4 replies to this topic

[Joshaeus]

Hi everyone! It occurred to me today while thinking about my new bandit cichlids (which will ultimately require a 29 gallon tank and a relatively large amount of food) that I have been a bit crazy with fish tank maintenance spending lately. While I am currently living at my mother's and thus can afford a decent number of fish tanks, but if I ever move out on my own I will not be spending more than $40 a month on pet maintenance (and $30 of that is for my rabbit, Vulcan...he's FAR too loveable to give him up! ) That leaves me with about $10 a month for other pets, which means my tanks need to be CHEAP. Here's the costs of a particularly cheap tank I came up with...a 2.5 gallon in a windowsill, with a bare root houseplant growing out of it (perhaps with java moss and java fern in the tank, though I am not sure they would survive...my window is North facing) for filtration and 1 gallon water changes;

- Marine salt (to harden water); .36 a month (I would do 1 gallon WC's a week)
- Flakes (1/4th teaspoon a day); .87 a month
- Dechlorinator; .1 a month (using seachem prime)
- Total; $1.33 a month, or $16 a year

If I did not keep it in a window, I would need to add a light;
- 8 watt light; .14 a month
Total; $1.47 a month

If I wanted to add live food, I could use baby brine shrimp, leading to these expenses;
- 1/8th teaspoon BBS daily; $1.09
- 25 watt heater; .44
- 2.5 watt air pump; .13
- Marine salt (1/2 cup a week); .98
TOTAL with all of the above; $4.11 a month

Is there anything I could keep in such a small, barebones tank, though? I have a few ideas so far;
- Shrimp
- Snails
- Pygmy sunfish (would need live food)
- Least killifish
- Pygmy killifish (need live food AND a lid...that would make the houseplant difficult, but I could use a sponge filter instead)

For comparison, here's a list of low tech 10 gallon planted tank costs;

- Light (16 watt); .28 a month
- 4 watt air pump; .21 a month
- Salt; 1.44 a month
- Dechlorinator; .4 a month
- Flakes (1/2 teaspoon daily); 1.74 a month
- 50 watt heater?; .88
- Ferts; about 3.13
- Excel; about .92
- Frozen food; about $4
TOTAL; about $13

AND the bandit cichlid's ultimate tank;
- 48 watt lights; .74
- 16 watt filters; .84 a month
- Salt; 4.32
- Dechlorinator; 1.2
- 150 watt heater; 2.64
- Frozen food (these fish get to 6 inches and do not eat pellets, so they will likely need a cube daily EACH); about $16 a month
- Total; 25.74 (suffice to say if I ever move out these guys will likely need to be rehomed)

Thanks for looking, and for your thoughts

[gerald]

You dont need marine salt for hardness; it's mostly SALT (NaCl) with just a little Ca and Mg.  Use RO Right, or Rift Lake salt to add hardness without all that unnecessary NaCl, if you're not keeping brackish species.  I think Bandit Acara is a soft-water fish anyway, isn't it?  Ferts and Excel are unnecessary too if you keep low-light plants.   

 

Re: jumpy fish and emergent plants, you could cut some holes in a plastic lid just the right size for plant pots, so the pots fill the hole.

[NotCousteau]

In general, Id say a low cost tank is best accomplished with a larger tank (20 long) for higher volume and therefore water stability, low light plants, and a few small fish.

I wouldnt put a tank in a window. Some do fine across from a window where natural light can help the low light plants.

Good luck.

[Fleendar the Magnificent]

Putting a tank in a window isn't advised. Sunlight like this will cause algal explosions in your tank.

[Michael Wolfe]

Let's see, I have a 100 gallon stock tank in the back yard.

 

- light: sunlight is free

- air pump: none, water naturally stratifies

- Salt: none
- Dechlorinator: a capful of prime twice a year for top offs (0.13 each time)
- Flakes: none, bugs are free
- 50 watt heater: NEVER
- Ferts; none
- Excel; none
- Frozen food; none

- Time spent thinning the water Lily and giving it away to friends: free & relaxing

 

Total running expense 0.26 per year

 

Watching Cyprinella dance and spawn: priceles

 

Note, also works for Enneacanthus, but you dont get to watch them dance, just watch the fry stalk around the pond looking for bugs (and I occationally feed them spare flake for my entertainment, not really cause the need it.