Where do I start? What are the 'must haves' for starting a reef tank?

[Steven Garland]

I don't think its more or less MUST HAVES but more so buy the right things to begin ,thus saving you money to buy the "must haves".

But in order to have functioning reef tank you MUST have a:

Tank
Biological filtration
Lighting
Circulstiom of some sort
Ato of some sort.

Thats literally all ya need.

 

[Steven Garland]

haha so dang true.... I've never known a money pit like a salt water aquarium!

Cars,owning a house,having kids,fishing gear,tools for work,putting food on the table are all money pits lol.

Tanks aren't money pits unless you make it one. You don't need Apex's,Trident's,controllers,fancy dancy lights,or control/monitor your tanks from your couch or from a beach in Bali but waste enough money you can. See where I am going with this lol ?

 

[Ashish Patel]

Invest in a good equipment. but if your on a budget pond pumps are great, Jebao pumps, and diy T5 lighting. Once you know your going to be in the hobby long term get Ecotech stuff and never look back.