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How Much Does A Saltwater Fish Tank Cost?
Last updated on November 17th, 2023
How Much Does A Saltwater Fish Tank Cost?
One of the most frequently asked questions in this hobby is "How much does a saltwater fish tank cost", followed by "aren't they expensive". What most people tend to miss is that, like most hobbies, the cost is almost entirely up to you!
I am going to focus on the cost of a basic saltwater fish tank setup. If you are reading this article, I assume you are interested in starting in the hobby, and not quite ready to buy the best equipment on the market, yet...
How much does a basic saltwater fish tank cost?
If you set up a saltwater fish tank with the bare minimum equipment, it’s actually quite cheap. Most people that are new to the hobby will start with a basic setup like I will describe below. This is more than acceptable! Remember, you can always update your equipment as you grow in the hobby. Everybody needs to start somewhere!
I am going to focus on a perfect beginner sized aquarium of roughly 30 gallons when looking at prices. 30 gallons is a good size saltwater fish tank to start in the hobby, allowing many of the smaller fish that everyone loves, without the cost and work of the 100 gallon aquarium setups.
Equipment:
How much does a Tank cost?
When choosing a tank, there are 3 “standard” options. The first is just a standard aquarium. This is the standard glass box that you can get from most pet stores. This is the cheapest option. One downside however is that the equipment (such as heaters and filters) will all be in the tank itself, and therefore visible. If this is not a concern to you, then a standard aquarium is a good start.
How Much does a standard Saltwater Aquarium Cost: You can buy a standard aquarium from Petco during the "$1 per gallon sale" for $30.
Another option is a drilled, or Reef Ready tank. These tanks have a hole drilled to allow water to flow into a sump where the filtration and heaters are essentially hidden from the main tank. This gives you more space to add filters without cluttering your tank. This is more of an intermediate tank, and usually for much more than 30 gallons. If you plan to be in the hobby for a while, it is one of the best options! Since it is not common to have a 30 gallon aquarium with a sump, I will not focus on this tank.
Finally, another great tank for any stage in the hobby, the All In One (aka AIO) aquarium. This tank contains a small chamber in the back to use as a sump. This gives many of the benefits of both the reef ready tank, with the sump built into the tank. It also includes the standard tank benefits of not needing additional plumbing and tanks. All of this, wrapped up in a beautiful glass box that you can buy right from the store. This will be a more expensive option, but may be worth it if you don’t expect to upgrade the tank size in the short term!
How Much does an AIO Saltwater Aquarium Cost: Though AIO Tanks can vary in price, a Nuvo Fusion 30g fish tank goes for $449.99.
Saltwater Fish Tank Heater
The size of the heater will depend on the size of the tank you selected. For a basic setup, a heater with a built in controller is sufficient. A submersible glass heater is enough for most of us, though titanium heaters are a bit better. There is an article about selecting a heater for your reef tank here.
How Much does a Saltwater Fish Tank Heater Cost: For a 30g aquarium, a 100w glass heater should suffice. Coming in at $17.99.
Saltwater Fish Tank Protein Skimmer
There is plenty of debate about the need of a protein skimmer. However, the protein skimmer provides benefits beyond just that of filtration, including adding oxygen to the aquarium, and helping maintain a higher pH. As such I deem the protein skimmer as necessary. Being a small, beginner tank, a Hang on Back HOB Protein Skimmer is likely your best option.
How Much does a Saltwater Fish TankProtein Skimmer Cost: The protein skimmer is one of the most expensive pieces of equipment contributing to the saltwater fish tank cost. The AquaMaxx HOB-1.5 Protein Skimmer, coming in at $186.99, is a perfect beginner HOB protein skimmer as it is rated for up to 75 gallons, giving you room to grow or have more fish.
