Hello! I am new to the forum but I might as well introduce myself and tell my story.
Back when I was in college (about 12 years ago) I started a reef tank. Because I was basically broke, I had to choose budget options when purchasing equipment for my tank. I eventually ended up with a 40 gallon breeder with a 10 gallon DIY sump/refugium, a penguin HOB filter, and a seaclone HOB protein skimmer. I inherited a bunch of used supplies which helped me out alot: a heater, and overflow, and a return pump. After working countless hours of overtime, I was able to purchase about 40 pounds of Walt Smith premium Fiji rock and after it cycled I had a couple xenias and other soft corals. I loved my reef; however, I did not feel that it was operating at its full potential. After consulting with fish pro's on another web forum, I was able to determine that my tank was struggling because I was not able to afford proper lighting and I simply needed a better protein skimmer. After graduating, I was forced to sell my entire set up to my neighbor which devastated me. I remember telling myself,"One day, when I make some money, I will build myself an awesome reef tank." 12 years later that day has come!
I was working a late shift with my buddy who has a 35 gallon tank and we got to talking about my old reef tank. I remembered how challenging and intricate the hobby is. So just for kicks, I ended up looking at tank equipment on Amazon. I began adding items to my cart to see the total cost for a moderate reef build. It was alot more than I expected. I thought it over for a week and mixed/matched equipment on various websites until I got the price down to what I thought I could afford. I deliberated over it for a few more days and I finally decided to pull the trigger. I chose the following equipment based on my budget and spacial considerations:
-55 Gallon glass tank 55$
-Eshopps R200 sump/refugium 260$
-Bubble Magus Curve 5 protein skimmer 220$
-Kessil AW360E- tuna blue X 2
-Jebao PP4 wavemaker 60$
-Rio + 780 GPH return pump 60$
-Reef Octopus Media Reactor 100$
-250 watt Aqueon heater 30$
-cheap home depot 5k bulb with clamp on ballast 15$
I also bought a 6 stage RO/DI filter which I really wanted back in the day but I could not afford (no more fish store water!). Luckily I kept my Brute trash can that I used for storing emergency water.
I will try to post some photos when I can figure out how to do it on the site.
Thanks for reading this!
Back when I was in college (about 12 years ago) I started a reef tank. Because I was basically broke, I had to choose budget options when purchasing equipment for my tank. I eventually ended up with a 40 gallon breeder with a 10 gallon DIY sump/refugium, a penguin HOB filter, and a seaclone HOB protein skimmer. I inherited a bunch of used supplies which helped me out alot: a heater, and overflow, and a return pump. After working countless hours of overtime, I was able to purchase about 40 pounds of Walt Smith premium Fiji rock and after it cycled I had a couple xenias and other soft corals. I loved my reef; however, I did not feel that it was operating at its full potential. After consulting with fish pro's on another web forum, I was able to determine that my tank was struggling because I was not able to afford proper lighting and I simply needed a better protein skimmer. After graduating, I was forced to sell my entire set up to my neighbor which devastated me. I remember telling myself,"One day, when I make some money, I will build myself an awesome reef tank." 12 years later that day has come!
I was working a late shift with my buddy who has a 35 gallon tank and we got to talking about my old reef tank. I remembered how challenging and intricate the hobby is. So just for kicks, I ended up looking at tank equipment on Amazon. I began adding items to my cart to see the total cost for a moderate reef build. It was alot more than I expected. I thought it over for a week and mixed/matched equipment on various websites until I got the price down to what I thought I could afford. I deliberated over it for a few more days and I finally decided to pull the trigger. I chose the following equipment based on my budget and spacial considerations:
-55 Gallon glass tank 55$
-Eshopps R200 sump/refugium 260$
-Bubble Magus Curve 5 protein skimmer 220$
-Kessil AW360E- tuna blue X 2
-Jebao PP4 wavemaker 60$
-Rio + 780 GPH return pump 60$
-Reef Octopus Media Reactor 100$
-250 watt Aqueon heater 30$
-cheap home depot 5k bulb with clamp on ballast 15$
I also bought a 6 stage RO/DI filter which I really wanted back in the day but I could not afford (no more fish store water!). Luckily I kept my Brute trash can that I used for storing emergency water.
I will try to post some photos when I can figure out how to do it on the site.
Thanks for reading this!
