How much do you spend a month on your reef?

[Anonymous]

How much does everyone spend a month on their reefs? I've got a pretty small tank (37 gallons). I figure I spend $20/month on electrons and another $30 in chemicals, food, lightbulbs, testkits, and USPS priority mail frag swaps. I've been really tight with the reef money recently.

Total=$50/month
-or-
$1.35 per gallon per month

 

[Rich-n-poor]

i refuse to answer on the grounds that i may incriminate myself !

P.S. dont tell my wife but........I tend to drop about $60 a payday on this work in progress either on a coral critters or rock I try not to look at my electric bill as it frightens me

 

[Styk33]

I would say I spend fairly little on my tank. Maybe $10-$15 a month on electricty and $10 every 2-4 months on food. Three times a year I will spend $30 on a fish or something for my self. Plus lights once a year is something like $100.

The intial startup to get everything going seems to be the worse. Add up the cost of the tank, salt, lights, LR, pumps, RO/DI unit, and specimans. Add all that up for my little 55 gallon tank and it is a few thousand dollars.

About $.80/gallon for me. Now if you included the start up equipment in that and included that in the cost and depreciated it over time, that would be a lot higher number.

 

[lkaras]

Mine is about 100.00 month not including electric. Got 8 tanks running so I dont think thats to bad.
Luckly the BOSS LADY is very understanding.

 

[Anonymous]

I do not break it down to Reefs. With 3 FW tanks and 2 SW tanks I have taken the Slick Willie approach, Dont ask - Dont tell

 

[dmm32]

$100.00 with no problem at all, and that cutting it short.

David

 

[HARRISON]

Everything that doesn't go into my house or truck. If there is anything left, I go shopping for goodies. I don't put much in the fresh anymore mostly the reefs...

I'd say a couple hundred a month but I am still buildeing my empire so I hope I can scale back a bit.

 

[Ocyurus]

The electric I don't care to comment, but for everything else I would say I spend very little about $30 a month $2.70 a gallon. I think that is pretty good. (I'm sorry, I foregot to mention the guppie tank)

 

[texman]

my electric bill is about $1000.00 per month and I suspect that about $250 goes to the tank (600g with 4X400W Halides + plus some PC's + skimmer that runs with an Iwaki 100RLT + 4 Iwaki 55RLT's + misc pumps) Other than that, about $400 to supplies and new livestock. My wife spends much more on new shoes and purses, so she stays quiet.