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I was wondering about the setup cost for a standard 20g marine tank.

how long is a piece of string? It all comes down to what you're trying to achieve and how deep you're willing to dive into the world of marine tanks.

Mine's a 43-gallon main tank, paired with a nearly 25-gallon sump, and I've already sunk nearly £2000 into it - and that's not even counting the cost of my 12g nano.

I'd say the cost of setting up an average marine tank is all over the place. It really depends on your goals and the type of setup you want. I've got a 43-gallon main tank and a nearly 25-gallon sump, and I've spent nearly £2000 so far. That's not even counting my 12-gallon nano.

yeah thought about it and edited

floral9 wrote: ↑Tue Jun 17, 2025 8:38 pm how long is a piece of string? It all comes down to what you're trying to achieve and how deep you're willing to dive into the world of marine tanks.

Mine's a 43-gallon main tank, paired with a nearly 25-gallon sump, and I've already sunk nearly £2000 into it - and that's not even counting the cost of my 12g nano.

Cheers for the edit floral9, your response is a bit more helpful now.

So what's the plan, then? Got a vision of what you want in this tank? What's your budget looking like?

really does depend on your vision and budget... mine's a 20 gallon, but it's loaded with high-end kit like tunze skimmers and tunze ATO, plus a 150 watt MH light - guess you could say i'm a sucker for the expensive stuff.

It's definitely possible to save some money when setting up a marine tank. Consider buying second-hand equipment, a smaller amount of live rock, and a counter-current skimmer - these have always worked well for me. I managed to get my 175-watt halide, complete with ballast and a slightly used bulb, for under $60. My new skimmer cost around $30, plus another $20 for the air pump. The sand was $30, and I paid a total of $80 for the powerheads. I actually took the rock from my old 55-gallon tank when I broke it down, so that didn't cost me anything - but I'd estimate it would've been around $400 if I'd bought it new.

As for livestock, I got a lot of my corals for free as small frags. I've spent around $150 on the rest of my livestock. So, it really does depend on your choices and a bit of luck can go a long way.

I'm actually running a 20g freshwater tank at the moment but I have to admit, I've always been drawn to saltwater. Thinking of making the switch for my next project but the thing is, I'm a complete newbie to marine. I'm guessing it's gonna be a steep learning curve. Was hoping to get an idea of the costs involved in converting my 20g to saltwater.

Look, it really does depend on what you want to achieve. There are heaps of variables to consider. I'd say, do your research - read through this forum, other forums, websites, stickies, books, and even LRC. Get a feel for what's involved, then come back to us when you've got a better idea of what you're after.