The REEF Budget

[spykes]

when i started this hobby i did what rich has just wrote. I had a 125 with equipment fit for a 10 gallon LOL. I threw away couple of thousands before i acually started to understand this hobby. I have to say there is no learning unless mistakes are to be made. If your not ready for this type of devotions sooner or later awing at the TOTMs is the only thing you would be doing.

yesterday while me and rickystui was hanging out I said "the Best part about the hobby is getting away with using cheap stuff or free stuff. I swear i have had so much success with products that are meant for other purposes.

On the other hand i felt pretty comfortable buying expensive equipment, because expensive equipment equals higher resell value. Selling a seio and selling a tunze displays a totally diffrent ball game. Buying used tunze and selling it afteryour own usage compensates for your cost. In the end the best part of the hobby is making out like a bandit.

 

[jackson6745]

Dave u sooooo cheap

 

[ming]

For me, I try to spread out my cost over time so it doesn't kill the bank. I usually charge things on credit cards but I wont buy my next item until my credit card is paid in full, unless its something small needed for maintainance like fish food.
And ofcourse, dont add up the cost of everything and think of it as loss. I think of it as a piece of decoration in my house. And I'm not selling frags for profit, the money is used towards the electric bill if anything.
And ofcourse, whatever you predict on paying for your new tank, expect higher due to lots of little things you forgot to include in the cost.
If you can't afford it, then either go smaller or this isn't your hobby. Sad, but honest truth, this isn't a cheap hobby.

 

[LeslieS]

For my initial reef set up, I used the money I had budgeted for vacation - last year B. and I went to Panama. This year...Poconos

Since the set up, I have directed all of the money that I used to spend on clothes toward reefing. Soon, I will be wearing rags....

 

[bad coffee]

Leslie, can't you get some nice stuff from work? if you go in dressed in rags, I bet some of the designers would feel sorry for you!

I have a concrete number for my new tank. I have a spreadsheet with everything I spend on the tank.

At the top there is a "GRAND TOTAL SPENT" box and consequently a "MONEY LEFT" box.

I think this week I'm going to pass the 'money left' box. It's okay. I've been doing other work to make some extra money for the tank.

In the end, I don't really care.

But like it's been said. I don't mind spending money on good equipment. I'm not buying things I don't need, or don't think they're worth it.

Could I get a good skimmer for less than $439? Sure. But I'm buying a Deltec because I know it works, and it suits my needs EXACTLY.

In the end, it's a hobby. I have money to spend on it, so I'm going to. If I were scrounging to pay rent I would get rid of my tank in a heartbeat.

B

 

[LeslieS]

hmmm...just remembered. The clothes are a tax deduction. The reef stuff is not. Once again, reefing spoils budgeting plans...;-)

 

[nycmat]

Dave u sooooo cheap

LOL LMAO that was funny get advice before making purchases. that is what killed me in the begining and DO NOT TRUST THE STORES OR SALESMEN EVER!!

THEY ARE THE DEVILL!!

 

[nanoreefer22]

Hmmmm I somehow seemed to miss this thread. Seeing as I've upgraded and downgraded countless times, I think it's time I said something .

Like Q said its a hobby, but its easier than I thought to get really carried away with it and to forget about all the things that really matter. There's a great group of people here and they make the hobby that much more addicting. I say that because when you buy something you're not just going there to pick up the coral and run, you're actually getting to hang out with a friend.

Now I've forgotten countless times that this is JUST A HOBBY and gotten extremely carried away, spending money I didn't have on things. Even though I've come to realize it I still do it. It's a hard habit to break, you're better off not starting it. I've wasted a lot of money because I bought the cheap stuff thinking it would suffice but in the end it really doesn't, in most cases. Cheap skimmers for example were a huge no no, wasted money that you can't even make back on the re-sale.

Now I'm getting better with budgeting my money and making sure I have cash to do things outside of this hobby. I think finding something else to do away from reefing is a great idea, because it gives you something else to do away from your tank. Join the gym, join a club, start a club, just do anything to get out of the house(for the younger house loving people like me).

This was one of the reasons I got out of the hobby, i just over did it with everything. I had spent all my money on the tank and left nothing for me to enjoy. If i wanted to go out with friends I couldn't cause i had no cash. When this hit me, I just rid myself of the tank for a few months which in the end i regretted. Now I have to start back from square one, not the best thing to do.

