Perhaps a strange question?

[Newt56]

So I have been researching saltwater for months, pouring myself into reading everything about it, ordering books on it, squirreling money away, driving downstate to get the tank, comparing prices on equipment, etc.

My husband is not really into my fish hobby and is mostly worried about the monthly expense (food, electric) for this tank (we run at .19 cents a kwh, he is panicked it is going to cost $100 bucks a month on electric...I hope he's wrong!! :hmm3:). Plus we don't have a LFS anywhere near us, so all food and fish purchases are going to have to be shipped, which I'm sure can get a bit pricey.
Since he will also be involved building the tank stand, hooking up the ro/di unit, drilling my tank and plumbing my sump he wants to make sure that I am well aware of what I am getting myself (and him!) into with the work and money going into this hobby.

I have had freshwater tanks for years. I have always had small tanks (a few 10 gallons and a 29 gallon). I currently have a small planted FW tank with a few community fish in it. The reason I am moving onto saltwater is frankly FW is boring me to tears.

So my husband asked if saltwater is just going to bore me eventually as well. It kind of stopped me in my tracks, as when I first set up FW, I was very into it, excited to get my tanks planted, get my little boring community fish. I never thought in the beginning it would bore me, yet here we are.

So now I am feeling like this commitment phobia about putting all this time and money into saltwater wondering if it's going to keep my interest better than FW... I imagine it is much more interesting than FW, especially when you start getting more into corals, etc.

So obviously no one can tell me if I will or won't get bored with SW, but I'm sure there are plenty of you out there that were bored with FW but adore your SW?? Or is there anyone that if they could go back to the beginning, would you save all the money you have spent on a SW tank and go on vacation instead? ;-)

[gone fishin]

No not really. I see your from Maine I am in Wisconsin. The winters are pretty rough. I like nothing more than going to my fish room on a cold winter day and being at my on little slice of the ocean.

[Cymonous]

The cost of your electric really depends on your equipment. If you want to keep the electric down, go for LED lighting. Are you planning to keep the FW tank?

I had a few FW tanks too and got bored after a month of starting it. Since getting into SW last May, I have yet to stop looking at my tank. For me, I got fish that have nice color to them. Yes, I only have a few clowns and a royal gramma right now, but their colors are so much better than the FW fish I had. I did get a few pieces of coral frags and this has gained my interest even more. I still like to stare at both the coral and my fish.

The best thing about SW is seeing new life come out of nowhere! I had limpits show up after a couple months from my cycle. Now, I got like 5 of them and they are about the size of a dime. I also noticed a baby snail moving around at night. It is really tiny, but I can see its shell. For me, the fact that new life comes around for SW is what keeps me very much interested.

To help keep your interest, you could help with some of the build for the stand and setup with your husband. You may be in awe that you helped build that.

[stingythingy45]

I've been in it now since 2007 and still get excited looking in the tank.
There's just so many different creature you can purchase and observe in a SW tank.

The food cost next to nothing,but eletric on the other hand does cost some.
I have a 90 gallon and I run a return pump from the basement 24/7.Also metal halide lights that run for about 7 hrs. daily.Then there's the 300 watt heater.
All in all it's probably like an eaxtra 30-40 dolars a month,not too bad at all.

One word of advice.If you get into expensive corals/fish and are prone to losing electric.Consider buying a generator to keep the tank pumps and heater going.
There's a lot of folks in my local reefer club here in Ma. that have lost everything.

[jimbo78]

I had freshwater fish tanks before I first went salt and I was bored of fresh also. I think with salt its a lot harder to get bored. I started off with a used 90g system and over the course of a couple of years replaced everything built a stand different sump pumps lights skimmer everything. So save and get good equipment to begin with.
As far as getting bored I don't think it will happen. I was bored of fresh with salt it's so different. Tanks are much more complicated you could start with a fowlr tank and if you start to get bored move to easy corals then harder corals. There are so many different types of tanks. I broke down and sold everything after my son was born. it took a little over 6 month's before I bought a nano that I'm in the process of setting up now. There will always be new challenges new fish, New types of corals. For example when I first started salt people were just starting to keep chalices and no one really hard mini maxi nems. There is always something new.

