Saltwater fish monthly cost of maintenance?

Question

Hello, I would like to know approximatly how much it would cost me, for a 20 gallon saltwater tank fish ... how much in $ would maintenance cost be? Ex: cleaning products, food ... etc ... thank you!

Answer 1

Filter: Many aquariums of this size come with built in wet/dry (such as the "Dream" aquarium for about $135 online), otherwise a small canister filter for around $80 is a good choice.
An internal filter is an inexpensive alternative (a Via aqua 305 is only $15.99 and comes with a bio sponge). Redundancy is also important. Whatever filter you choose, back it up with a second filter in case one fails and for better circulation, aeration, and Redox. Good secondary filters (for your 20 gallon aquarium) are sponge filters, HOB, internal filters.

UV Sterilizer: This is the subject of a lot of miss-information and an area I have researched more than anything to dispel these myths. I strongly recommend this for a marine aquarium that will have fish, not only for disease prevention, but for the important Redox potential that new research shows is VERY important.
UVs start at $60 for good ones (stay away from the Aqua Medic).
You can combine the UV with your filter with the Via Aqua multi filter which is an HOB filter, skimmer, and UV for about $120

Heater(s); A thermostatic heater starts at $12 A titanium heater is better yet at about $25

Crushed Coral; About $25

Marine Salt; About $20

Test Kits; about $40 (Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, hydrometer, kH-alkalinity)

Gravel Vacuum for maintenance: $10

Lighting; If you get a complete aquarium like I mentioned above, this comes with two power compact lights. Otherwise at least two power compact or similar wide spectrum lights (420 N to 700 N) The price can vary a lot here depending on the lighting system from as cheap as $40 for a good fish capable light system to more than $400 for some reef systems.

Aged Live Rock; A MUST for a easy to maintain bio healthy aquarium, just make sure the store you by it from (including online) has had the rock in their aquariums at least 30 days.
Price is usually around $3-6 per pound.

As for maintenance, this is much less expensive. Just make sure you have salt on hand, RO water for top offs (evaporation), a quality fish food, and filter media
For your size aquarium this probably can be done for under $30 per month (depending on local costs)

This is a very broad subject:
For more information, including up to date links to the often miss-understood UV, Redox, cleaning, and aquarium lighting:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

For marine basics:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Basic_Saltwater.html

Answer 2

Saltwater Aquarium Maintenance Cost

Answer 3

!!!Oh, my dear GAWD, You cannot purchase fish cleaning products from ANY Dollar Store!!! Help us all for you young lady!! There really is nothing save to clean a tank but using your hands and scraper!! (((SORRY))) I had to edit and add this when I read the above statement.

I have a 24 gallon Nano, so this should help you out as well.

To have a saltwater tank will end up costing a lot from the start but in the long run depending on the types of fish you get will not be that expensive. Also, remember that each year you have to change the lights even if they seem like they are fine it will have to be changed. Not sure what kind of lighting system you will have but for our tank for two lights cost about $75.00.

Make sure that the location of your fish tank will have a constant temp and that it will not be too hot or too cold for them year round. Make sure you have a digital temp reader so it does not get too cold or too hot.
If you have them in a room where its hotter or colder you will then have to consider buying a Cooler that runs about $300 dollars for the cheapest one with shipping.

Make sure you do your homework on the types of fish you purchase. If they have to eat fresh or frozen brine shrimp that can cost you about 10-20$ a week.

Some fish are fine with eating the flake foods but will have to have fresh brine shrimp from time to time. Flake food will last you at least 1-2 months depending on the size of the container.

Also, some fish eats bloodworms that will be a little less than brine shrimp but not buy much.

You should also always keep on hand at least 3 gallons of freshwater and 3-10 gallons of Saltwater when you have water that evaporates or needs to have a partial water change. Some local shops will sell osmosis saltwater for $1.00 a gallon and you have to supply your own water carrier.

The purchase of kits to test your water will run you about $30-$50 dollars every 3-6 months.

Then make sure you have a surge protector for your tank. If you live in an area where there are a lot of power outages you might want to invest in a small backup generator for the tank. Those are of various cost.

There are really no cleaning products for a saltwater tank. Just make sure you purchase the correct "scrapper" to clean the tank most are not made of glass if its only a 20 gallon tank. The scrapper will run about $5.00

You will have to purchase some other items for the tank but it depends on what you put in your tank. So, currently I cannot tell you but if so it will run about $8.00 and up for supplements.

I hope this helps you!!!

Answer 4

By far fresh water is cheaper however if you do have some money to spend then you can do a FO marine tank. All you need is live sand. You do not need any live rock unless you want to go for a reef tank. Other then that you can put what ever decor in the tank you like so long as it is marine aquarium safe. Other then that you will need a power head, heater, protein skimmer, and salt mix. You will need enough sand to cover the bottom of the tank at least 2 inches. The more the better up to about 6 inches. Over all it will cost 2 to 3 times that of a fresh water tank. So about $450 for the sand, salt mix,2 Power head, 2 heater and Protein skimmer if you shop around. If you deside freshwater I would recommend African Cichlids. They are very colorful as far as Fresh water goes and they are extreamly active. They come in a wide range of sizes unlike tetra's. Tetra's would be a good choice if you are looking for school fish which would be really attractive in a 150 gal tank. One thing about Marine tanks is that the setup time is drastically longer unless you are willing to pay big bucks for active live sand and rocks. To do it cheap you will need the sand and lace the top with about 3 pounds of active sand. This will get the bacteria started but you will need to wait at least 4 to 6 weeks before adding any fish. Anyway good luck. PK

Answer 5

hello, i have a saltwater 55 gallon i can say its not cheap to set up but cheap to maintain. we bought a light that was $300,crushed coral $80 fish,$10 in starter fish salt was $20 so because your tank is smaller it will be cheaper. you never have to add salt unless you change some water. remember salt never evaporates! you only add fresh water. your salt level should be at 1.020 the food is fairly cheap depending on what you get. we go to walmart and get the frozen fish for $10 it lasts a long time. as far as cleaning it u will need some scrapers for the Coraline algae ( which is pink) i cant really think of much more our tank has been up 4 2 yrs and it really is easy to care for! good luck..jewels

Answer 6

It could run u up in some money like 150 dollars or more.
The food is cheaper at the grocers, u can buy fish cleanin stuff at a dollar store.
Cleaning the tank is the worse part about tanks, they get right fungus and u got to use a net to get the fish out of the old water.

Answer 7

It depends but once your tank is established, you're biggest expense will be water, salt and food. We top our tanks off with distilled water and buy premixed salt water for water changes. Maybe like 50 bucks a month, however you have to plan for the eventual replacement of your bulbs, filters, chemicals, snails and crabs which you don't do monthly but it's still an expense.