Newbee here with $1000 to spend. What should I buy?

craigslist for a tank and for live rock which you will need for filtration and looks I would suggest trying to find a reef club in your area. It will be much cheaper for you to buy rocks from them. I have seen 120 gallon tank here on craigslist in my area for only 100$ and that includes a stand. So just keep your eye out and wait

 

Goodluck! I am in the pre law program at my college, and the only thing keeping me sane is my reef tank, I am extremely busy! This hobby is the best way to to relax and enjoy nature at its best

 

I pretty much agree with everything posted so far, just take it slow and research everything you are going to need/want. It's very easy to get anxious and settle for subpar equipment which can make things very difficult and less enjoyable, especially when trying to operate on a tight budget. I would recommend doing it once and doing it right, even if it takes a year to save up for good equipment and figure out what you *really* want to do with the tank, it will be worth it in the end.

 

I think that if you research what species of shark you might be able to keep in even a 250gal. tank you will probably forget this idea.There are much cooler fish that can be more easily kept in much smaller tanks.If you like predators,research the many different species commonly available and check out their needs and how difficult it might be

 

heh ya thinking outside of your budget is key lol... i kind of blew mine on my 90... it went from 2000 to 4500..

 

I am at about $1000 on my setup right now. Probably getting closer to 1500 now that im buying SPS corals.

And i bought used/DIY and have a skimmer that i absolutely hate.

(mine is also a reef, not sure if you are going for FO with the lion fish)

Craigslist is a great way to go. If you can afford new, go for it - it will save you a ton of headaches. But a reef tank is worse than a home remodel.

For a home remodel, i double my estimate.

For a reef, to be safe (especially if you married) i would use somewhere in the 3-4X range for your estimate.

On a new setup, 1k will become 4k very very fast....

 

Don't do it if it's for your kids. It will become a huge chore if you are not into the hobby yourself. I would be surprised if you can do a 250 for 1k even going used Get some books on the hobby and take it from there.

 

Yea buddy, that's how it starts.. I inherited a 55 and was "just gonna set it up for a few fish". Now 2 years later, brand new tank and gear, exotics, coral, and now I want one big enough to snorkel in. It never stops and it shouldn't, it's awesome...

 

I spent around 1k on my 24g nano, my 90 I dumped nearly 3500 in when I started it, honestly if I had a grand to start a new tank I'd do one of the DSA Neo Nano's their a really spiffy tank you could easily set one up for 1k I'd think.
Also if you do buy a larger used tank, don't get a shark, their very specialized in the care they require and not something that should be a household pet leave them to real aquariums with properly trained staff and bioligists