Reef Aquarium

[gunzo]

I just started reefing last year .. heres's the breakdown of what I spent

$420 2nd hand 3x2x1.5 tank with cabinet, sump, pumps and skimmer

$150 for lightings

$60 for rocks

$60 for salt (enough for 2.5 tank water ) salt water from sea cheaper

$150 for assorted cheap corals(zoos, mushrooms etc) and fishes (colorful types ranging from $5-15)

total damage = $840 (wow .. still cheaper than a nano !! )

Of course after that greedy .. fish went from cheap cheap to expensive

like wise corals also

My 1.5 nano cube when I started cost me $400 total (spent about $100 replacing the fish that died because it's not easy to keep nano)

[Qxnviolet]

yo bro, I was the one who did'nt do my homework and got my blood sucked. My nanocube is now 3 1/2 monts old and is still going strong. But you'll have to change your water weekly instead of monthly. This advised was given to me by a worker in one of the fishfarm in pasir ris who actually supply the tank and the fishes to TM shop. True the nanocube got this build in fan but it is actualy useless. the fan cannot maintain a temp of 25deg. so i have to on my home aircon just to maitained the temp. what to do bro, you have to take care of your tank even if it means more utilities bill. so my advise to you is to follow all the bros here and go for a diy tank. I'll post a pic of my nanocube later.

Erm, Jef....you do not actually have to maintain your tank temperature at 25 degrees....as long as it doesn't exceed 28, its ok....

[Firestarz]

Yea .. thats wad i think .. sian .. these few days weather super hot sia .. with my cl85 n 4 inline fan running together i only get like 27+ to 28 degrees .. i tried switching off my fan n the tempt shot up to 29 degrees .. even at night .. wonders wads wrong the weather these few days .. btw i m with a 24"by15"by15" tank with 4" sandbed .. so yea .. water volume still small.

[Qxnviolet]

The hot season is coming i think, will only end after the middle of the year. Where is your tank located? Try open the room windows for better air circulation into the room, might help abit...

[jervismun]

Phew!!!! Good thing that we decided to check out the Net and finally found this forum before committing to get the NC. Thank you very much for providing all these invaluable feedback.

After all the readings ... our eyes are now pretty much crossed with so much info!!!

Hmm ... we'll check out the Pasir Ris farmway again ...we went there last Sunday but didn't see many shops that sells marine reefs.

Any recommendations of which shops to go? What about the areas some of you mentioned earlier like Lavender? Are you able to advise the shop's name and address? Appreciate this!

If in the end of the day we are still "hopeless" .. we'll get a carton of beer for you all 'experts' to help set our aquarium can?!? Snacks included as well! haha ...

Hi Trenyce, guess what? I bought my NC from TM too! For $299.00 (tank) + $109.00 (stand) w/ 5% discount (I paid NETS, not CC). Personally, I think the $850.00 they asking for a little on the high side... but:

1. If you totally new to the hobby, I think it's not too bad for the experience sake. At least everything is decently put together and you will be able to continue the hobby without too much problem if you just stick to the LS they provided (even take out some of the corals).

2. $850.00 is very affordable as a start-up. One problem with custom tanks are, you'll probably end up spending 3 times the original allocated budget. Coz good equipments = ease of mind, so it always makes sense to buy the best equipments you can afford... for reliability, performance, blah.

3. Those fishes and corals selections are not too bad lah! I've seen them at TM, that inspired me to start this NC actually...

4. Convenient loh! Everything taken care of... set up nicely for you... but don't forget that setting up is the most fun part (just like everything else in life), after that it's maintenance... u know what I'm referring to in real life, lol.

But before you rush down to TM, I want you to know that ther JBJ NC itself is flawed in design. The glass they used is a little thin and there are a lot of complaints in the US where their tanks crack big time. So do consider other tanks if you are free to shop around... don't rush things yeah?

For a 2 feet tank, I will suggest you allocated at least $1500.00 to get a decent setup. Remember, those testing kits and additives are very expensive, easily cost you $300.00 along the way.

So now, you are comparing $1000.00 (TM NC + other stuff) and custom 2 feet $1500.00 (everything)... I'll go for 2 feet custom any time! lol

Visit my link below... hope this helps!

[dreamzcape]

The fun of reef tank, is doing something that works for the reef. YOURSELF.

Not to say that they lied but if you need bros here can help you set up not having to charge you anything!!!!!! All advise for free, maybe a couple of beer will do the job.

eh a couple of beers sound good ! anyways...there are always people willing to contribute to their answers and opinions to questions. Be forewarned that sometimes advices will clash and hence u will have probably have to google the things you wanna ask too and then make the choice of whose opinion you find more agreeable with.

