# Starting my first saltwater



## It'sJames (Nov 15, 2007)

I'm hoping to start up a saltwater aquarium, but I'm a little cautious due to the cost. I have several FW aquariums, and they're doing great. I was thinking maybe 55 gallons for a SW... maybe 75? 

Can anyone give me an estimate of the start-up cost for a 55g SW (FOWLR), and a list of equiptment that would be necessary?? What would be the average monthly cost of maintaning it?

What would be the start-up cost for a 55g reef tank? Average monthly maintenance cost? What equiptment would I need for a reef tank? I love the look of soft corals, but I know a reef tank will cost a lot more than a FOWLR. I don't want to buy cheap equiptment, but I do want to keep the cost relatively low (if that's at all possible with a reef tank...).


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## Aquatic_Fan (Nov 30, 2007)

Saltwater aquariums are very expensive....it will be very hard to find good stuff for a cheap price. It also really depends on your LFS prices and what they offer. 

Iv just started a 10 gallon and i dont evne have live rock in it yet casue i cnat afford it.....but i just got a job so money will be comming in soon enough. For a 55 or even 75 i think a few thousand $$$$ will be enough if your willing to spend the cash. You will need a protein skimmer and a nice sump. And especially the lighitng is going to cost alot.

For monthly maintance cost i wouldnt have a clue.....sorry.

You should go to your LFS and ask them to give you like a quote for everything you plan on getting to start it off. 

Good Luck


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

If you do some searches you'll see several "startups" with prices. Check out the 42g bowfront FOWLR from last week.

Standard maintenance costs would be difficult to estimate based upon several factors. Your choices for lighting and pumps will determine your wattage demands. For example some folks will cut corners on return pumps buying a cheap one to save a buck. Well a 900GPH submersible pump could easily run you as much as 200W per hour to run as opposed to an Ehiem 1262 running at about 65W per hour. That's up to 3 times as much cost each hour, 24 hours a day. For a FOWLR you may only want about 3 T-5 as opposed to high wattage metal halides. It becomes difficult to figure as energy costs vary wildly across the country. If you know the specs for all of your electrical needs you could visit http://reefcentral.com/calc/tank_elec_calc.php to try and get an idea of what your monthly electrical cost would run. 

Other factors such as brands of salt can make a difference.

My estimates for you would be:
Simple electrics totaling about 235KWh per month at $0.17 AKWH= $40 a month.

Food supplies based upon average fish sizes for 50g, about $10 a month.

$50 for a bucket of salt @ 200G, 20G water changes per month, $5 of salt.

Misc, $10.

I'd figure about $65-70 for an average 50-60G FOWLR, not including fish, rock, or anything else.


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