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Calculators/First-year cost

Aquarium first-year cost planner

Enter your own purchase amounts and supplies. Initial equipment, recurring costs and electricity stay separate.

One-time purchases

A blank amount is unpriced. Enter 0 only when no purchase is needed. These fields contain your amounts, not retailer prices.

A recurring supply

Use a replacement pack, reagent, conditioner or other recurring item. Follow its actual use or manual, not a universal replacement schedule.

Estimate annual electricity →

Start with the equipment jobs.

A box that contains a filter may not contain every accessory needed to run it. Air-driven sponge filters need an appropriate air source and tubing. External filters need space for hoses and maintenance access. Lights may need a suitable mounting arrangement.

Build your list from a tank equipment checklist, then enter the cost of the exact items you choose. Supplies consumed by water changes or tests belong in the recurring section. Reusable filter media should not inherit a disposable-cartridge schedule.

Costs alone cannot decide which equipment fits. Check the catalog's installation constraints before treating a cheaper set of components as interchangeable.