Costs for Reef are too high.

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Crustman
Amoeba
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Costs for Reef are too high.

Post by Crustman »

How can you lower your costs? My T-5 fixture has 8 bulbs and each bulb is 20 or more to change. Bought new UV bulb also. Must have GFO on hand and this is not cheap. Carbon must also be purchased. Kalk is cheap but I also use C-balance. Been buying Culligan RO water at Walmart and fill 2, 7 gallon jugs for about $5. Test kits and chemicals expire so to keep testing, you have to buy these. Screwed up the chemistry in my tank by adding additives and now I lost some nice frags that may never be replaced. OK, done with my rant. I do like the fish I have including a CBB, Foxface, Yellow Tang, Goldenhead sleeper, Coral beauty, Clarki clown, Yellowhead jawfish, mandarin, percula clown and clown goby. Some of these fish I have had for several years and were bought with my tank.
AuroraDrvr
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Re: Costs for Reef are too high.

Post by AuroraDrvr »

That's why I don't keep an SPS filled reef. Just too expensive. Aside from the minor hair algae in our Reef tank due to a garbage skimmer and high Bioload, I haven't done a WC in two months, dosed anything other than Iodine for the Gorgs, and have super old MH bulbs. Yet, the corals (Monti Caps, LPS, Gorgs, Palys/Zoas) are still doing great. I haven't tested anything other than pH a couple times since the tank was setup.

Currently I'm going to USA & still living with parents, But once I am out on my own I don't ever plan to have a Reef Tank. Just too much maintenance/cost and I love Macro/Seagrass tanks, so it seems only smart to go that route vs. the Reef Tank route. It's a love/hate thing. You have to weigh if the costs associated with keeping a reef are truly "worth it" to you.

Depending how many times a week you buy RO from Wally World, investing in an RO/DI unit is a long-term saver. Especially if you buy Pre-Mixed salt from B&B/Progressive.
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Amphiprion
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Re: Costs for Reef are too high.

Post by Amphiprion »

I feel your pain, Tom. That is why I finally stopped reefs in general for now. I plan to do it again in the future, but I'm going to change my approach altogether along the lines of something much, much simpler. I think it may be closer to how my current tank is, incorporating strong algal growth in a separate tank/area, which ends up being cheaper in the long run in many cases compared to GFO, various dosing, etc. I think my next tank may be either lighted by sunlight or something efficient and with lower maintenance costs. No skimmers anymore for me, either. You're always trying to play "catch up" as far as skimmers go and they only seem to get more and more expensive. It's just one more piece of equipment to go wrong. I just can't afford to do it the "traditional" way anymore, which is why I've opted to go back to a more natural approach, which I've had great success with in the past.
Andrew

25g planted nature aquarium
strout
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Re: Costs for Reef are too high.

Post by strout »

I wanted my new tank to be an SPS coral tank, but it would just cost to much. Well maybe not cost to much, but I have seen to many, much more experienced reefers than me lose all of their corals. I just couldn't stand to lose a tank full of SPS corals, it would most likely drive me out of the hobby. So I am going to have a mixed reef tank, with corals that only need a water change when I feel like doing it. We have a reefer over here that has a great tank ( I have talked about this tank in another post) its a 180g tank that gets a water change lol well not very often, saves on salt, has T5 bulbs and I am sure they use less watts then my MH do, doesn't use a skimmer, just a filter sock. Most likely hasn't tested the water with a kit, since who know when. My point is: its a 180g tank and there is most likely very little expense in running this tank, it is full of fish, corals, and the tank looks great. The money the reefer saves on maintaining the tank is spent on buying new corals. This is the way that I am planning on going.
Crustman
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Re: Costs for Reef are too high.

Post by Crustman »

Thanks for all the replies. Just had a flood the other day and the skimmer overflowed in the cabinet. Used a carpet cleaner vacuum and only lost about a gallon of sw. Yellow coris wrasse that I was happy to have was too immature to acclimate/ ship and now went under the live rick and is likely dead. That being said, my CBB, mandarin and other fish are doing great. My gorgonian is growing and all the leathers are doing great. Some new corals from Rory and Andy are doing great. Have a cats paw, chalice and finger coral.The frogspawn is a great coral. I love the sun coral at night when all the polyps are out. The brain is cool also. My Squamosa clam is the only survivor but it is fine. Goldenhead sleeper is extremly interesting to watch as it sifts sand. Hardiest coral ever to the Turbinaria. Trumpet corals are hardy also. Love/ hate is right. When all the equipment is functioning and you can keep fish alive for years, it is good.
Crustman
Amoeba
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Re: Costs for Reef are too high.

Post by Crustman »

Sorry, might have got some names wrong. The frogspawn came from Zack, a superior clone.
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