Ugh I started to do the money thing but as Ivy said, its painful.
If I were you I'd start reading now. Check out the internet, buy a book, take a browse through various fish stores and have a look at what interests you for livestock. Go visit some other reefers that have tanks about the size you are interested in setting up and see what they're keeping and what they're systems look like. That will help determine what kind of setup you want to have and what you want to put in it. I'm sure most of us will tell you that various upgrades in lighting/skimmers etc will break the bank (as it did with me, I've had 3 skimmers in the past 3 years, but then I'm a shopaholic
). Lets just say I could have done about 5 trips to Mexico. At the same point in time I think I'm almost done buying all my equipment
(at least I had better be
).
Oh and don't forget tank upkeep, ie. salt, test kits, carbon, bulb changes, etc. Sometimes this can be costly too and on an ongoing basis (and thats not counting your hydro bill).
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to deter you from your reef. I just wish someone had told me what I was getting into here. It truly is a fun addiction once you're sucked in though
