The support is an important part of it all! So - budget *IS* important.
But - the question I always ask when this topic comes up in our house is: Which is more important to you dear, that I spend less now - only to have to spend more to fix the fact that I did not spend enough intitially??? OR the other way around???
Really, I find much more pleasant ways to do it than that - but my point is, we often try to save money - that costs us more in the long run. One of the ways we "self sabotage" in this hobby.
And, I don't believe that we can throw money and gadgets at the tank, and be sucessful. But, I read alot about young hobbyists that try to take a minimalist approach, without the long term experience needed to be able to manage a biotope such as a reef tank with that approach.
Example: inadequate flow in the tank yields accumulations of detrital organic materials. Those are wonderful fuel for algaes. The fight to get rid of the algae, plus the embarrassment, frustration, cost of extra chemicals, water changes and - now powerheads to add the flow needed....well- it would have been cheaper ( both financially, and on the spaousal relationship:lol

to perhaps build a better case for the need to spend a bit more in the beginning.
In short - the "ounce of prevention being better than the pound of cure" addage....
The bottom of your tank is not tempered. I would call Marineland/Perfecto - or look on their website to be absolutell certain - but I know mine is not tempered.
I have 18 holes in this tank, 10 of them in the bottom - hence the moniker "Holy Reefer" was given to it by Keith Morkel at Perfecto.
Just a thought about flow thru the sump - (if you are not going to run a refugium), why slow flow thru the sump? I ask because - if you do not have room for 2 pumps, and a separate closed loop circuit, it is quite feasible to have good flow from your sump return pump, thru several returns to teh tank via OM-4, or other methods...?
Something that happens which we do not often think ahead enough about - is that the corals we keep putting in the tank break up the flow. And as they grow, this only increases the further diffusion of flow in the tank.
And..shouldn't I be posting on your thread too?:wave: