Reddit reviews Marineland Maxi-Jet 400, Multi-Use Water Pump And Power Head, Fully Convertible, 110/500 GPH
We found 2 Reddit comments about Marineland Maxi-Jet 400, Multi-Use Water Pump And Power Head, Fully Convertible, 110/500 GPH. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Three Pumps in OneTurns powerhead in to a prop style circulation pumpThe most fully adaptable pump availableCountry of Origin: CHINA
There's a 500 gph model on the amazon page i posted.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004IMPOIO/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
only 3' head height though
Absolute cheapest way to get up and running is a $10 tank at Petco's dollar-per-gallon sale. You'll pay a lot more for a smaller tank, honestly.
5-10 lbs of rock for a scape will cost you around $10-20.
You can buy substrate or you can go without. Bare bottom actually makes it easier to keep the tank clean, although it affects the aesthetics, of course.
You can get a cheap powerhead for $10-15, although a better powerhead is less likely to fail on you...but it'll cost you closer to $25.
That puts you at $55 already, without lights.
I'm not really sure what you need there, to be honest. My "cheap" LEDs cost near $200, but I'm growing some higher light corals. If you stuck to low-light (mushrooms and zoanthids/palys) type stuff, you could get by with a lot less output.
Hopefully someone else can help you with an economy lighting option.