Finally movin' right along...good brands?

[legaleagle]

Finally found someone that'll build me a sump and not disappear before it's done ...and a guy who'll build me a canopy (and new stand since I recently realized that there was only 10" width to put a sump in under there with my current stand). R/O unit on the way...might actually have a fish by January

Anyhow, I'm scouring around looking at protein skimmers, and don't know what to pick. What are some good brands--that aren't going to cost 300 dollars. I know Beckett is apparently hot stuff, but only one on Ebay is 225...and it's used.

Good brands for heaters, coolers? Calcium reactors? Do I even NEED a calcium reactor? Good place to buy test kit packages? Anything else I need that I don't know about?

I briefly toyed with the idea of going with lights next in this yearlong quest to get a tank up and going (since I have a dual 400w ballast and some sockets) but since my tank is oddly lengthed (60") no hoods will fit over it. Do these "power compact" lights come in little solo things I can just drill into the canopy? Do I even use power compacts since I'm gonna have 2 hallide things up there? Gonna be mostly fish as opposed to coral-heavy. Gonna have to go figure that stage out after I'm done buying peripherals.

[kau_cinta_ku]

well first off we are gonna have to know what type of corals you are gonna want to keep. soft, lps, or sps. and what size tank you have

[legaleagle]

It's a 125 gallon tank (60"x18"x25"). As for types of corals...I'm not even close to being at that point yet--I haven't even figured out the hardware yet, let alone the livestock. Whatever type I go with though is gonna have to be pretty hardy, because I like fish/crabs/shrimp/etc. a heck of a lot more than I like things that don't move. Will have some corals down there, but it's not going to be one of those coral-heavy tanks I see in all the pics here. Hopefully that helps the people that know this stuff know what types I'll have to be angling for.

[Wryknow]

I would take a look at an ASM skimmer. There's tons of info on them on the site and they may be in the price range that you're looking at. You're not going to need a calcium reactor unless you want to do SPS corrals or clams (or other heavy calcium consuming critters.) Depending on your room temperature you will probably not need a chiller either. It doesn't sound like you're going to need a ton light for your system and that's what tends to drive the temperature up. I would recommend getting two x 200W Jebojagers for a heating

[Psyire]

I'd run an ASM or Euroreef. IMO a large becket skimmer is not needed on anything under 180g. If you do want to look at becketts, then I'd recommend Barr Aquatic or My Reef Creations.