Equipment Priority

[Mr_Cool]

I don't know if anyone has asked this before. I'm just wondering what the different opinions on this would be.

If you were planning an upgrade to a much larger system, what would be the priority list of things to get to fit the new system. Assuming you already have the tank and stand, and that you can make due for a little while with the equipment you currenly have, how would you rank the following in importance to making the new system work best? (I know there are LOTS of factors that go into maintaining a reef, but let's just say it's a mixed reef with some fish, softies, and a few SPS.) Number them from most important (#1) to least important (#10). In alpha order........

Big, fat raise at work :D (I'll give you this as #1)
Bigger clean-up crew
Calcium reactor
Fuge
Lighting
(More) Live rock
Phosban reactor
Protein skimmer
RO/DI unit
UV sterilizer

Again, were assuming we have the tank and stand. The above equipment needs to be upgraded to meet the needs of the bigger tank.

(I guess I'm really just wondering what everyone thinks is the most important equipment to have for a reef. But, let's go woth this thought.)

[Bill S]

Well. Not to put a damper on this thread. But, seriously. Going to a 215 from a 55 - and I've been doing "this' for 35 years - is just plain staggering. NO ONE with a 150g tank or larger is going to tell you this, but, you better have a very forgiving spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend. I just plain can't put into words what these beasts cost. I bought mine used, at a good deal. My wife says, 6 months into this, we are probobly between $15 and 20K. Yup.

[LoneStar]

Ok if you got the tank and stand completed (and assuming the sump and plumbing are done, which means pump(s) also).

#1 RO/DI system Can't do a aquarium without water. And you can't do a reef system without a good filter
#2 Protein Skimmer Gotta keep your water clean. Plan ahead for what you want to keep in your tank and buy properly.
#3 Live Rock You want to have time to cycle this. The skimmer and RO/DI would help out. If you got more time, cook it.
#4 Flow For a successful reef tank, you want to plan for a closed loop or a set of powerheads for water movement.
#5 Lighting By now you can setup the tank and have the water and rock placed in it. Let it cycle in the dark and give you time to save up for the lights.
#6 Auto-Top Off Once you get the lights running, evaporation will escalate. Do yourself a favor and make filling up the evaporated water a snap with a ATO system. Worth its weight in gold.
#7 Calcium/Kalk Reactors If you got that nice fat raise, go ahead and get the calcium reactor and kalk reactor. Hook the kalk reactor inline to the ATO system. Then dial in your calcium reactor. These items can be purchased months after the tank is running. When you first start up, normal water changes should keep up with your calcium demands....since your demands won't be that high.
#8 Controller Now that you have this big 'void' in purchasing equipment(since the above 7 items probably took you a few months to aquire), save up for a nice aquarium controller. Nice toy that will make running the tank more enjoyable :)

Everything else is come as you take it. But thats just my take of how to do it....