salt water

[Steveoo]

hey iv always loved salt water fish tanks, my question is, how much would it cost for a 10gal, tank, filter, sand ect.... no fish, but maybe some live rocks?

[Adam Chandler]

I'd check craigslist, I'm sure you could find a small biocube or nanocube setup with live rock and all. Many of people (like myself) underestimate just how much work it takes to maintain a saltwater tank.
Well, if you are only going to get some clown fish or damsels its not too bad, but when you start getting in coral its nuts.
Anyway I'm sure on craigslist you have find someone getting out of saltwater and selling their setup for a about $100-200 depending on how nice the setup is.

[redstormlax12]

My dad has been working with saltwater for around 25 years, and i know its not cheap. The lights, filters and other things dont come cheap. They are also alot higher maintenance than fresh water. A tank with just live rock wont be very attractive. It'll just be gray rock, sand and water, which im guessing isnt what you are looking for. You have to have a pretty good knowledge of the coral and their needs before getting them. Im not sure how much it would all cost, but i know its not cheap. My entire basement is dedicated to reef tanks. Granted my dad has a 240 gallon reef tank, 100 gallon frag tank, 35 gallon refugium, 65 gallon frag tank. Im not sure the exact appliances you would need but im sure you would need a heater, hood, lights, filter and you may also need a cooler, protein skimmer and other appliances.

[Jay_Bunny]

Well I had a 20g tank and I spent about $500 before I had to stop (spending too much money) and I didn't even have fish in it yet. Actually, I didn't even have enough live rock in it.

Saltwater is expensive, but if you are up to it, then a basic set up might cost you anywhere from $100 to $500 for a basic 10g set up.

[GoingPostal]

Depends on where you get stuff at, I would steer clear of craigslist, I've seen a few good deals but many more overpriced crappy setups. Local fish stores are usually way expensive on dry goods as well.

Basic setup
10 gallon tank = $20-$25
Powerhead = $20
Salt = $45 for 150-200 gallon mix, will last you a long time
Heater = $20
Sand=$15-20 for a 20 pound bag, depends on how deep you want your sandbed, I run mine pretty shallow


Live Rock = $2.5-$15 a pound, best bet is buying online or from someone breaking down a tank, look for nice shapes, coraline algea is good, but no hair or bubble algea, you will want 10-20 pounds

Lighting = depends on what you want to keep, most people keep nanos for coral since they are too small for the majority of fish, at least you want power compacts, t5s or a 70-150 watt metal halide would be better, anywhere from $100-$350, bulbs are expensive as well and need yearly replacement

You won't need a filter, the live rock and sand will do that, I just do water changes on my nanos, you might want a small powerfilter to run carbon or filter floss though. It is expensive starting out, there are lots of different all in one nano setups as well, red sea max, nanocube, aquapod, biocube, etc if you want a cleaner looking setup. I've ran a 2.5 gallon, 5.5 gallon, 10 gallon, 12 gallon Aquapod and now have a 24 gallon nanocube with the back part ripped off and 150 watt Sunpod for lighting. I don't even want to know how deep I am for cost.

[Step Johns]

If you only want a 10 gallon it can be done for fairly cheap.... only issue is that you will have to do water changes a lot more often on it than bigger tanks, also you will have a lot more swings in water parameters than in a larger tank... In my opion if you are going to go for it, go big or go home... With a reef tank you will start small and be bit by the bug and will just go bigger and bigger. I started with a 24 gallon, went to a 34 gallon, to a 60 gallon, back to a 34 gallon, down to a 10 gallon, and then back to a 60 gallon. In the long run you will save a bunch of money if you just got straight to a 60-100 gallon tank. I will have to disagree about the statement "You won't need a filter, the live rock and sand will do that" Yes that is true but in a system that small the amount of sand and rock needed to create that biological filtration would be insane and the entire tank would be filled with sand and rock.... If you have any quetions, feel free to pm me. I have been keeping reef tanks for a good amount of time

[GoingPostal]

How would the entire tank need to be covered in sand and rock to filter it? I have ran my nano filterless for 5 years and never had an issue and they aren't crammed full of rock and sand is merely for looks and barely covers the bottom. My 24 gallon gets 4-8 gallon change weekly, mostly because there are non photo corals in there being fed frequently but that still only takes 30 minutes or so. I don't stuff them full of fish because I don't want to do massive water changes all the time but saltwater tanks don't need filtration like freshwater, a skimmer and live rock is all you really need on a larger setup.

[kellysballs]

I tell people when they are getting into saltwater a nice average price to purchase everything including appliances and stocking the tank can be done for about $30 per gallon. This is to set it up correctly from the start with the minimum filtration, water, rock, inexpensive coral, lighting ect.

If it was me setting up a 10 gallon I would build a stand and have the tank drilled so I could install another 10 below as a sump for my protien skimmer and filtration. You can also put in an automatic water top off that will help keep your salinity from swinging. I have these installed on my big coral tank at the shop and one at my home. It makes your life much easier.

I haven't been doing saltwater long but I have done alot of research and I will be happy to help you if you need it.

[Morph Momma]

Craigslist is the place to go really. We got our 150 saltwater in bits and pieces of CL. $100 for tank and stand, $100 for rock sand and some misc fish and corals. $300 for a $1000 light fixture...ect. Just look around...sometimes your local fish stores will have ads in their stores for people trying to get rid of stuff at bargain prices. Be creative and you can get it done relatively inexpensively.