually spend more on the animals than on the tank. If you want a tank with a good amount of open sand on the bottom and some corals here and there is a very different cost than one that is packed with corals. Unfortunately, I like the packed with corals look. I have moved down to just a 13 gal AIO tank and the tank was about a third of the cost of the corals and mostly have softies. But that's obviously just me. Once you have bought all of the animals, the annual cost will go way down.

 

[WizzWolfe]

I started with the intent of purchasing the Waterbox 20 as my first saltwater reef tank, but after listening to people say to go bigger, I am down to these options:

WaterBox 20 (20 Gallons)
Marine X 35.1 (22 Gallons)
Marine X 60.2 (36 Gallons)
Marine X 90.3 (59.3 Gallons)

I'm the type of person to spend more money upfront with the intent of everything running easier and better and enjoying this hobby more. I was so close to purchasing the Marcine X 90.3 because it would look perfect in this spot in our house but then I watched this video on costs (He ends up spending over $4k and he only purchased a tank used for $250) and I'm having doubts. If I spend $3k on the system, now my electric bill will go up, water bill goes up, etc. and that doesn't include livestock. Should I go back to the WaterBox 20 or will it be a money pit regardless of which route I take?

Smaller reefs are SO MUCH HARDER to keep a balance on You will have a much easier time getting the largest tank you can afford up front. About spending... I have been in the hobby 5 years, 2 tanks one a 120 gallon FOLR, and the other a 46 gallon bowfront with corals and fish. I have NEVER used a sump or any machinery such as dosing systems or reactors and do not have a refugium. DIY all the way.. I hand test PH and dose buffer and add top off water daily or every other on the 120 and on the 46 do the same and add supplements by hand and weekly water changes on the 46. Corals really add up if you go crazy... but you can do this inexpensively if you're smart. Warning, smaller tanks = coral warfare etc... advice buy big don't add too many corals as they can grow huge in time, and remember they sting each other so bigger makes space for them to be happy. Also my biggest mistakes were 1.)Buying my Boxfish that bombed my tank when it died and killed all my fish. 2)Buying my Sea Hare that laid eggs then got protective and ink bombed and killed all my tank. I didn't see anything in the info about that happening with either.. I didn't know about the toxins when I purchase my little cuties. I WANT A WATERBOX SOOOO BAD!-

 

[MuscleBobBuffPants]

Get the 90!

 

[Gedxin]

I agree with others, if you have the space and the money, go bigger. I have a Marine X 35.1 and i LOVE IT, but almost certainly would have gone bigger if I could fit it. Guess I'll have to get another tank in a different room.

In terms of spending...yes bigger does mean more money, but I wouldn't say it's exponential. You're going to buy a ton of stuff regardless of the size.

 

[Onewolf]

My 90gal disp + 30 gal sump + 2 Radion XR15G4 + Vectra M1 + two Vortech MP10 + Octo 150 Regal skimmer + heater + etc etc use about 80 watts when the lights are off and about 180 watts when the lights are on full. The energy calculator I used says that's about $12/month.

My experience is that the initial setup costs are MUCH worse than the ongoing cost.

 

[albertski]

I agree with others, if you have the space and the money, go bigger. I have a Marine X 35.1 and i LOVE IT, but almost certainly would have gone bigger if I could fit it. Guess I'll have to get another tank in a different room.

In terms of spending...yes bigger does mean more money, but I wouldn't say it's exponential. You're going to buy a ton of stuff regardless of the size.

Thanks for the info. Do you think if I go easy on the coral and focus on fish it may keep the costs down? I wasn't planning on getting any extra equipment like a protein skimmer etc.. Perhaps I can slowly add more as I do it.

 

[Jekyl]

Thanks for the info. Do you think if I go easy on the coral and focus on fish it may keep the costs down? I wasn't planning on getting any extra equipment like a protein skimmer etc.. Perhaps I can slowly add more as I do it.

Keeping fish only is way less expensive. You don't need lights at all. Parameters aren't anywhere near as important either.

 

[albertski]

Expect to spend 6k during the first year on a marine x 90. Corals and fish can add up to a lot.

I suggest start small (if you don't have 6k to spend on reefing in a year) and stay small until you are comfortable spending big bucks.

I wasn't planning on getting much extra equipment (like a protein skimmer..). Do you think I can keep the cost down if I go easy on the coral and more on fish?

 

[Jekyl]

I wasn't planning on getting much extra equipment (like a protein skimmer..). Do you think I can keep the cost down if I go easy on the coral and more on fish?

There really isn't a middle ground unless talking about SPS coral as they require more strict parameters. The more fish you add, the more nutrient export is needed. With any corals you will need to also be maintaining those parameters.

 

[Little c big D]

I looked at the Pen25 that water box had. I liked it but ultimately went with the Red sea 200xl. Don't be scared by the fact that smaller is harder. It's all about stability, and an aged tank will stabilize. I agree with the ones saying to get a tank that suits the style you want to run. If you want big tangs and things go big now. If your focus is SPS keeping it small does help reduce cost. It also makes you work a little harder but there is no better way to learn. You do you and don't let others failures or successes drive you to something that doesn't suit you.