Total Hobby Cost for my 180g Living Room Reef Tank
The information below is a summary of total cost I laid out for this wonderful hobby. I’m not particularly proud of the price tag. It includes many mistake purchases, a few times I thought I was getting a good deal and did not. However, it does provide some information on hobby cost which can be difficult to find for new comers to this hobby. These numbers do not include the cost of electricity for the lighting system, water pumps or the cost of AC used to cool the room and tank.
This tank was taken down in 2003 as part of a new house purchase and relocation.
| Year | Additive Costs | Livestock Cost | Hardware Cost | Total Cost Per Year | Cost Per Gallon Per Year | Old Equipment and Livestock Sales | Adjusted Cost Per Year | Adjusted Cost Per Gallon |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | $29.00 | $1,340.38 | $4,011.30 | $5,380.68 | $29.89 | N/A | $5,380.68 | $29.89 |
| 1999 | $381.85 | $1,237.92 | $934.29 | $2,554.06 | $14.19 | N/A | $2,554.06 | $14.19 |
| 2000 | $190.34 | $623.75 | $1,961.72 | $2,775.81 | $15.42 | $255.00 | $2,520.81 | $14.00 |
| 2001 | $192.47 | $318.00 | $1,833.10 | $2,205.58 | $12.25 | $785.14 | $1,420.44 | $7.89 |
| 2002 | $0.00 | $126.94 | $2,418.04 | $2,544.98 | $14.13 | $1,660.02 | $884.96 | $4.91 |
| 2003 | $18.00 | $0.00 | $100.55 | $118.35 | $0.65 | $205.68 | $-87.33 | $-0.48 |
| Totals: | $811.29 | $3,646.99 | $11,259.00 | $15,579.66 | (Average) $14.42 | $2,905.84 | $12,673.62 | (Average) $11.73 |
It was suggested by an author some time ago to track your cost and to be able to provide a cost per gallon for your system. This way a typical price range can be given for a specified tank size. Of course the details and equipment each reef keeper uses are different. But it would still be nice to know just how much more expensive larger tanks are than smaller tanks.
