Cheap entry into this hobby. (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

Ok, I was wondering, and wanted to know if anyone has already done this.

What would be a system, for someone to get into this hobby with, if you had to buy everything new, no sale.

Whats the cheapest one could actually get a taste of the hobby so that one would become hooked. We are talking about a useable system, not one that really doesn't hold up past cycle.

Can we get it under 500? 750? 1000?

Probably should not make it smaller than 24 gal nano cube. Maybe as low as a 12 gal nano cube. We want this to get them really hooked into the hobby to make them want to spend thier money on the more expensive stuff.

Isn't that what kits are suppose to do, get people hooked so they come back with a real thirst and willing to shell out the cash for the "good stuff?

 

[Guest]

my tank total cost was only around $200 to maybe $300
its not a kit either.

 

[Guest]

Leaffish could you tell me your set up?

 

[Guest]

i got a 20L for about $20-$30
110watt pc for $70 (including shipping)
HOB refugium $35 with chateo ($5 shipped)
LS (dont remember price 40Lb)
mini power head - free
dont remember power head brand thats used for the refugium but it was only $10
have a aqua ball but im getting rid of it and going back to wal-marts cheap one.
clip on light $5
DIY LR $15 (only used half a back of cement and Crushed oyster shell so i guess if some one went in half you could reduce that.)
5 lbs of cured LR $10-15

Thinks thats it. i didnt include the corals but if you want to know them i have
green star polyps
colt coral
false ricordia
red pimple mushroom
other mushrooms
2 head frogspawn
3 head branching hammer
feather duster
2 different polyps
green brain
xenia (2 piece which are both turning into 6 more)
small candy cane frag

any thing else? I dont remember the prices very well so it a ball park. Oh i built the stand my self. Im a cheap person.

 

[Guest]

frugal -- not cheap --- frugal

 

[BrianPlankis]

Nathan,

Good question, seems like leaffish is part DIY and part buy, I guess most people would be this way.

You could probably do a nano for around 500 or less, but anything bigger than 20 gallon and you are probably looking over $500.

I'm trying to keep track of my expenses, but currently can't edit my website. Before my recent round of purchases I was up to $189, add to that $200 for tank, $210 for RO/DI, at least another $100 for misc stuff and I'm up to around $700, not including all my lighting which is either my old lighting or the lighting setup I won at the holiday party. I also have a old skimmer, so that doesn't include a skimmer either. I'm doing a LOT DIY, so I consider my system on the cheap side and with LR and first inhabitants it will be around $1000.

B.

 

[Guest]

Cheap crap....

http://www.aquatraders.com/aquatraders/product_info.php?cPath=23&products_id=37

Maybe it's good, don't know. If not you can always make it a quarantine tank right?

 

[Guest]

Of course I know that this is the wrong way to get people into the hobby, no they should all spend the first 6 months reading everything they can so they will be truely confused when trying to start.

There seems to be two reasons people don't get into the hobby, ok three.
1. The old myth that it is hard to keep saltwater.
2. Money
3. No real interest.

And 3 reasons they get out:
1. Time for upkeep
2. Money
3. Fustration

The one thing that most people lack even in the hobby: patience.

So how can we help this situation.
And do you think that those people that pay others to upkeep thier tanks would even be interested in joining the club?

I do not like the statement that I have heard tons of times, which is if you can't afford the hobby don't get in it. Sorry I just don't believe that, maybe one will have to have more patience than a person with cash to sink into anything. A person with a lot of patience can slowly get the stuff need to have a very well designed estiblish tank. I am setting out for just that.

So what I was thinking was for the person who wants to get started on the low side, and build their way up to the higher end stuff.

So the barest minimal would be to go with a standard 12 nano cube huh?

 

[Abe77901]

"Good" stuff is not cheap, and cheap stuff is not Good.............general rule of thunb!!!! and pretty much applies....

