Cost of building larger tanks

[Kryptic4L]

Hello,

I am currently considering building a much larger tank once I move in april. Is there a rough size that cost will go up substaintially. As I noticed when I was building my 40 Most components were not far off the cost of building a 90 or 120.

[frizzo1983]

In my opinion the larger you go the more expensive for sure, waterchanges take more salt, more supplements more to fill the tank more for powerheads more for lighting honestly just more more more heheheh you should have a budget and stick to it. not like me


Scott

[Lampshade]

Setup gets shocking. My tanks not super big, I planned out my 135 in what i thought was every way possible, But all the little things end up costing more than your fancy new skimmers, pumps, etc. Plumbing, Salt, Reactor media, and stuff adds up quick. I built my own stand and even there was nearly $40 worth of screws. Prices can be cut down by finding decent suppliers, like goingto a plumbing store instead of HD. Make sure to plan out every little detail when setting it up, think of the weird things.

[michika]

Depends how much bigger you're going. I'm expecting a change of about $200-$300/month once I upgrade from my 180g to 450g. That accounts for the extra water, utilities, supplies, and insurance.

You can also cut down some of the extra costs by buying used equipment, and picking more enegy efficient models, and being conscientous of how long your equipment is running; e.g lights on for 12 hours a day or 8.

[sphelps]

I think in general cost setup cost is more related to tank length than volume, for example a 55gal wouldn't cost much less than a 4' 120gal to setup other than the tank itself. However if you go with a 6' 120gal the cost will be higher due to the extra lighting, flow, and stand requirements. Realistically though your overall cost is more dependent on what you keep and the type of equipment you choose to go with, for example I've setup smaller, almost nano, tanks that cost more than some six foot tanks.