I bought my 100GAL setup for $350.00CDN (that's 60 something cents US to
1.00CDN). I purchased it used. I got the tank, a tubular steel stand, all
the gravel, a fluval 404, about 40 pounds of coral (dead, it used to be a
marine setup), a protein skimmer, and a home built trickle filter made of a
35 GAL tank w/ over 10GAL of bioballs. The guy also gave me
thermometers/heaters and a few buckets nets etc. He had got out of the hobby
entirely, so he just wanted to get rid of the stuff The tank had a glass top
and 2 dual fluorescent fixtures w/ a tonne of spare tube lights. All I did
was add water, fish, and eventually build a nice wood top. These deals are
not uncommon, if you know where to look in your area. A lot of people jump
into the hobby w/ no real idea of what is needed as far as a time and money
commitment... Everything dies and they end up just dumping their equipment
for pennies on the dollar. You risk buying a tank that might be a bit leaky
or a faulty pump occasionally, but I think investing a little bit of
silicone and a little bit of time, is more then balanced by saving thousands
of dollars. Then again, I hate paying full price for anything, so I'm quite
willing to hunt down bargains.




"Christopher" wrote in message
rthlink.net...
I I have a tank for about 6-7 months now and have spent about 4k on it,
I'm
wondering if this is normal or have I been buying too many toys/expensive
stuff for it that is unnecessary? I have a 125gallon tank with a 20gallon
tank underneath it to raise shrimp in. (both tanks acryllic). Can you
guys
list what types of tanks you have and the stuff you have put on them and
the
aproximate amount of money you have spent on them? I don't think
maintaining the tank will be that expensive, probably on the order of
$200-$300 a year (mostly due to bulb replacement 7x20watt, foods,
expensive
fertilizers). I'm more interested in the 'setup' costs associated with a
tank, I'm not sure if I've been buying this stuff at way more than I
should
be paying. Please reply with your info, I'll post a detailed itemization
later.