running costs vs tropical

Hi

I am very keen on tropical at the moment but have always wanted to have a marine set up, I was just wondering what
the running costs would compare against say a 5ft 400ltr tank. Currently it is set up for discus with 2 300watt heaters
air and of course an external filter running 20watt (I think) the water is kept at 30 degrees for the discus so costs a wee
bit more to heat. I had thought of running the 5ft tank with a 3ft sump to maximise water volume and to hide all skimmers etc.

I was just wondering if you marine experts had any advice?

If it was to happen then it wouldn't be untill middle of next year but the same with anything else it helps to plan!

Thanks

Gavin

I found the main cost for marine is the setting up, the rock, good lighting, salt, skimmer, powerheads, RO unit, refractometer, etc ! the fish are more expensive, and once corals become an addiction, which they do !! you can kiss goodbye to your spare cash ! Seriously, once you have your basic equipment, its as expensive as you want it to be. You do need to buy salt, which isn't cheap, but apart from that, you shouldn't find a huge difference. I think if you were to run metal halide lights, they can be expensive to run, but I'm sure someone will be able to tell you about that. Its a fascinating hobby, there is always something to watch, and worry about !

When I worked out the initial set up costs I think was about £1000. For the skimmer, powerheads
Live rock. Basically everything except coral and fish.

I will have to do some research on the MH lights! The other half says the tank must be covered
So I would have to work a way around that, I am not sure if the tubes you can get for marine
Would give enough light at the bottom of the tank (2ft) hmmmm ??

Thant sounds about right, its an expensive business, and it not worth skimping on equipment. You can pick up second hand stuff, more so in the Uk unfortunatly, but I have had some stuff, and sold some, on Ultimate Reef forum, which have been a success. As for lights, don't bother with the juwel marine lights, they are dire ! I used TMC aquarays, which were ok, and cheap to run, but in a deep tank, I wouldn't say they did a great job, though the reef blue one is fantastic as moonlight ! They now have new ones, in a tile effect, which are meant to be much more like MH lights, but they are very new, and expensive to buy, though being LED, cheap to run. I'm sure the guys on here with the bigger tanks will know what lights are the most succesful.

As for having the tank covered, a friend of mine siliconed a plastic 'shelf' around the top of her juwel tank, then had glass cut to fit, which rested on the shelf bit. It was in three pieces, so easier to remove, and also in hot weather, lets some heat escape.

If I am to do it I will not be buying the cheapest on the market, as past experience ive learnt the hard way and found that "you get what you pay for" is very true! I personaly wouldnt mind the MH above the tank, Ive tried to tell her it will reduce the heating bill for the front room but it didnt work!!

I shall have to do some research on the lights, thanks for your input.

Gav

Hi Gavin,

I ran a 190 litre Juwel Trigon for next to nothing in terms of monthly outlay but i had purcahsed, test kits, decent salt supply for a year, metal halide lighting, refractometer and RO unit with auto top up with decent skimmer.

It's all in the setup for me, you buy at the start you will not have the ongoing costs (exclud electic, i would !) but stock is still expensive on the island.

As a good rule of thumb i would say that if you dont have spare money dont bank on marines as you may have to do emergency stuff that costs for example i had to do a 50% replacement of water due to a cleaning material entering the water. It was unexpected but used all my salt, and it's silly things like that which can catch you offguard.

I still enjoyed, and found nothing more rewarding, than watching the corals multiply and grow and pink algae growing everywhere ! but there is a cost and more importantly a time issue. all the tests etc take time.

Now i just have Tropicals', mainly due to time, but enjoy silly things like the guppies babies surviving and having 16 new members of family and the kids love watching the babies grow !, it's what suits you and what floats your boat.

Good luck in whichever venture you decide to take.

Cookie