Bare Bones Nano Reef Setup for only $96

[adadhgfsgfgfd]

My very first reef tank was $100 10 gallon setup. I spent the money i had earned for cutting lawns in the neighborhood! It was a petsmart tank with Marineland HoB filter. I used cfl 50/50 bulbs with the lid the tank came with. That $100 was the start to my reefing addiction! 15 years later im still in the hobby! The importance of budget tanks builds is so huge!!

[dusk]

Showcasing tanks like this are important.
The high-end and expensive end is too easily popularized. And so it becomes the dominant conversation.
Lower energy, and thus lower cost system with species like soft coral and LPS are a fantastic alternative to spending an arm and a leg. It's also a price point far more people can engage with.
Good video!

A large swath of Betta tanks introduced hobbyist's to aquariums, myself included. My first tank was a 5 gallon betta tank. Having a saltwater version is not a bad thing. Hardy corals and some inverts on an office desk or a Childs dresser is how you grow the number of hobbyist's.

I also love the "window" mangrove in freshwater. Very nice.

[timothyboles]

These little tanks are fun. And not using high dollar equipment is nice. Would like to see a few variations on this theme

[MichelleGianni]

Your videos still helpful years later, RIP Jake 🙏

[domingo-]

A bit sad watching jake now, he had left us a great legacy of knowledge on his videos, like this one🙏🕊️🙌

[Algaewarrior]

$200 would be cool to see as a budget. Maybe a 20 long, hob, powerhead, and gravity fed ato.

[chaseaaronthomasify]

I think a 40 breeder would be the ultimate budget build and would showcase products alot of us budgets nano guys and gals use

[vassilisbitzionis]

I've got a very similar set up going strong for about a year and a half now. This kind of videos showcasing nano/pico tanks on a budget are important for our community. Keep it up!

[HybridHerps]

I love this idea, however, I do think it is still important to talk about the cost of the livestock, especially these days, because I feel like a lot of people who are newer to the hobby might get excited by seeing a cost of $100, but then not factoring in if you’re buying everything from a store how much the Rock would cost or the corals themselves would cost. I work at a LFS and lately the biggest issue I’m noticing when it comes to selling things is that you have one group of people who is new to the hobby and sees the cost of a single fish or a single coral being relatively high compared to say a freshwater livestock equivalent, or people who remember what prices looked like 3 years ago And don’t understand how so much of what they remember in terms of cost no longer applies.

I think a lot of newcomers as well get turned off by some of the simple cost upfront such as the sand and even the water itself, to either pre-mix it or buy it already made, I think it would be fair to say that this set up in this video would cost more than $100 if someone was buying it who has no other saltwater equipment hanging around because you do have to include the cost of the sand and the rock and the water at the very least.

So while I do like this video and the concept, I do think it’s important for people who are getting into the hobby to also have all those other little things priced out that someone who is more experienced wouldn’t think about the cost of because they either already have it laying around or it’s just an automatic expectation to have to pay those prices for those things.

[jordanyang]

My first reef tank was a 20 long with a HOB filter. Loved that thing so much.

[josemiguelmarcen]

Hello from Spain. Great project. Very similar to my low budget softies school project for my students. I added four mangrooves to illustrate how matter and energy flow in an ecosystem. Video about 200$ budget tank would be great too. Thank you so much for your videos.

[relicturtle]

I missed this one and it popped up today in my feed 😢 I miss you Jake! ❤

[divermiko]

Thanks for this guide. Gonna start one this week.

[icymcspicy]

I'd love to see a 200 dollar budget version of this kind of tank. A welcome change of ideas seeing this budget style content.

[MikeBola-wh]

This is a great way to see if this is the hobby for a beginner.
I would like to see someone cover reef plant species/corals for beginners too.

[jwiki]

I just found this channel and I’m intrigued. Love salt water tanks but they intimidated me when I was younger and creating freshwater aquariums. Now I want to research more on salt water tanks. So glad I found this channel!! 🤙🏼

[lifeisgood]

Hope Jakes family is doing well. Still loving his videos he made. 🙏

[matthewrappold]

How about stocking options and maintenance

[Srussell]

I have been waiting for the start of this series. I really like the look of the classic 20 long. I think keeping it under $200 would very doable and helpful to people wanting to get into hobby.

[blakefl]

Great idea. I've been looking at the Aqueon 10g rimless tanks for my first reef tank since they are only $20. Even with filter, a lot cheaper than a Waterbox or Innovation Marine AIO.