Originally Posted by trouble93

First off your going to want to dump that sand. You don't want to use sand from a system you know nothing about, so you have to keep that in mind. And your looking at over 1500lbs. A gal. of water is about 8.8lbs plus another atleast 180 pounds of live rock and atleast 100lbs of sand depending on if you are going to do a deep sand bed or shallow sand bed. And to find a stand for a tank that big may not be as easy as you think it may be. So you would have 1 of 2 options either build one or have someone else do it or pay another $300 to $500 for a good one. Believe me I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I've seen a lot of people come into this hobby get halfway through a build and find out they bit off more then they can chew. That's when you start cutting corners and hurt yourself in the long run. I'm telling you this from my own quest starting in this hobby. I didn't have anybody to tell me these things. I walk into a pet shop asked what I needed to start a salt water tank and walked out with a bag of salt a bag of sand and a few rocks and that was it. I never want to see another hobbyist go through that if I can help it. Here's what I would do sit down with a piece of paper and a pen count every dollar you plan to put into your tank. Then make a list of everything you will need to get the tank up and running. Then if you have a good local fish store in your area go and get a price for that from them then look online and see what will work best for you and go from there. It is always better to get the biggest tank you can afford, but at the same time you want to be able to put something in it. I know how it is when you want something...you want it right now, but take your time this earth is covered by 70% ocean so it's not going anywhere and we promise you we'll save you some my friend. I hope this give you a better understanding of what this hobby entails and you can ask anybody that has a tank IT IS ADDICTING so enjoy it every chance you get.