[KafudaFish]

The amount of money you spend on your tank does not guarantee success nor enjoyment in the hobby. Many people get bored with this one and bail just like freshwater due to reasons such as costs and limited successes. Some people spend thousands of dollars in a short amount of time with no “return” i.e. enjoyment.

A couple of things that you should ask yourself include:

Why are you doing this?
What are you trying to accomplish?
What would happen if you had a terrible snow storm and everything in the tank died?
Is the hobby putting you into debt?
If so, how much could you spend and not be?
The same goes for time: how much time are you willing to commit to succeed?

It won’t do you much good to have penthouse dreams on a bottom floor apartment budget. Want a pair of clowns? Ok do you buy the common ones for $20 each or the pair of genetically altered ones for $300? They may look different but I bet they pretty much behave the same way. Only another reefer is going to care.


FYI I have spent more money on family vacations than I have on my tank but that is my choice.

Also I have never used a credit card for the hobby.

[Newt56]

The cost of your electric really depends on your equipment. If you want to keep the electric down, go for LED lighting. Are you planning to keep the FW tank?


I will be getting some LED's for sure, and I'm trying to find equipment that is low in wattage. I'm breaking down my little FW and giving the few community fish and plants to a friend of mine who has FW tanks. That way my husband doesn't freak too much about how many heaters/lights I have running (plus I can use my 10 gallon for my quarantine tank.)

Thanks for your answers! I was suddenly a little phobic about this whole thing, I have been obsessive about if for months now researching I never stopped to wonder if I'm just going to get bored with it like I did FW! So it makes me feel better to hear you all had that same FW boredom and still love your SW.

We do have a generator, my husband bought it last year to run the refrigerator...and now it can run my tank if need be! :-)

[Bones12]

I agree that freshwater can get boring pretty quick. Like you, I also have a bit of commitment phobia with the cost of the hobby. All I have to do is take a look at the various members tanks on the forum, and my apprehension immediately goes away! With the long, cold, dreary winters you get in Maine, a box full of paradise is sure to cheer you up! Remind your hubby of the old saying "Happy wife equals happy life".

[Newt56]

With the long, cold, dreary winters you get in Maine, a box full of paradise is sure to cheer you up! Remind your hubby of the old saying "Happy wife equals happy life".

Our winters are sooo long, that is for sure!! And I will have to remind him of that little quote! :-) He told me he doesn't mind me having my fish hobby, just knows how quickly I got bored with my FW and is fearing I'm going to do the same with SW. He doesn't want me to waste a ton of money and find it's too expensive per month with the electric, or isn't quite what I expected. But I can foresee going the opposite way and getting addicted!!

[stingythingy45]

Have you consider what size tank you might want?
Lots of new folks start out with smaller tanks.
I did this at first as well and found it to be much more of a challenge than say a 75-90 gallon.Stability of water parameters is a big thing in this hobby.Especially if you get into crals.
Smaller tanks can have bigger swings in parameters as they have such a small water volume.Like 3 gallon of water evaporation in a 20 gallon might be a big deal.But in a 90 gallon it wouldn't change the salinity all that much.

And yes,this hobby is VERY addictive.

[KafudaFish]

For the heck of it I "designed" a 300 sps tank at 19 cents/kw and it came out to be $118 in electric.

This included $52/month for 3 x 250 mh.

Devil's advocate:

Sure leds would be the way to go but if you spend an additional $2000.00 up front how long would it be before you "saved money"?

$250 in bulbs/year
You save $20/month in operating costs

Right at $500/year so in 4 years you would break even.

Sure if you lived in CA where it can be 34 cents/kwh it would be much less.

Again just playing and DIY could see a break even much earlier.

