i think our critters have their own personalities.. so to speak.. i've had not quite balanced cleaner shrimp before that killed and ate anything they could catch and hold onto
i have a berlin.. after 6months i upgraded to lifereef.. berlin's been in the junk pile since.. IMO do it right the first time.. spend the money.. otherwise it's gonna cost ya even more after buying junk the first time
really depends on how often and how much you do in water changes.. i don't remember where i heard it or if it's true but i've heard corals don't like prime.. i'd say get your own ro/di then u don't need to worry about your source water other then a tds reading every so often...
set up a couple quarentine tanks, do plenty of water changes to keep them from cycling and let the main tanks cycle
really gonna be a pita cause won't be able to put all those fish in at once.. best tell your friend about online forums =)
i sent a email about this to a online vendor when i was looking for a new heater.. i was told the older model's had the water line and the newer ones didn't.. when i ordered the heater specifing i watned a fully submersible i still got the one with the water line....
from what i read on reefcentral mr.2000 tore his tank down because it was tearing up his house from all the humidity.. definelty vent it outside.. or run some kind of industrial dehumidifier.. there's also a large tank forum on reefcentral..
http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisp ... orumid=252...