[Elune]

For a 2 feet tank, I will suggest you allocated at least $1500.00 to get a decent setup. Remember, those testing kits and additives are very expensive, easily cost you $300.00 along the way.

So now, you are comparing $1000.00 (TM NC + other stuff) and custom 2 feet $1500.00 (everything)... I'll go for 2 feet custom any time! lol

Just my 2-cents; a little misleading there on the pricing . I DO AGREE that good quality equipments = less worries. In this instance, i would like to add in, that the setup also depends on our sis Trenyce wants a Fish-only tank (FOWLR) or reef tank, the size of it, and her INTENDED budget. Quoting her this kinda budget is gonna give her a heart-attack. haha

for EXAMPLE, if a person intends to just keep FOWLR 2-feet tank, then the person DO NOT need strong lightings like MH; going forward, the money on CHILLER can be saved up. A chiller can fetch up to a price-tag of $200+, while buying a fan (around $50) is enough to bring the temperature down to 26 degree celsius. NOt that the fish would mine, but fishes can tolerate temperatures of 29-30 degree celsius. Keeping to only 4-5 fishes in this 2 feet tank, a simple protein skimmer + perhaps a canister filter would suffice. Also, there is NO NEED to buy ALL the types of test-kits. focus on Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate for startups first. Addictives are not necessary for startups.

breaking down the budget for an initial FOWLR startup

-$150 (2-ft glass tank with stand)

-$50 (sand and live rocks from fellow reefer)

-$50 (Salt + hydrometer)

-$70 (simple protein skimmer + surface skimmer)

-$20 (water pump)

-$130 (Cannister filter + necessary filter medias)

-$60 (simple T5 lighting)

-$50 (Fan)

-$20 (bottle of nitrifying baterias + phytonplankton)

-$70 (Test kits for ANN cycle)

-$150 (More than enough for a pair of clownfishes, a yellow tang, a royal gramma, a Blue Tang, a pair of cleaner shrimps, a pair of turbo snails, a sea cuke, and fish food)

TOTAL BILL $820 only.

Make sense?

Sister Trenyce, not to confuse/ scare you, but there might sometimes be differing views on how reefers here setup their tanks, and their amount spent. But for a newbie, i would just wanna let you know that this hobby CAN be rather AFFORDAble also. Thus i post here a simple little startup for a little budget.

I DO AGREE with bro jervismum that spending loads of money on expensive equipments is like same concept as quality equipments = quality tanks. So bro jervismum, chill ya?! I just do not want newbies to be put off with such a high budget and give up on this hobby. Make things fun, and affordable. Cheers.

sis trenyce, hope u are able to see the differing views, I am not saying which is right or wrong; i still agree with bro jervismum, just that I ain't that rich, but i am still in this hobby heh heh. u are the decision maker, and u decide for youself how you would wan to spend your money in this hobby ya?

for the rest of da ppl reading this.. man, dun flame me for saying the wrong things ya (perhaps i really did...)? i m not here to start a war, just wanna help sis trenyce out. Cheers~

[jervismun]

Bro Elune, the reason I quoted a more realistic budget is because I've seen the TM NCs myself. Definitely not Fish-only tank. So there's really no reason for me to restrict anyone to a Fish-only tank.

So if I am to start a 2 feet reef tank, how much will it cost (conservatively)? Is $1500 too far fetch?

It's just that I am experiencing it right now, so wanna share with you guys... do plan ahead, allocate the money. You will need it as a lot of LFS do not accept credit card, lol.

[Elune]

yep, true,

plan ahead, and allocate the money.

Spreading $1500 slowly over a few months (in planning n setting up), u wun feel the pain so much. heh heh.

[jef]

really ah??? 28 deg ok ?? that case Im kiasu lah..... Thanks bro for telling me. Wah...waste a lot on utilities bills man. But all for a good cause. I dont want mt LS to suffer mah.....

[jervismun]

really ah??? 28 deg ok ?? that case Im kiasu lah..... Thanks bro for telling me. Wah...waste a lot on utilities bills man. But all for a good cause. I dont want mt LS to suffer mah.....

I think 28ºC to 29ºC is good for most fishes and standard corals. You may find that some demanding corals may require colder water especially those found in deep ocean. So, do check properly before rising the temp.

For me, it's a matter of balance, if I set the tank too cold, I will suffer due to the heat and noise emitted by the chiller... so balance lah! And yes, always bear the utility bill in mind.

