Which to buy first?

OK so my tank is in the process of cycling and after doing some research here on this very fine website I learned that I am in need of two important pieces of equipment:

1. Ro/Di System

2. Skimmer

I have ~$200 to spend at the moment on either product. Next month I will be able to buy the other. I have 2 Green Spotted puffers so I know the skimmer will be handy, however having proper water is crucial and for some reason I do not trust my sketchy LFS with supplying me water all the time. Any thoughts on which I could get by with for a month.

I feel like I have rushed into my tank a little, but it is about a week away from being done cycled so I have some time before I move the fish.

 

Have you just started your cycling process? Personally, if I were starting over I would get the RODI unit, use if for top-offs until the cycle is over, then get the skimmer & lights when the cycle is done.

 

I would say Protein Skimmer! The RO/DI is just something that you can have but is not nessary for a reef. If your water evaporates extreamly fast then maybe i would go that rout but Protein Skimmers are a nessity, RO/DI systems are add ons. Don't get me wrong, they are awesome to use but i would go PS first!

 

well it will be a FOWLR tank, no corals. Puffers think they are tasty haha
tank is only 30 gallons so I won't be going through as much water i suppose.

Also, my tank has been cycling for 2.5 weeks

 

I lol'd pretty hard when I read this. Not trying to sound rude but Ro/di is very crucial for a successful reef. Take it from me; without RO/di water you will have algae in all colors of the rainbow, including red, green, and brown. Until I used ro/di water the tank looks so ugly and after scraping so much algae it looked like vomit when it reached the sponge in my filter.

 

He's using RO/DI water from the store so there is no algae to scrape off. As long as he is not using tap it's fine.

 

Good come back...

But yeah, I would say skimmer also, you can look into buying the RO/DI later since your buying from the store and most people whho sell it its not that expensive.

 

I would get a skimmer first since you said that you can get an RO/DI next month.

 

I agree with above, i found out the hard way how fast gha can grow. Been doing allot of water changes lately now that i have an ro/di. Hoping to have my tank back and be able to see my rocks again lol. Good luck with your system.

Edit: but if you are using ro/di water from the store already then yah on the skimmer.

 

One more month of water from the store for top off is no biggie. Skimmer first IMO!