How much does it cost to run a reef?

[Northern]

Hi.
I once again come with a price question.
I was wondering: how much would an average reef tank cost to run?
This includes buying salt for the water, and especially all the electricity it uses for filters/chillers/heaters/etc...?
I'm think about an 80 gallon tank.

Any ideas?

[SWINGRRRR]

I think I would have gotten off cheaper if I would have bought a boat, if that helps you.

[Stray32]

80 gallon tank/stand - used - $150-200
Good Protein Skimmer w Pump - used - $150-250
Sump - $40-50 (I use a 20 gallon long tank)
Return Pump - $40-50
Plumbing, tubing - $20-30
Lighting, enough for 80 gallon tank (assuming T5 which is what I use) - used = $250
Live Rock @ $3/lb (conservative estimate) - x80 lbs = $240
Sand, probably 80-100 lbs - $80-100 maybe, not sure
Salt for initial setup = $40
Powerheads for flow in tank - used = $40-$50 for two
Heater, miscellaneous = $25-$50
Test Kit for water = $30


Total = ~ $1,200 to get started, assuming most things you buy are used. I would figure at least $1,600 for a decent setup that size. This is also assuming you are using tap water, which isn't recommended in this hobby. So add an additional $200-$300 for an RO/DI unit. FYI, I have edited my post three times now because I keep thinking of things that you will need or at least should have. That is the thing with this hobby, there is ALWAYS something else that is needed or can be improved. Add an additional $200 for what I have forgotten, so now you're at $2,000 at least. I am not trying to discourage you, this is a fantastic hobby, just be prepared to invest some money.

* All estimates based on what I paid for my 75 gallon complete setup.

[D_Hood87]

if your looking to get into reef tanks just know this the average tank set up is around $30 a gallon...to set up my 90 it took over $3000 to get my full reef and the look i wanted...now that being said you dont have to go all out on the entire set-up just make sure you get the best quality you can afford on the lights, skimmer, fuge/sump, ect.. i dont want to discourage you i just dont want to see someone get in over their head b/c someone gave them bad info on the cost

[Northern]

Actually, I was more asking about the monthly price.
I know that the equipment can get pricey.
All I need to know is how much I would have to pay a month?

Mainly electricity and salt. Can it get really expensive running all this heating/chilling/filtering equipment?

[D_Hood87]

that is also a new set-up price but if you trust the people your dealing with you can find quality used products between 20%-50% off just make sure your getting what you pay for

[bach2pilot]

Depends if you have to start paying carbon credits...

[cczarnik]

I've done a detailed electrical study on my tank, 92 gallon 1x250 MH, 2x24" VHO Actinics, 65W PC sump light, 400w of heat, sedra 5000 on skimmer, two K3's for circulation and Iwaki 40RLXT return. With standard light cycles (12H for sump and actinic, 8H for MH), electricity alone is $27/mo @ $.09/KWH. (your KWH cost may vary).

1 yr repl cycle for bulbs = $10 reserve / mo for lamps.

Top off / water change water = $10/mo roughly (200 g or so/wk given RODI waste).

Salt = $5/mo

Food = $10/mo (frozen mysis / cyclopeeze)

Equipment replacement reserve = $15/mo, assuming appx 3 yr lifespan of powerheads / pumps / heaters / etc.

Media reserve = $10/mo (bulk DI resin, GFO, Carbon, RODI filter swaps)

Rough estimate for my tank: $90/mo, not including livestock replacments or "disasters."

[Northern]

well, as I can see, the electricity itself isn't going to be a problem.
Not a cheap hobby, but not too expensive either.

Thanks

[poolkeeper1]

Running the tank is not the main expense the costs involved in keeping a pristine reef is in the amount of money spent on the never ending quest of upgrading equipment! That being said you can run one quite modestly in the power consumption department.

[cfw1199]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14213835#post14213835 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Northern
Hi.
I once again come with a price question.
I was wondering: how much would an average reef tank cost to run?
This includes buying salt for the water, and especially all the electricity it uses for filters/chillers/heaters/etc...?
I'm think about an 80 gallon tank.

Any ideas?



How much do you want to spend should be the question. There is no limit.:rollface:

[token]

This is a very interesting question. I have some of my records going back years. The trend I see is that a nano is a lot more per gallon per month to run than my current system. Currently, I have about 400g in my system and I am spending about 35¢ a gallon on electric but a lot more on chemicals. Salt is a big component of those chemical expenses, and I am still using up the last of my 2part before switching to a CaRX. Carbon is a moderate expense. Food is a moderate expense, and could be lowered if I cultured some of my own food. I do "make" food, but with fish in four tanks, I still have to feed a good bit.

Lots of moderate expenses is a noticeable expense. Forty bucks a month for the nano was normal, factoring in the reserve on equipment replacement, for about 36g of water. If I spend only 400 bucks a month on the current system, it's an expensive month, one in which I probably purchased salt and carbon, but still cheaper, gallon for gallon, than the nano.