Saltwater Fish Tank Lights
Many beginners start with cheap lights, but quickly end up wanting to keep coral in their saltwater fish tank. As such, it is best to start with a saltwater fish tank light that can support coral growth, without going as far as SPS coral lighting. As such, I would recommend a cheap T5 saltwater fish tank light fixture. Though a small LED fixture may be the same price, the coverage of the T5 unit will be MUCH better. When you decide to add another LED especially.
For more information on lighting, I have an article here.
How Much does a Saltwater Fish TankLight Cost: A good beginner T5 unit is the Coralife Aqualight Dual T5 Fixture. This light fixture starts at $109.99 (depending on the size) and 2 ATI T5 Bulbs starting at $19.95 each. Totalling $149.89 for saltwater fish tank lighting.
Saltwater Fish Tank Powerheads
Most beginner aquarium setups don’t think about reef aquarium flow. This is quite important for the success of your reef tank. Water flow helps move things such as CO2 and Oxygen as well as provide flow needed to move waste away from coral. This is not an expensive component either! The lower end powerheads can be picked up at a low cost! For a 30 gallon saltwater fish tank, you will need roughly 1200 gph of flow.
For more information on reef tank flow, I have an article here.
How Much does a Saltwater Fish TankPowerhead Cost: To achieve this 1200 gph flow, I would recommend 2 powerheads that each do roughly 600 gph. As such, I recommend 2 of the Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation Pump. This pump costs $35.99 each, totalling the saltwater fish tank powerheads at $71.98.
Saltwater Fish Tank Rock
Saltwater fish tanks generally do not have as many decorations as freshwater fish tanks. This is because saltwater fish tanks usually rely on the surface area of the live rock to grow beneficial bacteria that breaks down waste and helps remove it from the water.
How Much does Saltwater Fish TankLive Rock Cost: Though it may be cheaper at the local fish store, you can get live rock here for $56.52. Note that you will want to add a live piece of rock from another saltwater fish tank's sump. Most people will give this out for free.
Saltwater Fish Tank Salt
For your initial setup, your choice of salt mix won't matter too much. Though this will change when you add coral to your saltwater fish tank. So I would recommend starting on a strong note to set yourself up for success!
How Much does Saltwater Fish TankSalt Cost: The Red Sea Coral Pro Salt Mix is popular among many well know reef keepers. For the low price of $29.99, this is my pick to start your first reef tank.
Saltwater Fish Tank Test Kits
You will need 2 different test kits. The first is a salinity refractometer for testing salinity, and the second is a chemistry test kit to determine where the tank is at in the cycling process. For this I recommend the API Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit since it will get you through the first stages of having a saltwater fish tank.
How Much do Saltwater Fish TankTest Kits Cost: The salinity refractometer comes in at $19.98 and the API Saltwater Liquid Master Test Kit comes in at $23.49!
Conclusion
Based on the title, I assume you are interested to know How Much Does A Saltwater Fish Tank Cost? Before I total these up, I need to mention that these prices are new! Most often, you can get deals from other hobbyists, craislist, LetGo, or even Facebook Marketplace! This will save you a lot, especially on lighting, filtration, and tanks. The most expensive saltwater fish tank equipment to buy new.
* DRUMROLL PLEASE *
A new setup for a saltwater fish tank, with the equipment above is... $606.84 for a standard tank and $1,026.83 for a *new* AIO tank.
About the Author
John Krenzer
John is a Software Engineer with a passion for saltwater aquariums, as well as the founder and president of Reef Stable. He started in the aquarium hobby as a child with a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium. His interest in aquarium life grew and in 2008, John set up his first saltwater aquarium.
Today, John maintains a 120 gallon mixed reef aquarium as well as a 210 gallon aggressive species aquarium. These large tanks are contained within the same system, sharing a sump as a means to reduce total maintenance and increase total water volume.
John writes articles for the blog as a means to learn about more reef aquarium topics. These articles act as a reference for the readers as well as himself. John updates these articles frequently to provide additional information or make corrections as new information becomes available.
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