Personally I would listen to your friend. You can get a way better deal by buying a used one then you would trading in all your stuff for $300.00. Even if you sold everything yourself I'm pretty sure you could make a lot more than that. I would look for a used 55G set-up, re-use my existing equipment and sell whatever I didn't need. A then upgrade to better equipment gradually. Trust Me something will come up. I paid $2000 for a brand new 135G Oceanic set-up from a lfs just to see the exact same tank, stand and canopy for $700 a week later.