About to buy my equipment.. please help

eggy5404

eggy5404

Member
Hello,
I think i'm ready to start purchasing my equipment.. My goal is to buy the equipment first. Work on the dsb and lr and let that run for atleast 3-4 months before I start getting any fish. The reason why i'm waiting so long is b/c i'll be taking a lot of trips in the summer and don't want to leave the tank unattended.
My delimma is a lot of people advised me to buy used set ups. I don't have a problem with this, however for my location (Long Island NY) it seems like everyone wants a lot of $$$ for their setup. I was interested in a 180 setup and the person wants $2500 and then I inquired on a 75 gallon setup and this person wants $1,000. Is this too much money for a used setup? Or should I buy the tank from a local pet store(I called and they want $219.99 for the 125 gallon AGA tank..person didn't know how much more for it being drilled, I estimate maybe another $100?) and then buy the equipment used? I plan on getting a RR tank as I was told this is the best thing to get..
I plan on starting out with FOWLR and then way way way down the road, maybe get some easily low light corals.. can someone please give me the name of some corals so I can research them.
Please tell me if I have a good list of all the things I need:
Tank
LR and DSB
Skimmer
Maxi Jet powerheads
Heaters
Salt
Various test kits
Eventually I know I need to get a sump/refuge and a quarantine tank when i decided to buy the fish..
Thanks for any assistance or advise anyone can give me..
 
fulcrum

fulcrum

Member
Purchasing used is not a bad idea, but those prices seem a bit high. I just bought a 92 gal. with skimmer, metal halide light, sump, wavemaster, return pump and fluval (and a bunch of other crap I threw away) for $650.
Mind you, I have put that much and more into getting it all the way I want it, but this is not a cheap hobby.
One thing you left off your list was a return pump. You have to decide if you want an internal or external. The advantage to an external pump is that you dont dump as much heat into your water. Iwaki makes a great external pump. If you go with a submersible pump, Mag is the best.
Skimmers can either be external or in the sump. For the size system you are looking at I would reccommend a Berlin or Euroreef skimmer in the sump. Dont skimp on your skimmer. Its very important.
For your DSB. Use southdown sand from home depo. If you dont know what I'm talking about, just do a search. This stuff is supposed to be the shiznit. Then seed the southdown with some livesand (either from an established tank, or purchase a bag from the LFS). Make sure its 4" deep MINIMUM.
The refugium is a great idea. Just make sure you have room to add it later. Also make sure it will fit with your plumbing scheme.
Find a source for RO water (purified by reverse osmosis). This will make your life much easier when it comes to algae and other chemistry issues.
Live rock- more surface area is better. Fiji or tonga live rock are great. Atlantic LR is not very porous...not as effective.
As for corals, you will need to invest in some decent lights. Do not skimp on lighting if you plan to raise coral. Metal Halides are the best, but very expensive. VHO's and PC's can be used, but you need to use plenty of them. MH are the best.
Good luck. Use this board as much as possible. There are some amazingly bright folks on here that are more than willing to help.
 
lfd-143

lfd-143

Member
Eggy,
Where on long island do you live? I saw a couple of setups in Newsday for under a $1000. I have also seen tanks in there less then that. Your best bet is to read read read and wait for the right tank to come along, that is if you don't want to purchase new. I also agree with fulcrum get some Southdown and seed it with live sand. It will be so much cheaper and you will be happy. I also agree wioth him on the rest of his post and not just the sand . Sorry if it sounded that way.:eek:
Frank
 
eggy5404

eggy5404

Member
I'm in Baldwin Long Island. Do you remember what size tanks they were? I rarely check the newspaper for tanks.. Thanks for the heads up on that.
 
lfd-143

lfd-143

Member
I believe one was a 110G and the other was a 55G. I think it was in last weeks paper. I don't have the paper now but I can check later. I think the new listings come out tommorrow.
 
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