To cheap out...or not cheap out. Opinions Please!

I wouldnt cheap out.

For awhile I would eliminate what you need the least & set it up & add as you can.

You probably wont need a Calk reactor right away, until your corals get some good mass & really starts sucking the stuff up.

I wouldnt go with t-5's, even though they do make a 60 inch bulb now.

 

Buy quality, not just quantity. If you need to run a FO tank for a while, so be it. It will allow you tank to cycle and you can add in the rock and life as you see fit. Also, if you are thinking about creating a rock wall structure, this will allow you time to develop/cure and cycle it in the tank while you are raising lighting funds. If you have waited a few years to get to this point, what is an other year to do things right. To bad it wasn't 48' wide and 24 deep.

 

Better save for a nice scuba set up in case you want to reach the bottom.

 

Get the best you can afford now. You don't need all the bells and whistles right away, but I'd go with decent lights and a decent skimmer right off the bat if you can . The other stuff like circulation pumps/powerheads, calc reactors etc you can make do with cheaper options until you can afford better. You can find the best deals with used equipment or a group buy, but I suppose you already knew that /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif Good luck!

 

Ditto to all. You've waited this long...do it right!

--AJ

 

I've gone the cheap way with my 125 for a year now. Started with a 72 in. PC light. A bucket to do my Kalk. A pump to circulate the water and a small pump to add water every night, all on a timer. Now I have a 48in. 8 bulb T5's. 1 foot on each side of the tank is not covered, but I have dark loving coral on the side and SPS in the middle close to the top. There are pics of my tank on diff. threads in here. If I can get it done I want to add a video of my tank.

 

Get what you want or you won't be happy. It's like wanting a Harley Davidson for 10 years and then buying a Honda. Trust me, I've set-up many, many tanks in my life and have a basement BOX-O-CRAP of different aquarium equipment to show for it. I always thought I would save a dime but it ended up costing more in the long run. Just buy quality equipment slowly. Get your tank up and running and start with small frags and you won't need a calcium reactor for 6 months. Get a new Lumateck switchable ballast so you can run any wattage bulbs you want in SE or DE. That way you never have to buy another ballast in a year. Just my 2 cents. You want to buy a slightly used Skilter?

 

Well if you wanted a 210 i will trade my 210 for yours even up lol! Seriously though i agree with what the others as far as equipment goes.

 

Okay I'm confused... Is the tank 48" tall?? Wow I guess it is. Yeah t5 would def be a no go since you can't pack enough bulbs into that footprint to make enough light for the bottom. I would say your're going to have to go MH.