Tidal Gardens is in Copley Ohio if you're close enough to them to drive (i wouldlove to visit their facility). I'm new to reefing, but I think they have some reasonable prices and their frags shipped well for me, and I'm in Texas. Most online places offer free shipping if you buy over a certain amount, so I tend to buy more at once vs a few here and there when I buy online. IMO the cost of shipping ($30-40) is worth the safety of the corals for overnight shipping. I just made a big purchase on ebay from WWC's live event. I got 17 frags and with $40 shipping it turned out costing me an average of $17 a frag and about 3 hours of my time bidding on frags when the sales were about to end. I'm not saying the hobby is cheap, but it's definitely as expensive as you make it. Look for fb groups too if you haven't already. In Houston and SE TX area there's at least 4 reefing communities on FB. There's an aquarium society and reef specific community groups online locally, I'm sure there's something in a reasonable distance in OH.
Definitely the equipment was an expensive investment though, even second hand, so I hope it lasts. I've gotten the best deals on equipment and livestock/ corals from people getting out of the hobby or upgrading equipment. Some just in fb marketplace, not even in a reefing community page. It's a time investment too if you want to catch deals. Happy reefing!