Cheap nanocube?

[Juck]

Not!

I've just set up a Nanocube for a neighbor who is getting back into the hobby. Here's what he had to shell out:

1 x Nano Cube Tank $105 + $23 Shipping = $128
1 x Bag of Aragonite Sand from LFS = $22
15lbs Figi LR from LFS = $75
1 Bag IO Salt = $15
8 Astrea Snails & 8 Hermit Crabs from LFS = $15
1 Hydrometer = $15
Various supplements = $40
Test kits (all of 'em) = $110
Spare Bulb = $25 inc shipping
Fish Food = $20
Various polyps/soft coals from LFS = $150
Firefish and Juvenile Oscellaris = $25
Replacement Powerhead = $25
2 fans & AC Adaptor = $30
50gpd 3 stage RO/DI unit = $65 inc shipping
TDS Meter = $15
5 Gal mixing bucket & plastic putty knife for cleaning glass = $7
Timer for lights = $9

Total $791

I know this guy is starting from scratch,, but yikes.

 

[Anonymous]

Yea, I guess it's a bit more since he is starting from scratch. The test kits were spendy, what brand?

Also what RO unit is that? Got a link? I'm in the market for a new one. Does it work well with residential water pressure (often times is lower than the min. water pressure required to run an RO filter).

Still, I guess spendy is a relative term. I think he would have had to buy an additional filter if it was like, a 10g AGA tank.

 

[Juck]

The test kits were seachem and Salifert for NO2,NO3, Ammonia, PH, Calcium, Alk and Phosphate.

He got the RO-DI unit off Ebay,, some company in Canada,,, I think these are the guys:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... gory=46310

 

[Anonymous]

LMAO, damn ironic. I was hoping for an effective but cheaper RO filter than the one I have - should the RO membrane really be $100 to replace?

Funny thing is, I have the same model a step or two down. 35GPD. lol

 

[Juck]

OMG no,, membranes for my 75gpd run about $40.

 

[Anonymous]

Only one LFS in my area carries the membrane and they are the one I dislike the most. Poor service, poor livestock, price gouging ... ffs!

 

[Meloco14]

wow that is a lot, I guess when starting from scratch a nano doesnt save you much cash. Lucky for me though I already have all the test kits, food, supplements, calcium, buffers, salt, hydro, etc for my 40 gallon. I got the cube for $99 + tax, bought a worklight for $20 and retro-ed it into the hood, bought a via aqua powerhead on sale for $6.50, heater $16, I have left over dead sand from an older tank. So the tank is pretty much set for $150, the rest I will just spend on LR, a little LS to seed, and other livestock. Good thing it wasn't too much more, or I couldn't afford it!
Oh I also got lucky and found light timers on sale at sears for $1.40!!!! And they were heavy duty grounded ones too. Unfortunately they only had 2 left, but that's all i need for this tank. And I get RO water for 25 cents a gallon, haven't gone for the RO unit yet.

 

[Anonymous]

yep, it was cheap as hell for me because all i had to buy was the cube and the livestock. i even took substrate from my existing tank. tho, i regret doing that now. i wish i would have gotten that fine sand. it's much cooler i think.

 

[SaltyMist]

Not!

I've just set up a Nanocube for a neighbor who is getting back into the hobby. Here's what he had to shell out:

1 x Nano Cube Tank $105 + $23 Shipping = $128
1 x Bag of Aragonite Sand from LFS = $22
15lbs Figi LR from LFS = $75
1 Bag IO Salt = $15
8 Astrea Snails & 8 Hermit Crabs from LFS = $15
1 Hydrometer = $15
Various supplements = $40
Test kits (all of 'em) = $110
Spare Bulb = $25 inc shipping
Fish Food = $20
Various polyps/soft coals from LFS = $150
Firefish and Juvenile Oscellaris = $25
Replacement Powerhead = $25
2 fans & AC Adaptor = $30
50gpd 3 stage RO/DI unit = $65 inc shipping
TDS Meter = $15
5 Gal mixing bucket & plastic putty knife for cleaning glass = $7
Timer for lights = $9

Total $791

I know this guy is starting from scratch,, but yikes.

Well.... Lets see what this guy has that doesnt need to be there in the beginning.
Replacement powerhead $25.00 (why, was it dead to begin with?)
Fish, Coral, snails livestock etc $190
Extra light $25.00
Timer for lights $9.00
Overpayment on tank by $39.00 (Ive bought two locally for $89.00 each)
TDS meter: (Dont know what it is, so I'll just leave it in there as a necessity)
RO/DI unit $65.00 (I dont use one, but maybe I've been misinformed about them, in that for every gallon of usable water, they dispose of 3 or 4 gallons of water, so to keep my water bill down, I use store bought real ocean water at $0.55 a gallon, so thats about $4.40 a month for water changes, and about $2.00 more for buying top up water.

Total savings: $319.00 bringing down his initial purchase price to about: $472.00

My initial outlay on one of my cubes was as follows:
Tank $89.00
10 gallons of saltwater: $5.50 (already had the containers though)
Heater: $28.00
Extra powerhead (was not absolutely necessary) $15.00
Live sand: $14.00
15lbs of Fuji Liverock: $74.85
Marine test kit: $24.00

Total initial outlay: $250.35 (but that was with no fish, corals, polyps etc)

For $791.00 I could have setup a really nice 55 gallon tank, give or take $100.00

 

[Juck]

>>Well.... Lets see what this guy has
>>that doesnt need to be there in the beginning.

