Planning a 150 gallon FOWLR, need some advice on price

[tirtza]

Hello!
I currently have a 29 gallon reef tank. However, I've always dreamed of a large FOWLR, and I'm planning on putting one together later this summer. We are currently starting the process of buying a house (or townhouse), and once that's complete I'd like to begin the long process of putting the tank together. I plan on the tank being a show piece in the living room. I'm trying to estimate the cost of setting up the tank now because the cost will be taken into consideration as we budget the cost of buying a home.
It will always be a FOWLR, and I hope to stock it with a Dog Face Puffer, some triggers, and tangs.
I'd like it to be somewhere between 120 - 150 gallons (maybe 200??). I plan on this being my largest tank build.
What advice or cost estimates can you provide?
Tank:
Should I buy the tank, stand, and canopy together or separately? What's the average cost for these items?
What lights would you recommend? Cost?
Filtration:
What type of mechanical/chemical filtration would be best?
Should I include a refugium (preferably kept out of sight within the tank stand)?
Why type of skimmer? How many power heads, and what type?
**Neither my husband nor myself are handy at all! This build will have to be put together with pieces/parts that don't require any 'handy work' (anything that requires tools! lol)
Thank you so much for your advice and suggestions!

 

[geridoc]

We just finished a 220 gal FO in our living room, so I can give you an idea of what we used, and what it cost. The tank is the Marineland 220 on their Monterrey cabinet. The lights are 2 x 37 inch Trinity fixtures. The sump is the Eschopps 300 circulated with a Mag 18. We are using a AquaEuro 250 skimmer (large, but awesome!). With salt, heaters, sand, tubing, plumbing fixtures, floor supports below the tank, etc I figure we spent somewhere around $5K. The only regret is the sump - the sump area is far too small so that after adding the in-sump skimmer and the Mag 18 it is basically full, and there is no room to place heaters, etc in the sump. We have a CPR HOB refugium that we are going to install under the tank to grow chaeto. Oh yeah, and a 7" emperor angel from our previous tank (110 gal XHi).

 

[acrylic51]

My recommendations.....Go with a deeper (front to back) easier to work with.....A good skimmer.....Lighting plenty of options to obtain what your after.....Tons of choices on pumps as well, and as noted earlier plan your sump choice wisely.....They all look big till you start putting your equipment inside.....