Upgrading---How Much to Spend

It all depends on where you live I guess. But a 180 around where I live could easily go that high. But I do agree with getting tank from LFS and shopping online for the other stuff.

Jake

 

i just set up a 150 that i bought used and honestly with out looking at my reciepts and all i would guess that my bill was about 1.5k without the tank.

so 8 k for a 180 may be high however if you trust the retailer and dont want to shop for the parts yourself and have the money hell yeah get the plug and play system from them.

 

I think that is high,you could do ALOT better looking around on craigslist and or just shopping online.
unless money isn't an issue then go for it.

 

Personally, I would take 3 grand and shop around on craigslist for a complete 180 setup. Then spend another $500 or so on hiring professionals to tear down the tank, deliver it to you, and set it back up while you sit back and enjoy the weekend and $4000 savings.

~Will.

 

I say its about right but theres better equipment than marineland lites ect. my 250 marineland with rock and sand has run me about 12 grand. atb skimmer, return pumps, ati lites, custom acrylic sump, 6 controllable tunzes, vortech geo media reactor, 190-200 lbs live rock, 180lbs sand, marineland deep dimension 250 with montery stand, litermeter 3 for top off and daily auto waterchanges....adds up fast especially when u are buying top end.

 

this is so true and we all know what happens when we cut to many corners in this hobby

 

+1. I think 7-8k is a little high. Remember that your LFS will have to build in more of a profit margin than someone selling on craigslist.

 

I think the original statement is about right if you're going with new, high end gear. Be careful buying used, lots of stuff will only last a certain amount of time and has to be replaced or serviced and there are lots of people trying to get rid of crappy stuff so they can upgrade to the good equipment.
I say buy it once and do it right, get quality components and don't worry about upgrading again. You can spend $7-8 grand right off the bat or you can spend $4000 on your first tank and then upgrade most of your equipment within a year and spend another $4000.

 

i agree on the equipment for the tank but for the tank itself craigslist all the way. even here in arkansas you can get a tank the size you want for 300 to 700 dollars easy. plus not much can tear up on glass or acrylic.