Hello,
I saw one mentioned but first wanna say welcome to R2R where pretty much everyone is your uncle bob. To be fair and honest I have never bought a new tank. (Hold that thought ) but for example my whole setup tank stand sump etc on my 240 gallon that was only 6 months old was approx 500 out the door. My old 125 with almost everything was only 300. If you take your time you can find almost brand new tanks large ones for very little. Yes I have a new 425 gallon but lol I didn’t buy it, my parents gave it to me as a graduation gift and sadly because I had to move it’s still in a big massive wood box. (I haven’t even opened or alone had it delivered but anyway), don’t get set on the more you pay the better. That’s not true and yes some leds are very expensive (we all know the names), but Chinese black boxes, some of the current usa brands and others are 1/10 the cost and actually do a better job.
The same goes with wave makers etc, they are all about the same and they all eventually break if one keeps soaking them in vinegar. I would definitely get a good heater, and if you want quiet dc return pumps and dc co trolled skimmers are super quiet (my eshopps s300 is non dc but still super quiet). I’d stay away from old old equipment simply if it fails you can’t find parts.
Another idea is be creative in a beta tester type. I mean it’s how I fell in love with current usa, I called every company to see if they wanted beta testers and they would send their newest toy for you to test for free. Now let’s clarify (one I was a student at the time and I could prove my research was related and was part of my major). I don’t know how that would work errr now, although current still lets me and they are amazing. A few smaller companies did also but I don’t see them around any more. Also check with your local aquarium they have more stuff on hand than you can imagine. It’s neat because they technically can’t sell it but they can donate it. Again when I was starting I did volunteer work and some extra parts here and there didn’t cost me anything. Plus I was able to spend time on something I love doing. If you look at my thread (other than coral), my whole setup was under 1,000 and I have a pretty extensive setup. With that said I (was a student for part of it, and volunteered for other sections (For those who think other motives were involved (leave it alone because there are none). So depending on aka if your a student and (majoring in a field that’s relevant ahhh really helps, majoring in aeronautical Astro physics as impressive as is, may not help much). Aquariums love love volunteers because they have a very tiny budget and can’t really pay most staff members. A lot of undergraduates would volunteer and low
And behold they now have a salt tank. I can not say every aquarium does this or practices this, but the ones I did, were very generous and extremely professional.
Your dream tank doesn’t have to cost you much money, or just needs a really good plan of action and commitment.
Sincerely
Sarah
