Quote:
Originally Posted by kien
I see quite a cost difference. The larger tank has a considerably larger water volume which will amount to a more costly water change. On top of that, it will cost more to dose (elements) if you go down that route. It will likely require more, or large power heads to get the right flow. It will require more, or more powerful lights to light. More rocks, a larger skimmer, return pump.. Bottom line, more bigger tank=more stuff=more expensive.
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+1
The costs of they tank directly scale to the size of the tank. I worked it out with a power meter once that my 275 gallon tank with a 100ish gallon sump, 8 radions, my skimmer, return pump, vortech's and all the incidental electronics that inevitably begin to pepper your stand like acne together cost about $50/month to run on an average month. Bigger tank = bigger/more pumps/more lights/more heating/cooling = more per month to run it.
On top of that, I get maybe 3.8 water changes out of a $100 bucket of salt, if my tank was any bigger I'd have to use a much less expensive salt. Another thing that's turning out to not be inconsequential is the cost of food for my fish. A few large angels will probably eat more than my whole tank, and you'll want to give them high quality foods that you'll burn through quickly. It's at least $100/month to feed my tank.
additives you can probably figure out an economical way to do, if you're not doing many corals you probably won't need many, and you can buy in bulk if you dose 2 part, but if you end up with a full blown reef the amount of basic chemicals you can go through can be huge. GFO can get expensive depending on how you buy it, but no matter what way you'll cut it you'll have to either change it out more, or use larger amounts of it per change on a larger tank with larger fish. However, additives for any of the nutrient management 'systems' out there, like bacterial cultures, trace elements, amino acids, etc. etc. can get pretty pricey when you're dosing them in large volumes.
And depending on the LEDs you go with, the difference between a 6x3 foot tank and a 10x3 foot tank can be over $3000 just in lighting, which is not inconsequential in my opinion.
In any case don't think I'm trying to talk you out of it. I can't wait for the day when I can have a tank almost exactly like that! I just remember being shocked when I realized how much this tank was costing me every month relative to my 90 gallon just to keep the water good and the fish fed. "Obligatory" upkeep costs consumed almost the entire monthly budget I had decided was acceptable to spend on my tank every month before I started, which meant I was constantly going well 'over' budget to buy the things that I set up the tank to keep. It's also stopped me from ever upgrading my lights. Upgrading 3 radions to the pro version would be 900 bucks, something that I could conceivably justify. $2400 to upgrade all 8 however, would probably get me a divorce.