Cost per gallon?

[cpeluso]

I was thinking about the (financial) economy of a nano. My 1 gallon reefbowl total cost was $55 (including some mushrooms and star polyps).

I calculate the average cost of setting up and stocking a 55 gallon reef to be approximately $3,000.

Based upon just these two examples (and assuming my 55 gallon estimate is reasonably accurate), would it be reasonable to say that a reef costs about $55 per gallon for start-up?

Chris

 

[brandon4291]

There are so many variables in stocking and equipment it would be hard to pinpoint a cost ratio per gallon, but what you've stated seems pretty darn close to me. There are 55g setups with softies, maybe 20 lbs of LR, standard output flourescents etc that would be considered a bare-bones reef setup and no where near $3K in total cost. But, we have also seen those SPS setups where healthy specimens alone are $100+ apiece, 60-80 lbs of quality Live rock, Halide/PC combo lights, reactors, dosers etc could easily add up to $3K when its all said and done.

Its probably easier to set a range for nanos and picos, there are lots of similarity in equipment and design in tanks smaller than 15-20g's. Id guess a RB costs about ~$50-75 to get started. I currently have at least $250 worth of coral inside my gallon RB---so its neat to see how stocking density can still sway the cost greatly even in the gallon-size setups.

 

[Anonymous]

Like Brandon said, hard to say. My 30 gallon SPS was about 2K all told, and my 6 gallon is about 1K I'm guessing. However, my 12 gallon is only about 250. The cost per gallon varies with the size too. Whether you have a 200 gallon or 5 gallon tank, you still need a refractometer, pH monitor, etc. This means (in general), the larger tanks are cheaper per gallon.