I'm Confused... What To Buy?

[ianeberle]

I have been searching Craigslist for weeks and I'm just not sure what to do. I have narrowed my results down to three tanks which I will share with you below. I am a freshwater hobbyist and saltwater is new for me, so choosing the best deal is hard as well.

Tank #1: Biocube 29 with mods
This tank is $300 and includes every mod on the website MediaBaskets.com under the Oceanic Biocube 29. Includes live rock and live sand.
Fish tank Biocube 29 and stand

Tank #2: Biocube 29 HQI
This tank is $350 and includes the Biocube 29 HQI with live rock and live sand. I'm not 100% sure this is an option yet because I have not gotten an email back from the seller yet.
HQI 29 Biocube aquarium

Tank #3: 29 Gallon Standard Tank
This tank is what I assume to just be a standard saltwater tank. It is listed for $450 but the lady said she would sell it for $400. It includes everything I need and a couple of fish, a few crabs, and some corals and an anemone.
http://pensacola.craigslist.org/for/3296697639.html

I'm interested in growing all kinds of marine corals and anemones, so tanks 2 and 3 are probably the best choices. I think #3 sounds like a really good deal, but I'm not 100% sure about it yet. What else do I need and how much money am I looking at? I don't want this to be something I will be spending money on forever. I'm used to my 36 gallon freshwater that was very inexpensive compared to these fancy saltwater setups.

Thanks for all your advice in advance!

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Bio cubes work very well not a expert on them. My friend has one and loves it.the 29 you might need to up grade and that's when you start spending Money. Lights skimmer maybe filter.for the money the bio seems best

 

[Daniel Fishy]

I check out the pics should of did that first. The second bio cube seems nice but you have to look at it . The 29 seem ok leaves you room for upgrades but extra money. Some on here have nice bio cubes check them out in search.

 

[Armoredspider]

I'd go with the first one because you can take out the protein skimmer (unnecessary) and just upgrade the light to an AL SOL led fixture so you can keep anything you want unlike the hqi which has not so good lighting.

 

[Rutrag]

I vote for one of the Biocubes since they have most of your equipment integrated. The shape is nice for aquascaping as well. I'm not clear if the first one is the HQI or not, but thats the version I'd seek out for corals. You can upgrade to LEDs which will let you grow pretty much anything, but there's a significant cost there as well. The HQI will let you keep most LPS, sofites, mushrooms, and zoas. I believe the HQI uses a 150W bulb. I have kept a deresa clam under a 150W bulb in a 37 gallon tank, so you should be able to do the same under that bulb.

The Oceanic Biocube protein skimmer is kind of meh, so that would not be a selling point for me.