Any bro out there to correct me? Prob some may find 28ºC too warm, sorta defeat the purpose of having a chiller, lol. A lot will say... a few fans will do.

[Qxnviolet]

Not to forget that the hot season is coming and if you are going to set your chiller at 25 degrees, i doubt it'll ever turn itself off... LS can easily tolerate even 30 degrees so i guess 28 would be pretty comfy for them already....

[jervismun]

To add-on to the budget relocation issue... do plan carefully. Coz, the best time to introduce equipments and modify is at the beginning stage. Anything done later will either stress out your lifestocks or affect the balance of the biotope.

This hobby (especially for small setups) is all about balance and control. Any equipments u introduce later will definitely affect the balance in one way or another... just like taking medicines really, one cure create one problem... so the best is create a satisfactory system and test it, then only introduce your lifestocks, hopefully they will stay alive and happy for many years to come.

That's why I am focusing on it right now, once I introduce my corals and fishes, will not do any changes to the system.

[asg]

$1500 is way too high in my opinion my 4FT is only around 1.2k (everything,first hand) my low cost four feet tank

the critical part is not how much $ you spend or how many equip you have but rather, how well you know your tank. it takes time and knowledge and more...

cheap have cheap keep

ex have ex keep

but make sure it is a good keep

[jervismun]

$1500 is way too high in my opinion my 4FT is only around 1.2k (everything,first hand) my low cost four feet tank

the critical part is not how much $ you spend or how many equip you have but rather, how well you know your tank. it takes time and knowledge and more...

cheap have cheap keep

ex have ex keep

but make sure it is a good keep

I really admire your cost controlling... my chiller alone costs me $1250.00 lol. Em... u are an accountant or a CFO by profession, aren't you?

[asg]

ha ha thanks for the compliment, i am a poor man by profession, just kidding.

like what i also say, cheap have cheap keep, exp have exp keep, just make sure it is a good keep

[jervismun]

Or maybe you can share with us where u usually buy your supply... obviously you are getting better deals than most of us

[asg]

coral: fish farm is cheap, reborn is not, the rest is expensive.

fish: ditto

chemi-pure clememti 328 fresh water fish shop (not the 24 hr one)h is cheap

tropic marin (pro reef) ML and reborn is cheap.

[jervismun]

coral: fish farm is cheap, reborn is not, the rest is expensive.

fish: ditto

chemi-pure clememti 328 fresh water fish shop (not the 24 hr one)h is cheap

tropic marin (pro reef) ML and reborn is cheap.

Wow! Great info... you know what? We should start a thread like this to stop the LFS from charging according to their mood. Coz a lot of the items are not price-taged. This will make the LFS nervous and make them more competitive, lol. You start or I start? hahaha

[Qxnviolet]

Ermz, im not sure its alright to post prices and the names of shops here? Is there any rule against this? Some reefers even resist spelling out the whole shop name. Wonder why. Shrugz. For me, PetMart seems to be selling stuff at a pretty competitive price.

[jervismun]

Ermz, im not sure its alright to post prices and the names of shops here? Is there any rule against this? Some reefers even resist spelling out the whole shop name. Wonder why. Shrugz. For me, PetMart seems to be selling stuff at a pretty competitive price.

Have not been to PetMart, perhaps I should drop by next week. I don't see why we shouldn't mention names... if we don't act on our own rights as consumer, who will? You expect all LFS to price conciously? It's business and competition is good for consumers. Let's see if someone thinks otherwise.

Sorry

[Qxnviolet]

Hrmz, i don't think theres anything wrong with that too, but there are alot of reefers who avoid using the full names of the shop (i wonder why), as if we cant tell by their hints....Shrugz.... Personally i don't really care....

[jervismun]

Hrmz, i don't think theres anything wrong with that too, but there are alot of reefers who avoid using the full names of the shop (i wonder why), as if we cant tell by their hints....Shrugz.... Personally i don't really care....

I will wait for a few more replies. If okay, I will start a few threads soon. I will name a product, let reefers input on selling price from LFS islandwide. LS a bit hard sometimes, but products are pretty easy to compare "apple-to-apple".

So in the near future, I hope the LFS will think twice before simply quoting some price, especially to newbies. So, the most competitively priced LFS will get more publicity.

Anyone against this move?

[Qxnviolet]

Hrmz, sounds like a good idea....im for it. Gives us good information on where to get competitively priced products...prob will save lots of people some hard-earned cash...

[asg]

Hi! every Bro, i am all up for it. i am suggesting to have a list that comprise all standard items, selling price and the short form name for the shops i.e. ML, RB, AB, etc

let's us just start and see how it goes