I would almost guess that one could maintain a system on about a buck a month per gallon. Electricity cost is going to be the one variable that changes that. If a focus is placed on conservation of electricity as a criteria for the system, one could bring that ongoing cost down a good bit. By that I mean, it's cheaper to evaporate to cool than to use a chiller, for example. The larger the system, the truer that is.

HTH and good luck!

[kernyboy]

well, before tank, my electric bill was about 75-80 dollars a month. Post tank, its somewhere aroun 120 a month. not too bad considering. I keep most of my lights off at home, and dont use a ton of elctricity other than my tank. I live alone lol

[Northern]

Token - so, basically when you're saying it's buck per gallon, it includes everything? I mean not just the electricity... (just making sure)

kernyboy - how big is your system?

[Whys]

It will almost certainly cost you more than you expect it to. Keep that in mind, no matter what number you come up with. ;)

[Whys]

Don't forget, you might want a refugium and/or a quarantine tank and/or a frag tank and/or a... you get the idea. :]

[fender4string]

If you want a better estimate of the electrical costs, do some research and figure out what equipment you want for your tank. Find out the wattage for each piece of equipment and then plug that info into the "tank electrical calculator" on the Reef Central Home Page.

My FOWLR setup only costs about $22 a month in electricity.

Here's my system info for a rough estimate for your costs

Approx. 605 watts total
-Lighting: 130W
-Sump light: 40W
-Return pump (Quiet One 4000): 40W
-2 Powerheads (Koralia 3's): 20W
-Skimmer (Octopus Extreme 200): 25ish W
-2 Heaters (200W and 150W): 350W

My brother's setup (a mixed reef with 2x250W halides) only costs him in the $30-$40 range in electrical.

[token]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14215068#post14215068 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Northern
Token - so, basically when you're saying it's buck per gallon, it includes everything? I mean not just the electricity... (just making sure) Well, the old adage applies: Your mileage may vary. So much is up to the individual. If you are comfortable with taking it slow and planning well, then I would argue that this does not have to be a hobby that "breaks the bank".

If you are at all in doubt about the numbers, I would encourage you to plan your system and include all your equipment. Then you could look up some of the tanks on this forum with keepers that do a great job of documenting. melev has posted his costs at least once, and he used a "Kill-a-watt" to determine his exact electrical consumption.

But, yes, I am of the opinion, based on my own consumption of planned and recurring costs, that a buck a gallon can get the job done. Some of that buck is for reserves, and those reserves handle the replacement of equipment and the larger expenses that include chemicals that are used frequently but purchased less frequently. And that buck is for total system volume; display tank and all ancillaries.

Another great resource, and one I don't utilize, is a local club. Many clubs make group buys that can dramatically lower the costs on stuff like salt and carbon, etc.

[NirvanaFan]

On everything fish related, I probably average about $125 a month. This includes everything for my 75g, clownfish rearing setup, and my anemone tank. I don't do water changes on my 75 as often as I should though.

[Northern]

fender4string - and how big is your tank?

token - Ahh, clubs. I don't know if there are many in my area but you know what, I'll search for one. I kind of like the group buy idea

[token]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14215364#post14215364 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Northern
token - Ahh, clubs. I don't know if there are many in my area but you know what, I'll search for one. I kind of like the group buy idea Well, failing the club option, you could always take advantage of Israel's proximity to the sea for water changes... ;)

Actually, maybe you could consider some natural lighting options. A skylight, for instance or a solarium-style window?

[Northern]

yeah I wanted to use the sea water but I heard too many stories about how polluted the sea water is so I guess I'd have to first check if it's a good water.

[Ronny#66]

I suggest you make an application to the us treasury for a bail out !! Your going to need it in this hobby before your done !! They don't know where the first part of the 700 billion went so if we give you some we will know where the $ is!! LOL

Ronny

[cczarnik]

Fender: good work, I would add some data for you though, as I went through with a kill-a-watt and recorded actual readings (wattage, pf, amp draw) in detail.

K3's only pull 9w each. Amazing efficiency.

Heaters (at least stealth and ehim) only pull about 90% of their rating (200w = 180w actual). Also factor your duty cycle (mine run about 30% of the time).

Sedra 5000 skimmer pump is fairly inefficient for what it does. Mine pulls 50w. (don't know what you have on your octo). but that's OK because the excess is absorbed in the tank as heat.

VHO's were suprisingly efficient. 50w draw for 2x24 VHO's on an ARO 220 (hellolights ballast).

250 DE MH on Icecap ballast drew exactly 250 watts.

[xskyzx]

about $100 each gallon...lol so 80gals would come out about atleast $6000+

[kernyboy]

I'm running a 55 gallon with two 150w MH lights


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14215068#post14215068 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Northern
Token - so, basically when you're saying it's buck per gallon, it includes everything? I mean not just the electricity... (just making sure)

kernyboy - how big is your system?

[kernyboy]

the more you add, the mor eyou spend. add coral you gotta get chems /dosing going.

so basically...on the cheap side...a FOWLR

on the more expensive side softies

SPS/LPS dominant mo MORE expensive


Rare SPS/LPS/ZOOs...you get where I'm going with this.


It really depends on what you wanan spend and how big you wanna go

[hotrodolds]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14214033#post14214033 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bach2pilot
Depends if you have to start paying carbon credits...

totally off topic, damn nice mahi dude. Good eats...

