Small Aquarium startup costs

F

FWC

Well-Known Member
So this is something I've pondered for a while. We all know that the large aquariums of today cost millions of dollars to construct, but I've been able to find little in the way of cost estimates for smaller facilities (I can't think of many good examples off the top of my head, however the Idaho aquarium, Gulfworld, and the numerous SEA-LIFE facilities come to mind)

Does anyone know or have a rough estimate of the costs associated with such facilities ? (such as start up costs, yearly upkeep costs, etc...)
 
Startup cost for a small aquarium?
Bowl of tap water and a goldfish - about a buck. (Maybe more if you do not already own a bowl). :D

Sorry, not trying to ridicule your post, I just could not resist the joke. Now perhaps someone will respond with a real answer.
 
Quite often dollar values can be found floating around on the internet, and Melbourne Aquarium (which opened in 2000) recently underwent a 5-month renovation and that facility is now a Sea Life establishment. The total cost for the overhaul was $8 million. Kansas City Sea Life just opened less than 2 years ago and it cost $15 million and I'm not sure if the building that it is in was already there or not.
 
There is the cost of the site to consider. And whether a new building has to be built or an old warehouse is being refurbished.
Then there are the costs to convert it into an aquarium.

Cleveland's cost US$13million
Charlotte's SEA LIFE Charlotte-Concord Aquarium is priced at US$10million
 
I visited a small aquarium in Falmouth recently which is a great example. It had about 10 small to medium size tanks with different tropical fish and coral, 4 tanks of native species and a research room for the local college. Definitely not pet shop species and definitely not a pet shop set up. It's in a small high street renovated shop. It's staffed by 2 part time workers and a few free volunteers (tip!) I know tropical fish food is expensive and after watching a few episodes of Tanked (guilty pleasure) the tanks are very expensive. Not a cheap hobby...
 
I've been with The Living Planet Aquarium in Utah through 3 incarnations. The first was in an outdoor mall in a space that was probably around 20K square feet. It cost under a million to open. The second aquarium was in an converted art store - 40K square feet. It cost around a million to run a year and had nearly 500K visitors a year. The new aquarium is 136K SF.
You can build an aquarium at any size and for nearly any budget. All it takes is creativity and perseverance.
 
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