Help me pick equipment for my first reef tank.

Hey guys, I'm looking into starting either a 20 gallon long reef, with mainly inverts and maybe a small goby or blenny, maybe small firefish goby. I might do a 40 gallon, my biggest challenge there is being able to afford all the live rock and sand, and the fact that I still have yet to find a nice cabinet style stand. I have a 19 month old so I need to be able to keep him away from cables and the sump. If anyone has any suggestions regarding a stand, I'm all ears.

Anyway, I'm going to be posting links to items and I would love the input from more experienced members and any and all recommendations are welcome.

The first piece of equipment I want to buy is an RODI system, so I can get the hang of it before I need to rely on it. I can start making top off water for my four freshwater tanks as I have very hard water in a desert setting with a lot of evaporation.
Thinking of buying a refurbished Spectrapure 90 GPD unit. It's probably more than I'll need, but, I want to make sure to get a good quality unit and have read lots of people have purchased this one with no problems.



Can anyone link me to all replacement parts I should need to maintain one, my head would spin a little less.

I also wanted to ask opinions on these lights. Saw someone talking about them but not sure if they would actually grow any corals. I need a lot of help in that department!

 

Why not build your own stand? They're easy and cheap, and this way you can make it exactly like you want.

 

Why not build your own stand? They're easy and cheap, and this way you can make it exactly like you want.

One would have to own tools for that. :/ I have a very basic kit for around the house stuff. Also finding a place to build and paint it would be difficult.

 

Even very basic tools would work! But if you don't have space to build it, then I guess that's a no go. Can you find someone to make it for you? I have found people through my local Facebook clubs. You can give them your price range; usually people are quite accommodating.

 

Even very basic tools would work! But if you don't have space to build it, then I guess that's a no go. Can you find someone to make it for you? I have found people through my local Facebook clubs. You can give them your price range; usually people are quite accommodating.

That's a good idea. I'll also check my LFS as they have someone who builds stands for them all the time. They're usually unfinished wood so I'd have to paint and waterproof it. Maybe I'll gate off my dining room and build one. I know I can have the wood cut at Lowe's which is the biggest part. So then I'd have to find plans to build one that allows easy access to add a sump. I'd really like to make it viewable on 3 sides and almost use it as a room divider so all the corners would need to be really strong. Can someone help me find instructions for an existing design or help me plan out a design that would work? I've never built any furniture before.

 

If you google DIY aquarium stand, there are so many easy-to-follow instructions. Let me know if googling doesn't come up with anything useful, and I'll try to find some