You also have to think long term. Most people cur corners in the beginning to save money only spend more down the road replacing the cheap **** they bought to begin with. Pay the money and get a good skimmer and top end lighting system. Evidence is in all the threads on here that you see...What Skimmer for my tank? But I olnly want to spend $150. OK, then in a year maybe 2 you'll spend another $150+ replacing it. Same thing with lighting..I'm looking at changing my Nova fixture for an ATI...well just buy the ATI in the beginning. With 3 children under the age of 2 I firmly understand what you're trying to do. But if you go cheap, expect cheap
Budget SPS without buyers remorse??
- Thread starter Mark75
- Start date
sweet ride
New member
At the end of the day to your point SPS and cheap is an oxymoron, but I too have setup my current tank with these principles, and am happy to say that my SPS dominated tank is now over a year old and it's thriving and not just surviving. As you're well aware, there are a lot of "œmoving parts" to make this work especially for an SPS dominated tank. Just remember, out of all those lighting, flow, and filtration will make or break it for you. It doesn't mean that you need to break the bank it will just take time, wait for "œgood deals". In my case I went with 2 250MH used, ER RS180 Skimmer used, and PS4 return pump new, Koralia Evolution ph new all this for just over $1000.
When I did it, here's what I did:
--58G Lit with one 250W MH Pendant (w/PC Actinics)
--Bought the aquarium and sump used
--Reef Devil skimmer
--Kalkwasser and a hospital pump for calcium and topoff.
I grew some very nice acros in that system! Not optimum but inexpensive. For maximum groth, use a 6500K Iwasaki bulb, maxes out your PAR.
--58G Lit with one 250W MH Pendant (w/PC Actinics)
--Bought the aquarium and sump used
--Reef Devil skimmer
--Kalkwasser and a hospital pump for calcium and topoff.
I grew some very nice acros in that system! Not optimum but inexpensive. For maximum groth, use a 6500K Iwasaki bulb, maxes out your PAR.
Ok... this may be a newbie question but there's something I don't get here.
Given the same T5 bulbs in 2 different fixtures and each of the fixtures is designed to power that size bulb, how could there be a difference in light produced from an expensive fixture and a less expensive fixture? I understand differences in workmanship and features but how is the light that comes out of a properly powered bulb different from fixture to fixture?
Given the same T5 bulbs in 2 different fixtures and each of the fixtures is designed to power that size bulb, how could there be a difference in light produced from an expensive fixture and a less expensive fixture? I understand differences in workmanship and features but how is the light that comes out of a properly powered bulb different from fixture to fixture?
phenom5
Member
Differences in the ballasts used, the reflectors used, and the way the unit is cooled all play a part in the amount of light (or more specifically, the PAR) produced.
eums
New member
I set up a 36x24x24 a few months back but did not exactly go the budget route.
This was my 3rd tank being setup and from making every mistake I decided to get exactly what I wanted and hold off until I could.
It will hold true for any tank, while you may want to set things up now and get rolling you will often find yourself upgrading down the line and spending even more money.
For the equipment put together a full list of everything, don't forget the little things like ATO, dosing, test kits, plumbing parts, etc. Once you have a list look at the total and make compromises or save.
If you are looking to keep things budget keep heat in mind, run with out a chiller and spend the $ from the chiller on something like a CA reactor, doser, or controller. I would go with T5 over MH if shimmer is not that important due to heat and the ability to tune the color.
Livestock wise, wait until some one has a nice 10-20 frag pack up for sale, I ended up getting nice frags locally in a pack @ $8 each with some freebies thrown in (no caps or digi's !!). included things like prostrata, lorpies, tenuis, subulata, valida, parilis, and some ORA like hawkins and some other stuff i am not sure what it is but looks nice.
Another way is to spread out the cost, setup the tank with lights, skimmer, heater, and rodi then let it cycle for 6 months while you get ready to buy the rest of the items you may need. This way when you start adding SPS you will have a stable solid semi mature tank.
Here is a link to my build if you are looking for a few ideas, Ive added a bubble magus doser and tunze ato as of the last update however.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1893432
This was my 3rd tank being setup and from making every mistake I decided to get exactly what I wanted and hold off until I could.
It will hold true for any tank, while you may want to set things up now and get rolling you will often find yourself upgrading down the line and spending even more money.
For the equipment put together a full list of everything, don't forget the little things like ATO, dosing, test kits, plumbing parts, etc. Once you have a list look at the total and make compromises or save.
If you are looking to keep things budget keep heat in mind, run with out a chiller and spend the $ from the chiller on something like a CA reactor, doser, or controller. I would go with T5 over MH if shimmer is not that important due to heat and the ability to tune the color.
Livestock wise, wait until some one has a nice 10-20 frag pack up for sale, I ended up getting nice frags locally in a pack @ $8 each with some freebies thrown in (no caps or digi's !!). included things like prostrata, lorpies, tenuis, subulata, valida, parilis, and some ORA like hawkins and some other stuff i am not sure what it is but looks nice.
Another way is to spread out the cost, setup the tank with lights, skimmer, heater, and rodi then let it cycle for 6 months while you get ready to buy the rest of the items you may need. This way when you start adding SPS you will have a stable solid semi mature tank.
Here is a link to my build if you are looking for a few ideas, Ive added a bubble magus doser and tunze ato as of the last update however.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1893432