Don't know what else to add, but like a lot of the guys said just get the best equipment you can afford from the start. Better yet see how much money you have prior to buying anything, then decide what the right size tank for you would be. Make sure you can get all the right things for the tank before you even buy it.

Hmmm did that even make sense :lol2:

My half dollar,
Kris

 

[romain]

LOL LMAO that was funny get advice before making purchases. that is what killed me in the begining and DO NOT TRUST THE STORES OR SALESMEN EVER!!

THEY ARE THE DEVILL!!

You know what, when I first got into the hobby, LFS sold me a 36"x18" cherry wood oceanic STAND ONLY for $400,
and unfortunately, I accepted. :banghead::banghead::banghead: What a nightmare!

That happened surely before I joined MR.

 

[aaron]

My strategy with the 36 gal was to DIY as much as possible as the bank account had fallen under the watchful eye of my wife. I ended up making the stand, lighting pendant, sump, skimmer, overflow, live rock and carbon reactor for a fraction of what they would have cost to buy, The trade off was time, I spent every single weekend for nearly a year in the basement making the various parts. But I learned a lot and would probably do it the same way again even if i had the money to buy everything outright. It also helped that at the time i was working on everything this site was gripped by a frenzy of DIY projects so there were a lot of people to swap ideas with.

Maybe one of the moderators could add a link to my DIY tank log (i can hardly do anything on this site since its been updated)

 

[techreef]

In my mind DIY is integrated into this hobby, and a great way for anyone to trim the costs as much as their level of ability lets them. If you have the work space and talent to build stands or wire lighting rigs, that's awesome. You save a nice wad o' cash. I went with retro kit lights, which was a little cheaper, and let me spring for a matching canopy for my tank stand. Building your own sump/refugium is another $ saver.

Tracking your expenditures is another tip for slowing your row in this hobby. I don't have a fancy spreadsheet or anything, but I have kept receipts for nearly everything tank-related, from skimmers to new tools used for building tank stuff to dry goods. It's a good "Holy SH*#" moment every now and then to just flip through the receipts.

Buying high quality equipment, and reading forums for months before buying ANYTHING really saves you money by not making mistakes, plumbing things wrong so you have to start over, etc.

 

[ezee]

Hi all,

I actually practice something similar to aaron. When I first started I went DIY crazy, not only because I saved lots of money but I was able to make things like I wanted them. DIY stand, canopy, lighting (retro), even live rock.

I also have a very clear idea of what weekly budget I have and my wife "helps" me keep that in check. I have just so much to spend each week.

When I work with external clients on projects I give my wife the majority of the money and get to keep some for my reef. So my extra money goes there too.

I have to agree that you don't have to have a ton of money but it can make things easier, if you don't abuse it.

E

 

[jackson6745]

I forgot the best piece of advice possible. When everything is going well in your reef, share the wealth. Yeah, it's easy to make a few bucks selling frags but IMO IME you're better off hooking someone up with a stable tank. This does 2 things. You ensure the life of that particular coral and that frag will come back to you. It's nice knowing you can lose all your livestock and will be hooked up with enough coral to restock your entire reef

 

[herman]

This thread is depressing me now. I too made a spreadsheet on what I am spending on my current project tank. On the top there is a grand total and the whats left box just says restock your wallet biotch!!!! :irked:

And today my reefbudget went to hell!!!:banghead:

 

[ReefHunter]

This hobby is like my boat. You get great satisfaction from it but it is an open pit in which you throw money in. I for one stick to the cash only policy. I only pay cash I think putting things on credit cards and running debt for a hobby is insanity. Just my opinion though

 

[aaron]

The other thing i wanted to add to this thread is that while it is good to buy the best equipment possible it is also easy to really over spend on things. I know there are a number of people on this site that have amazing tanks with a good skimmer on them, but not an $800 skimmer.
Its easy to get seduced by red PVC pipe and wind up with something that costs five times as much as a adequate skimmer but is not five times more efficient. Its like buying a ferarri to drive around the city, sure it looks pretty but a mini cooper will get you there just as well and you'll have a **** load of money left in your wallet

 

[LeslieS]

like buying a ferarri to drive around the city

lol - I dated I guy like that! To top it off, Ferraris are designed to drive fast. If you drive them slow, they over heat. So you end up driving in the city in the summer with the heater on!!!!

I HATED that car!

 

[herman]

We need to stop this thread. Feeling bad - guilty :grumpy: