What to buy first

[Hulkster]

Hi. I have a tank that is 48 x 18 x 15 and want to start collecting bits to turn it into a reef system.

I have between 200 and £250 to spend. What should I buy first

 

[Adrinal]

live rock.
Probably you will be getting base (and live rock) live rock goes on the top but it need time to cure as the base rock is rinse and dump in.

So if you plan on using LR (which most everyone does ATM) You can get the top curing on the bottom till you have the coin to get more base rock to stick under it.

There ya go that should keep ya busy for a ;arge chunk of change.

Tank with overflow and sump if you plan on one (highly recomended)
Salt
water
pump
Skimmer assuming you want to use one (most peeps do).
LR
LSand
Base rock

 

[ste2k3]

I always advise going for a sump as it gets all the equipment out of the tank. but it is going to cost you a lot more. I would get about 30 kg of live rock second hand as you can get it for around £6 a kg cured = £180.00

I'd go for a deltec mc500 skimmer which sells for around £180 but again lookround for second hand ones. also, get a coulple of maxijet powerheads (1200's) for water movement and you have a reef tank to mature. now you will need to start looking around for lighting. if you look for second hand ones, you can get a double 150watt for less than £100 amd get a 4' blue actinic tube to go with that (or get a halide with 2 built in) and you have the basic system. this will not fall with in your budget but will give you a great system. A good thing to consider in the future is a small fluidised bed filter to put some rowaphos in.

ste