Skimmer or Lights?

[Hogdaddy]

Hey all!

I have my 60 gallon tank set up and cycling- 40lbs of live sand and 30 pounds of live rock. I currently only have the cheapo white led light strips that came with the aquarium. My aquarium funds for the month are getting low ($180). As it sits now I have a jebao ow-25 and a CBR HOB Aquafuge2 w/ rio pump to circulate the water and a heater keeping the water 78 degrees.

With my remaining funds for the month....would I be better off getting some ebay black box leds or a HOB skimmer?

 

[BranchingHammer]

If ur planning on keeping coral, a light is more important if you can stay on top of a water changes. But since it’s a 60 gallon tank, ur gonna want a skimmer.

 

[CC13]

Hey all!

I have my 60 gallon tank set up and cycling- 40lbs of live sand and 30 pounds of live rock. I currently only have the cheapo white led light strips that came with the aquarium. My aquarium funds for the month are getting low ($180). As it sits now I have a jebao ow-25 and a CBR HOB Aquafuge2 w/ rio pump to circulate the water and a heater keeping the water 78 degrees.

With my remaining funds for the month....would I be better off getting some ebay black box leds or a HOB skimmer?

I would vote skimmer before lighting.

IMO having a skimmer early on will prevent algae issues later on down the road.

 

[BranchingHammer]

Just depends if you want corals now or can wait a little bit.

 

[scott11106]

i would get lights first and then save up for the skimmer

 

[scott11106]

of course, assuming you are trying to put corals in tank, if you are waiting to put corals then you dont need the better lights and the skimmer would be best

 

[Saveafish]

Skimmer first. It'll help the new tank uglies.

 

[ReefyB]

Well IMO it depends on your plans. You don’t really need either while you’re cycling, but if you’re about done with the cycle I’d lean towards prioritizing my lights over the skimmer. The catch is your budget, as that amount would better suit a skimmer than a quality light. If you plan on focusing on a fish only tank (or fish with a few easy softy corals), you can go ahead and grab that black box led now, and once you approach a decent bioload you can then pickup a skimmer. However if your goal is to do a mixed reef including a variety of corals, I’d probably save up some more for a better light and possibly go ahead and pick up your skimmer if you want to buy something now.

 

[Hogdaddy]

Thank you for super quick inputs!
I should have stated my goals for the tank....
I am going to do fish only for a while and then do some soft corals later on as I read and learn more.

Will start a build thread this weekend.

 

[BranchingHammer]

Skimmer

 

[Scurvy]

At this point powerfull lights and skimmer arent really required. I say save the funds for another month or two then make an investment into a skimmer. A couple months later you should be ready for some softies/LPS corals and could look into lighting then.

Im guessing youve seen BRS latest series about the 4 month cycle and no lights really needed until corals are added etc. take it slow. Save for quality gear so you dont wind up hating/replacing what you do buy.

 

[W1ngz]

Definitely skimmer, but start putting a little of your monthly tank budget aside for some lights. Try and save a decent amount so you can get something you want based on research and reviews, and not just something you settled for based on cost.

I think a lot of people start with the idea of fish only, but as you get more comfortable with testing and being on top of your water parameters, confidence rises, and then you'll have an 'OMG that looks awesome' moment at a store or looking at pics, and wonder why you can't have corals too.

 

[VSVP bet]

skimmer 100%