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

OK, so I am planning out a 200 gallon tank.  I've been saving up for years, and have the Wife's permission to use the tax refund check to make it all happen. MY original plan was softies and zoas, but then I got a steal of a deal on a tank.
A 300 gallon tank....(from the guy that sold it to me...)
The tank is a 60x24x48 built with 1.25" acrylic and has a center column overflow. It has a 30" tall stand and 14"
tall canopy. The setup originally sold for around $8500.00. I would be willing to let it go for $3500.00 shipped to you.
It's new.  The place that ordered it changed its mind and wanted a different one.
Deposit is on it, I'll post pics when its in it's new home.
I mean, how do you say no to that?
But it tossed my budget into madness.  Most of my cost estimates were based on a 200ish gallon tank, fairly shallow and only softies.
But the dimensions of that tank just don't work for that.  t-5 isn't going to do much at 48" unless all I want is mushrooms.  Metal Halide/t5/led it is.
Well, I've got metal halide now, and already had planned on a calk reactor.  It is no real big leap anymore to just make it a fully mixed tank, so that is the new plan.
But....that means my budget stayed the same...and my equipment needs did not.  I've been planning this sucker one heck of a long time, and I have a choice to make.
I've researched exactly what gear and what brands I want to use.  When added up for the new tank plan, it goes over budget.  By a couple grand or so.
So....do I drop the brand quality down, just put t-5's over it until I can afford better (and stock appropriately), skip the calk reactor...etc...or....
Suck it up, order what I want exactly, and wait a few more months to get the rest of the bits?  If I go this way I'll be re-buying a fair amount of stuff, so it would take much longer to get it to where I want to be.  But there would also be a monster tank with no water in it for months.  There is a risk I could take up smoking again.

 

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.

 

I'm 6'6" and there will be an 8" DSB /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif.

 

Oh yeah, and I *have* a nice scuba suit....tanks are in the garage. /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif.

 

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.