 

[Guest]

the only DiY things in my tank is the LR. and some what the refugium. it comes pre cut with all parts including glue. Took about 10 minutes to get up. the stand is left over from a 55 that was about to bust. i use the extra space to hold my test kits.
Hey they can always get the stuff they need off marsh for a good deal.
my HOB refugium came from ebay. and the lights came from superfishstore.com they were cheaper with shipping than any LFS.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, just wondering, I mean the cheapest would be to get them to set up an Eclipse 3 gal, that they could only have few rocks, some live sand, and buy the saltwater premade for you only exchange less than a gallon a week. Can keep some zoas in it, and watch all the pods population and hitchhiker snails that you didn't even know existed grow like crazy.

Currently run this setup at my house.

 

[Guest]

VT has a nano setup with lights and kit for $179 the last time I was there....

 

[Guest]

Or just be more patient than the people who have money and wait for them to give up and sellout cheap :twisted: Even better, find someone that has a set up close to what you want and go to work convincing their spouse what a horrible hobby it is and how much money is being wasted then just wait for the shoe to drop <eg>

 

[BrianPlankis]

Yeah, the only problem with running a nano as the first tank is that they are very sensitive to changes. I think some people start out in SW expecting it to be easy and all of a sudden things are dying left and right, they do a massive water change, more things die...they exit the hobby. Having a larger tank, while more expensive, lessens these disasters, a catch 22.

B.

 

[DonnieKim]

I do not like the statement that I have heard tons of times, which is if you can't afford the hobby don't get in it. Sorry I just don't believe that, maybe one will have to have more patience than a person with cash to sink into anything. A person with a lot of patience can slowly get the stuff need to have a very well designed estiblish tank. I am setting out for just that.

I agree totally since this is my approach as well! Also I don't have a lot of money to spare this way. I already spend too much as it is, on this hobby but I trully love it! And if you wait and watch and are patient, you can pick up some of the needed items from people leaving the hobby or upgrading or changing systems

Hear Hear Narkon!

 

[Guest]

Highestbid, that means we would just be trading one person for another, we need the one to stay in it while the new one begins.

Garagebrian, well, that is where education comes in play, if we could some how get those people that are setting up a new tank, especially nanos, to be able to contact someone with experience. Heck with a nano, thier first water could be some from someone elses tank, along with a cup of seed sand.

Anyone seeing Tommys shrimp tank, would just fall in love with the Nano cube. But they need to be educated, and I think that is one place people run into road blocks. Not being able to find someone close by that might be able to stop in and see the problem, for we all know that seeing it first hand is 1000x better than reading it on here.

 

[Guest]

narkon,

I got a JEBO 7 for about $70. it has 2 t-5 8 watt bulbs with a powerhead. the power head pushes the water out plus it takes some up into a spray bar where you can put any kind of media you want. i ran filter floss with some carcoal and nitrate sponge. I keep polyps, kenya tree and a mantis in it. I have also keep some blennies i caught to. its a nice little setup and it works great. I bought it for my girlfriend. She started off with one that was like the eclipse but then we switched to this one. i still have it and im now going to set it up as a FW tank. I currently use a 2.5 gallon tank for pods and other neat things. I actually have some jelly fish in there. Where they came from i dont know but they are living pretty good.

 

[Guest]

I was joking -- didnt you see the <eg>

 

[Guest]

Sorry, sometimes I read to fast.

N

 

[cparka23]

I'd like for many more people to get into the hobby, but the fact of the matter is that there is a significant investment to be made for most setups. Aquariums, the furniture (stand/canopy), lighting, filtration, and a cleaner water source to name a few. On top of that, you have to commit enough space for everything. That last one is not exactly the easiest thing to manage, regardless of whether you have the money to cover the initial costs or not.

If you look beyond the setup costs, pretty much everything else is more expensive compared to freshwater aquariums. I've heard a lot of people say they want to get into SW fish, but they'd rather start w/ freshwater to have some experience first. They understandably don't want to lose a lot of money to novice mistakes, but someone keeps telling them that they can learn how to keep a saltwater aquarium by keeping a freshwater aquarium. I've never felt that there was much in common except overfeeding.