He needs everything,, or I wouldn't have bought it for him.

The stock powerhead sucks
He doesn't care about his water bill and has no time to be lugging water from a store.
He wanted corals & fish (why wait?),
None of the LFS's round here carry Nanocubes so he didn't overpay on tank, it had to be shipped.
He needed a timer for the lights
He wanted a spare bulb

So,,, $791 for a complete Nanocube setup,,, which is exactly what he wanted. No point doing it cheap,,, this guy has more money than god and I don't want him popping next door every 10 minutes bothering me for stuff.

 

[Anonymous]

sounds kinda high for a nano..yet i hear this hobby isnt as expensive as you hear...judging by the amount of money you just spent for 12 gallons, kinda expensive...he wanted a spare bulb constitutes a waste of money, however its his money and he wanted it...and as for fish and corals with out cycling the tank may prove costly when these things start dying...Its not about doing it cheap, its doing it smart...but like you said its his money and it sounds like he has plenty of it....

 

[Juck]

>>he wanted a spare bulb constitutes a waste of money

It's called common sense. If the stock bulb goes he won't have to wait a week for a new bulb to be shipped,, it's not like you can just pop into Walmart for a 24w 50/50 PC bulb.

>>as for fish and corals with out cycling the
>>tank may prove costly when these things start dying

Huh?,,, who said the tank wasn't cycled when the livestock went in?

 

[Anonymous]

Just assumed since you said its not cycled since you did say he was starting from scratch...and you never did say the tank was cycled...its about being cost effective also, not cheap....im not baggin on you or his decision, that was just my opinion...but buying a spare bulb isnt necessarily "new" startup cost either..if thats the case you might as well buy two of everything....

 

[nanocat]

That's only the beginning. I'm sure I have well over that in my nano cube

 

[shalegac]

1 x Nano Cube Tank $105 + $23 Shipping = $128
1 x Bag of Aragonite Sand from LFS = $22
15lbs Figi LR from LFS = $75
1 Bag IO Salt = $15
8 Astrea Snails & 8 Hermit Crabs from LFS = $15
1 Hydrometer = $15
Various supplements = $40
Test kits (all of 'em) = $110
Spare Bulb = $25 inc shipping
Fish Food = $20
Various polyps/soft coals from LFS = $150
Firefish and Juvenile Oscellaris = $25
Replacement Powerhead = $25
2 fans & AC Adaptor = $30
50gpd 3 stage RO/DI unit = $65 inc shipping
TDS Meter = $15
5 Gal mixing bucket & plastic putty knife for cleaning glass = $7
Timer for lights = $9

Total $791

Having a piece of the ocean in your house, Priceless

 

[Anonymous]

Nice MasterCard reply...

 

[Anonymous]

6 gallon nano...
Tank: free
Sump: free
Live rock: free
Live sand: free
Water/ Salt: free
Electricity: free
Temperature control: free
Lighting: $189
Dosing pump: $320
Pumps: $40
Plumbing: $20
Wavemaker: $55
Yasha Goby and Firefish: $60 + $10
Pistol shrimp: $15
Corals/Clams: ?? Probably around $300 or so...

I might puke if I add it all up...someone else do it for me.

 

[Anonymous]

Yasha goby was 10 right.. :wink: you have some hookups dont ya..all that free...$1009 for your set up not including what it would cost for your LR sump tank etc....but is a dosing pump part of the start up costs...?

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

The funny part is that people think nanos are a cheaper way to go. About the only place you save money is the live sand and live rock, and that's just because you don't use as much.

I just purchased a used 12g flatback hex on ebay for $60. I had to get new lights because there was only a total of 24w of compact fluorescents in it. I purchased a CSL 96W powerquad setup for $120, which fit just right in the hood. I also purchased a bag of live sand for $30 and an eheim 200g micro pump for another $30.

That's $240 and I don't even have any livestock yet! I guess I got off cheap compared to the $800 Juck's guy spent.

Hopefully the guy won't come nockin' on your door every ten minutes Juck, but chances are he will if he has never had a nano before.

Good luck,

Scott.

 

[SaltyMist]

To me half the fun of owning a tank is building it, and watching it evolve. If I had wanted a nano tank already built, and stocked I would have gone to one of the fish stores in Santa Monica, Calif, and just bought a prebuilt, prestocked tank.

But I dont find much fun in that. I'd rather build it, stock it and watch it from scratch and see it evolve. Im not much of a DIY kind of person, and most of my DIY projects look like DIY projects, but I dont mind spending a little money to paste together items to make it a DIY tank. I just would rather not build my own hood, but rather buy a hood then stock it with lighting that is pleasing to my eyes etc. etc. etc.

Now if I had as much money as I assume this guy has, then I wouldnt even bother with a nano tank (assuming I have the space in my home) and just gone with something like a 200 or 500 gallon tank, and had someone build it, stock it AND maintain it for me. While I could afford to go this route, I'd rather not because for me there just no fun in that.