High Tide Aquatics

$$$ MONEY $$$

I want to say we spent about $3000 on equipment and $500 on coral/fish for this tank, but it might be more. We moved here after tearing down two nano tanks we loved, so I spent more money to get a nice tank up ASAP vs. waiting for a better deals.

Gear we already had/re-used (~ $1500):
  • 3x Kessil A350 (bought used, ~ $600)
  • 2x Vortech MP10 (one new, one used ~ $300)
  • 2x TLF Reactors (new, ~ $80)
  • Turbotwist 12x UV (used, $100)
  • eheim auto-feeder (new, $30)
  • 4x MJ1200 pumps (new, $120)
  • AutoAqua SmartATO (new, $150)
Things we bought (~ $3000):
  • RO/DI 4-stage 150gpd: $225
  • 90g display & cherry wood stand: $900
  • Trigger Systems Tideline 30 Sump: $400
  • Plumbing/Overflow Parts: $100
  • Reef Octopus 150SSS Skimmer: $230
  • Apex (Base + ORP probe): $500
  • Dry Rock (75lbs): $150
  • Jebao DC-9000: $90
  • Jebao DP-4 Doser: $75
  • Refugium clamp-light & CFL: $30
  • 10x Filter Socks: $45
I think we could have gotten a better price for display/stand/sump, but I was able to find good quality gear on the ground in an LFS and set it up that day, which saved us a month or so vs. shipping. I was grateful we re-used our existing powerheads/lighting from our two nanos together.

I've been super lucky to get a TON of coral for free from club members on DBTC or similar terms. I'm psyched to be giving back a lot of frags to the club now a year later. We haven't spent much on fish and keep a pretty lightly stocked tank in terms of fish, but heavy on coral.

Wow, I guess the $50/gal of display heuristic is about right.
 
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Vhuang168 said:
Not a Corrado by chance!?! I miss my 90 G60!
Click to expand...

sure thing, it's what got me hooked on VW's to begin with, this is my G60 (pic is about 10 years old)

CRW_0441.jpg


the one I described in my earlier post is a VR6 GTI, Corrado hasn't been driven for 5 years, it lives in storage.
 
HiFidelity said:
sure thing, it's what got me hooked on VW's to begin with, this is my G60 (pic is about 10 years old)

CRW_0441.jpg


the one I described in my earlier post is a VR6 GTI, Corrado hasn't been driven for 5 years, it lives in storage.
Click to expand...

Nice! Sold mine in 2000. Was a 90. Black with Reiger body kit, OZ wheels.



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Thing with this hobby is you can spend as little or as much as you are comfortable with.

The new big tank will eat into my bank account a fair amount but I enjoy things that are well engineered and designed to work well.


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Yeah if I count the 140g tank I had with a basement sump and fish room.... Well lets just say I don't want to add up the costs. Lol.

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I'm in for about $1,700 for a 20g with 10g sump and a 5g QT tank. Includes everything (RODI unit for $330, tools to build stand for $250, etc).

I'm not quite done with hardware and not much livestock yet.
 
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You can have a great tank with any budget, but you just need to make sure your ambitions match your budget.

We had a petco 29gal tank that we grew into a nice little mixed reef with a few fish and some hang on equipment on a cheap budget that brought us a lot of joy.
 
Buying equipment 2nd hand has saved me some money, but still it adds up..
Like others, I had a spreadsheet going on for how much I spent, but gave up a year later. It was too sad to look at
 
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