[soccerbag]

All good advice here. I would say that once you get the figure in your head, add at least $30 / month for the "can't leave well enough alone" factor. You'll understand once you are up and running.

It can be a very rewarding hobby if done correctly.

[Northern]

I see
Well, here's a question.
If I want to cut on electricity costs, can I put just a couple of corals in one corner and direct all the light there?
I basically wanted a combination of corals and fish tank so I figured if I only had just a couple of beautiful softies in one corner of the tank, I could cut on the lighting cost.
Did anybody try this?

Also, the lights for corals must always be on? 24/7?

[token]

Corals, in a way, are like plants and need a daylight cycle. Some run their lights to coincide with the hours they can view the tank and some run their lights to approximate daylight hours.

Some of the "softies" can tolerate lower lighting environments. You may have access to the 70w or 150w metal halide spotlights. Those could work well and, if arranged to overlap, they could be used to illuminate the entire tank at a significant savings.

Another cost-saving light is the compact fluorescent. I use them to light my refugium and sump, on a cycle opposite from my displays. They are available in a "daylight" spectrum, 6k+, floodlight and are -really- cheap to run, providing equivalent light at a third of the electrical consumption. In combination with a MH spot, I might imagine that some decent light could support some nice softies, even though you might not get the stunning "pop" that more specific lights provide.

Any chance to use natural daylight for your tank?

[cczarnik]

Not sure about the savings of CF's from my kill-a-watt tests...

I was surprised at how much electricity my CF fuge light used. It is a 65w CF shop light from lowes, electronic ballast, pulls 90 watts. A 75w MH should give far more PPFD/watt than this CF at a lower net consumption.

As stated in one of my posts above, my 2x24 VHO actinic (URI lamps, ARO 220 ballast) only pulls 50w. Appeared far more efficient than the CF that I run. I don't have data on non-actinic lamps however. I suspect the same though.

[cczarnik]

Just to clarify, I've not tested the CF lamps that replace incandescent (screw in's). No reason to believe that their wattage is not as advertised though.

[Northern]

I see
Well, natural light is not an option. I mean it'll be in the middle of the room and not in front of a window. So, it's not going to be an option.

However, will it work if I place all my corals in one corner of the tank and concentrate all the lights on them? Sorry as obvious as it seems, I still need to make sure because I'm really new to the hobby.

[Rueg]

I have a 180 gallon tank. Right now it is using around $85/month for electricity. I have two kill-a-watt meters with everything plugged in through them so this is not really a estimate but actually how much all the equipment on the tank is using. That doesn't include costs for salt for water changes, food, etc.

[pammy]

Hi Northern. If cost to run a tank is an issue, the size of the tank can make a difference. Yes, it might be less money per gallon to run a big tank, but overall, the cost is a lot less for a smaller tank. Generally, the bigger the tank, and the deeper the tank, the more expense lighting you'll need, and more electricity for heating and cooling it. I have a 53 gallon Elos tank with a 7 gallon sump. I have a 150w MH light (on 6 hours a day) and 4 T5 lights (on 10 hours a day). I used a Kill-O-Watt to see how much electricty I was using for my own curiousity. It was actually a lot less than I expected. Due to the increase in my electric bill, I estimated the electricty was costing me about $35 a month. It turns out that it is only about $15 a month. The rest of the increase in my electric bill was due to rising energy costs. Every time I wish I had gone with a bigger tank (I love tangs and can't have one in my size tank....whaaaaaaa!).... I think about how much added cost there would be to maintain it, and how much more work to keep it clean.

With a max of 7 fish that I've had in my tank and a large
Anemone, I doubt I've ever spent more than $2 a month for
food (all frozen) I don't dose anything in my tank so no added
cost there. I do run phosban in a reacter 24x7, so that runs about $15 for 6 months worth. Only occassionally run carbon. My tank has been set up for 18 months and with bi-weekly 10% waterchanges, I haven't finished off any of the 3 buckets of salt I've purchased. Salt goes a long way with a tank that's only 53 gallons. I just decided about a month ago, to stop wasting all of my waste water from my RO/DI. I mean, the unit is sitting RIGHT NEXT to my washing machine, so I finally started putting the waste water line right in the washing machine, so every time I make up 5 gallons of water for a waterchange or top off water, I have enough waste water to wash a load or 2 of clothes. I'm actually LOOKING for dirty clothes all the time so I don't waste the waste water. So I think in this hobby, size DOES matter. :)
(pictures of my tank if you click on the red house)

Pam

[fender4string]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14215364#post14215364 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Northern
fender4string - and how big is your tank?


I have an 85 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump

[Northern]

I see
Well, it appears that I will be fine. According to all the responses, my electricity bill shouldn't be too high if I go with a 80-100 gallon tanks.

That's all the info I needed.
Thanks everybody for your detailed responses. It helped a lot

[oscarslr]

there is no set number....... i think they call it infinity lol

[craftedpacket]

http://www.affordablehousinginstitute.org/blogs/us/dr_evil_one_million_dollars.jpg