[cichlid nutz]

I still have freshwater (180 gallon Frontosa tank colony) but I love my reef. The best piece of advice you can ever recieve in this hobby is GO SLOW. How large of a tank are you looking at? Some tank shapes do better than others for reefs in my opinion. Not having a LFS, you will have to invest in a decent RO/DI unit.

The biggest benefit is the diversity of life in a saltwater tank. I still go in after lights out and am amazed at my copopods and amphipods running around. My monster bristleworm thats about 8 inches long. The button anemones that only come out at night. There are so many things that you can have in saltwater that you cannot in freshwater. The stoma snails that seem to just appear one day, along with your micro-stars.

Be cautious that low wattage does not also mean too low of power to keep corals. There are LED lights out there that do not do well even with soft corals. And ask questions or even PM us. We all love to share, the good and the bad.

Welcome to the hobby....

[cichlid nutz]

And one other thing KafudaFish did not mention about LED's. They do burn out or simply stop working. There is typically only a 1 year warranty on any fixture regardless of manufacturer.

I like VHO's and t-5's but it seems to be getting harder to find VHO bulbs. What type of coral you want to keep also makes lighting a big decision...........

[fishgate]

I don't know that you will get bored, but you will spend more and more. Figure at least $2k to start if you want Corals.

[Newt56]

Thanks all! I have a 75 gallon sitting empty in my dining room right now that is going to be my reef. I plan on easy corals, softies and maybe some LPS. So far, here is my equipment list:

Mag Drive 7 (60 watts)
2 Hydor Koralia (750s) (9 watts)
Marineland series advanced in sump skimmer pro 100 (not sure of watts)
300 watt heater (or 2 150 watt heaters)
Marineland Reef Capable LED fixture (75 watts) or Ecoxotic Panorama Marine LEDs
RO/DI unit (not sure of brand)

So I believe that is most of my electrical, anyone want to estimate what that may run me a month with .19 cents a KWH?

I don't mind an upfront cost, and I imagine I will be somewhere around the $1500-2000 dollar mark for everything, but it's just the monthly costs that worry me (mostly because my husband pays the bills and he will not be happy if this is a $100 dollar a month hobby.)

[stingythingy45]

Here you go Newt56,

There's an electrical consumption calculator on the home page of RC.
Also some other very helpful calculators.

http://reefcentral.com/index.php/tank-electrical

[Newt56]

Awesome, thanks!!

[stingythingy45]

Here's what I got:
And that's with the 300 watt heater for 7 months.

154.4 KWH

$29.34 per month

[Newt56]

Not too bad at all, I thought it was going to be higher! Hubby will be very happy with this!

[stingythingy45]

Not too bad at all, I thought it was going to be higher! Hubby will be very happy with this!

The LEDs help out a lot with the electrical cost.
It's just the up front cost that is high.
I have 2-250 watts of halide lighting and 2-watt actinic T5s for dawn/dusk and highlighting.
Those halides use up a lot of power.

[EllieSuz]

I found FW boring too, even though I successfully raised angelfish and had a beautiful planted tank. The saltwater fish seem to have so much more "personality". I think of them more as pets than something to stare at. The beauty of the coral waving in the current in all those colors makes the tank the gem of my house. My husband isn't really interested in my hobby, but his doesn't interest me either. I think it's good for spouses to have something of their own. Get yourself a gorgeous reef tank and you'll never be bored.

[Lostinthedark]

My wife and I went the fresh water to salt water root also. We started with a 29 community tank up to a 110 and enjoyed them but they didn't have a WOW factor to them. We have been salt water now for several years and still cant stop staring at the tank. We have a mixed reef with a good mix of hard and soft corals as well as fish, starfish, sea urchins, snails, crabs, feather dusters and a whole host of critters that we don't know where they came from.
As for cost, lighting is one of the biggest up front expenses, but the cost have come down lately. You can get good quality lights from Phantomled or reefbreeder and they won't set you back 2 months pay. As far as electric my bill went up $50 or $60.
The big expense is going to be that coral you saw online that you just have to have!

Good Luck. You know your gonna take the jump.

