Thank you Crystal
I'm prepared to pay ANYTHING, no matter what If I have to pay $1000 for a good reference book I will. One of my favorite phrases to live by is if you're going to do something, do it right or don't do it at all. And it's been a lifelong dream of mine to have a saltwater aquarium.

SH...LOL! I know your just kidding. But I have to tell you, you aren't kidding when you talk about big bucks! The tank I've been showing was the smallest of all the tanks I had, but let me give you a rundown of costs you can expect.

That particular tank has a pre-drilled, self contained filtration system. It has a 25 gallon sump system underneath the tank. Tank, stand, canopy: $1500. It has 60 lbs of live rock at $6.99 per pound: $420. 50 lbs of crushed coral at $25 per 10 lb bag: $125. 40lbs of live sand at $25 per 10 lbs: $250.

Underwater heater: $30. Protein skimmer (of course I had the best) $250. Extra underground trickle filter, $150. 4 power heads at $45 each: $180.

$50 for enough salt to make 50 gallons...so you'll need 2 of those. so we are talking $100 for the salt.

Then we have to invest in the test kits. You have to test for ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, ph, sulfur, etc...those are only a few (there are many more). To get the proper test kits you can add another $200 to the mix.

Okay, so we are roughly at $3300 and we haven't gotten to adding the fish/coral yet. With me so far?

Okay, so now we are going to add some fish.


You don't want to do this until you;ve had a "blank" tank for at least a week. But then you will want to start "cycling" the tank. You can't do this unless you have live fish to add bacteria to the ecosystem. The best fish to being with are Damsels. Damsels cost about $3 each and you will need about 8-10 to start the cycle...so were talking about $25. Now you have to understand you will probably lose most of these fish as they are "sacrificial lambs"...which is par for the course. So we are at about $3325.

Once the tank is cycled (usually takes anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months), we are ready to add us some FISH!!!

You need to understand that saltwater fish are not like freshwater fish. Usually freshwater fish were tank bred and are very hardy. You can pick on up for $1.

Saltwater fish are much different. Most have just recently been plucked from the ocean and are VERY traumatized. Most have been yanked from the caribbean, thrown into a tub, then tossed into a shipping crate, shipped to the US, tossed into your local pet store's tank...then off they go into YOUR tank. Needless to say, life expectancy is slim to none.

Then you have to take into consideration that because they went through this traumatic adventure, they cost a fortune!!


You can expect to pay anywhere from $10-$200 for a single fish. You don't have a clue the travels this fish has endured. Most fish stores don't/won't guarantee the life of a fish they sell (duh?? Would you?)..

So, you take your chances...and the chances are very expensive. You might pay $150 for a fish, only to have it die 3 days later....that's the risk you take.

Or, you may pay $20 for a fish and it lives for 10 years!

The biggest conflict I dealt with were people who didn't do research and put different fish together who were NOT compatible. it's really a no brainer. You just have to study and do research just as you do with dogs or cats.

Stupid people make stupid mistakes and there is an age old adage in the marine fancy....bad things happen fast. Good things happen slowly, but they are worth it.

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Originally posted by sheltiehandler:
WE HATE YOU (just kidding). Me and my mom want your set ups so badly. We love fish so much but dont have the money or smarts for a salt water tank. Maybe when we get the big bucks lol. Then I will hire someone to set it up for me. Thanks for showing/sharing your photos please post more if you have some. I love your snowflake eel.

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I sort of ended that prematurely. Bottom line is that to get a really nice saltwater tank (75gallon) and get to look like the one I posted...you can expect to invest about $8,000.

Then deal with the monthly cost of upkeep which is only about $100 a month.

Good girl!! If you can't do it right, then don't do it all!! That's my motto. Let me know if you need any help!

Beautifu tank and fish. That thing is huge. What do you clean it with?

Thank you Marcus. Which tank are you talking about as far as it being huge? I posted pictures of 2 different tanks and the maintenance/cleaning was totally different in each tank.

the huge one 2 people are standing next to

Okay, that's the 220. And you can't tell by the picture, but that is an acrylic tank, not glass. Before setup I actually had to use a ladder and climb INTO the tank to clean it. It was not fun, let me tell you.

Because it's acrylic I couldn't use the typical scrapers to clean it, but I didn't really need to. Algae doesn't stick to acrylic like it does glass.

You would have to see what's behind and under this tank to comprehend. It has FOUR built in power pumps pushing the water through. It has FOUR built in protein skimmers. I could show pictures of the back of the tank but I figured most would find it rather boring.

It's an amazing setup...

My largest one 1 had was a 180 bow front.
With acrylic you can use the magnavore magnet cleaner for acrylic These things are strong.

4 protein skimmers DANG

wow! 180 bowfront. Sounds awesome. Do you have any pictures? I'd love to see some if you do. Yea, acrylic tanks have their pros and cons. I'm still not sure which one outweighs the other. Naturally, they are lighter in weight, but man do they scratch easy. I tried some of those acrylic scratch removers but you have to have arms of Hercules and the patience of a saint to get them out.

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Originally posted by CrystalK:
Well....if you insist...here are some close ups of some of my fish and several of my coral.

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ooohhhh a cow fish right?

Yep, the long horned variety.

How neat!

A "long horn" cow fish

Not sure if i have a pic of the whole tank will have to go through the archives. I did post some of the tank yesteraday on the main portion. I will see what i can dig up and post it there

Did you find the pictures?

Nice fish people