salt water aquarium?

Question

how much would it cost to start a 40 litre saltwater aquarium?

Answer 1

Forty liters isn't very large for a saltwater tank. It's okay if all you're planning to keep are invertebrates (smaller shrimp, hermit crabs, small crabs, feather dusters, corals), but only a few species of fish will be able to live in a 40 liter through adulthood. Even the smaller clownfish (ocellaris and perculas that stores like to put in their displays) should have a 75 liter or greater tank. You ocould maybe keep a firefish or one of the smaller clown or shrimp gobies, but that would be all. There's also the problem of maintaining a consistant temperature, and water chemistry changes more quickly, from dissolved wastes to salinity as water evaporates. I usually suggest that people start with a 100-200 liter tank.

There's no "definite" price, as the cost will depend a lot on what you intend to keep, brands of equipment (and even what type of equipment you choose), and where you live. Also if you get everything new, or are willing to buy some used to keep the overall cost down.

Some of the items you'll need (prices are US dollars):
a heater - ($25-$35 depending on type and brand) - I would suggest one that is fully submersible and has an adjustable temperature. You want a heater with wattage of about 5 W for every 4 liters.

a filter - ($25+ depending on type and brand) - you want one that will turn over at least 10 times the volume of water in the tank per hour, so check the rating. There are a number of types you can buy, from a regular hang-on-tank like an Aquaclear (cheapest) to a biowheel (more expensive), or canister filters (most expensive). There are larger and more expensive types, but these would be excessive for a small tank.

salt mix - ($15-25 depending on brand) If you only plan to keep fish, Instant Ocean is economical and good. If you plan to keep invertebrates, you may need to use supplements, or go with a higher-end brand.

hydrometer - ($8-10) This is used for mixing salt to the proper concentration. There are no easy # cups per # gallons because the salt will compact as it absorbs moisture from the air. You'll need a specific gravity of 1.020-1.026 for fish, 1.024-1.026 if you keep inverts.

substrate - (~$25) This should be aragonite or crushed coral to help raise the tank's pH. Saltwater should be maintained at 8.2-8.4.

live rock - (~$8 per pound) While not strictly required, it's strongly recommended to use. The live rock has bacteria to help break down the wastes, which are toxic to organisms in the tank. You can make "caves" for them to hide in and these give the tank a more natural appearance.

glass cover - ($15-20) This keeps the water from evaporating too quickly or from splashing the lights, and keeps fish from jumping out of the tank.

lighting - ($25+) depending on what you intend to keep. For $25, you can get a basic lighting set-up that can be used if you only keep fish and non-photosynthetic inverts. If you want to keep corals or anemones, you'd need a minimum of a compact fluorescent system and these will run about $150.

fish - (~$20-25 per fish on average but can range from $3 to $400+) Try to buy captive bred fish if possible.

food - This will depend on the species you choose, and whether it needs a plant or meat based diet, or if it eats both. For some types, you can use marine pellets or flakes as a staple, but you should supplement this with fresh or frozen plankton, enriched brine shrimp, squid, cockles, fish, or seaweed.

Cleaning supplies - buckets (one for mixing replacement water, one for dirty water), siphon, long-sleeved gloves (you shouldn't put your hands in the tank), algae scraper.

Saltwater test kit - for testing your water quality - API Saltwater Master kit is a good one.

A reference book - I highly recommend The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 or The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5

There are lots of other things you could get or may need (protein skimmer, kalkwasser to adjust the pH if needed), but the list above will give you a good idea of what you should have on hand to start.

I can't emphasize enough the research that should be put into a marine tank before going and and buying the equipment. There's a lot that's involved, and the fish are rather expensive compared to a freshwater tank.

Some additional reading on keeping saltwater:
http://www.fishlore.com/SaltwaterBeginners.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/

Answer 2

Most saltwater tanks are costly because of the live rock that you need to buy(1lb per gallon at the min). A 40 litre would cost about $150. Keeping a 10 gallon(40litre) sw tank would be pretty difficult. Because its sw, it evaporates very rapidly and you'd end up adding water to the tank daily or every other day. Also it would be bad for the stability of the tank, with the salinity constantly changing.

I recommend getting a larger tank because its easier to keep a large sw tank compared to smaller. Also its going to cost about the same(minus the live rock cost) as long as you stay lower than 50 gallons. This is because you need a skimmer and most are rated for "Up to 50 gallons" anyway and you can find heaters for almost nothing now. The best thing that you can do as far as the aquarium goes, is to go online and search local fish stores. A lot of stores offer a free tank as long as you buy a filter from them or whatever they chose to make the deal with.

Answer 3

about 1000$ but that depends what type of coral you purchase,fish,plants,filter,heater, but the filter should cost you around 60$ but what you should do is buy someone old salt-water aquarium off the internet used because than you could get a great deal and ive seen people spend thousands of dollars on their 80 gallon aquariums GOD LUCK WITH YOUR AQUARIUM !!!