[Ostara]

To me it seems that once someone gets into saltwater, they realize that saltwater and freshwater are two completely different and separate hobbies whereas people who have only had freshwater always think that they are different aspects of the same hobby.

With freshwater I was constantly changing everything. Changing tanks, changing aquascapes, changing plants, and, especially, changing fish. I would only keep fish for a few months at most before getting bored and trading them in for something else. Even the expensive imported discus that I bought didn't hold my attention for too long. With saltwater I love to design and build my tanks slowly. I love picking out each fish and coral, placing things exactly where I want them, and tinkering with equipment to get everything just right for coral growth and color. And the fish have so much more color and personality! My freshwater fish recognized me, but my reef fish both recognize and try to interact with me when I'm near the tanks. Saltwater is so different from and so beyond the realm of freshwater that frankly, I don't see myself ever tiring of it. I'll just keep getting more, larger tanks until I have a huge covered saltwater pond in my backyard. :D

[KafudaFish]

Thanks all! I have a 75 gallon sitting empty in my dining room right now that is going to be my reef. I plan on easy corals, softies and maybe some LPS. So far, here is my equipment list:

Mag Drive 7 (60 watts)
2 Hydor Koralia (750s) (9 watts)
Marineland series advanced in sump skimmer pro 100 (not sure of watts)
300 watt heater (or 2 150 watt heaters)
Marineland Reef Capable LED fixture (75 watts) or Ecoxotic Panorama Marine LEDs
RO/DI unit (not sure of brand)

So I believe that is most of my electrical, anyone want to estimate what that may run me a month with .19 cents a KWH?

I don't mind an upfront cost, and I imagine I will be somewhere around the $1500-2000 dollar mark for everything, but it's just the monthly costs that worry me (mostly because my husband pays the bills and he will not be happy if this is a $100 dollar a month hobby.)


I would skip the marineland skimmer if you haven't bought it yet and the led fixture is "reef capable" at best on your tank.

Go over to the equipment forum and read the last 5 - 10 pages of mojo's skimmer q and a thread for a better option.

[Newt56]

I would skip the marineland skimmer if you haven't bought it yet and the led fixture is "reef capable" at best on your tank.

Go over to the equipment forum and read the last 5 - 10 pages of mojo's skimmer q and a thread for a better option.


Nothing purchased yet besides the tank, so thanks for the heads up on the equipment! Will check out that forum. Thanks!

[Bones12]

Whatever wattage heater your tank requires I would go with 2 instead of one. I always did this in my freshwater setups and the second one was there as a backup. I learned this lesson the hard way while on vacation, the single heater failed and everything was dead!

[that guy]

Go with plastic or titanium heaters. Nothing lightens your morning more than waking up to electrocuted fish because the glass heater cracked.

[fishgate]

Easy fix though, tell him you were going to buy a $2000 light that would cost $250/year in bulbs but instead are getting a $1000 light with no recurring costs (LED). Then the monthly doesn't seem so bad.

[cap032]

I kept Malawi cichlids for approx 10 years and really enjoyed them. I never got bkred with them, but always had a desire for saltwater. I finally bit the bullet 3 years ago and started my first saltwater tank, a 75 gallon. That tank taught me a lot of "what not to do" and "what not to skimp on". Lol I did become a little board with it.......mostly due to a never ending hair algae battle after using tap water for a year when my lfs closed shop. (An RoDi unit should be your first priority.......trust me!) However my darling wife suggested a bigger tank and BAM, instant rejuvination!!!! After a years worth of piecing together quality equipment my 125g is nearly cycled. Eventually it will house, along with my current fish, a blue jaw trigger and a fox face rabbitfish, plus sps coral and a clam. So Im like a little kid now. IMO, based on observation of myself and others.......when you start getting bored with a saltwater tank........you get a bigger one and expand upon what you can successfully keep in it!!!! Lol Get your hubby hooked and who knows, maybe he will be suggesting a "bigger" tank in a few years! ;)