Are people willing to go higher than 10 gallons? maybe 1 5, 10, 20 or something.
Secondly, there are some bias in the rules. Those who have a lot of extra equipment lying around which can be deducted for 75 percent. There really shouldn't be any reduction in equipment. If people choose to go with used, it should still be valued at new pricing.
another, instead of setting medians for cheap livestock, why not just set a median for ALL livestock. Some people have to pay higher prices than others, depending where they live. So if John Doe can get a 3 head hammer for 20, Jane doe has to pay 50, why not just pic a cheap place like
www.liveaquaria.com to use as a price guide for ALL livestock. A place like LA has almost every thing we can find here, so it is pretty complete. This way, everybody can add the same livestock for the exact same price deduction from their budget. Some people might have to to spend 600 bucks for their livestock, but it is valued at 300 while others can spend a dollar fiddy (if they can) on the same livestock from their "sources" and it will be valued as the same. SO saving money might benefit your wallet, but it won't give you any sort of advantage. People that have to pay more can go over their limit, so they can stalk an adequate tank and not be on ma disadvantage. regardless, socking costs will be evenly represented.