Absolute Minimum Required to run a 77 SW

For your tank, I would suggest the following:

1.) Additional filter- I'm not a big fan of the Aquaclear's as a primary filter. I believe that the canister filters would do a better job.
2.) Protein Skimmer- I believe pretty strongly in protein filters. I found that it really has helped skim a lot of crap out of may tank. I have a CPR backpack one.
3.) Live rock- Typical rule of thumb is 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of LR for a tank. That would be 80-100 pounds live rock.
4.) Live sand- I went with a deep sand bed with about 1 pound per gallon of tank water. Other's have gone with a thinner layer (1-2 inches). If you are looking to cut cost, you could get a small amount of live sand and mix it with unlive sand to get the benefits. Eventually, it will all be live sand anyways.

In terms of priorities, I would do:
1.) Live rock
2.) Protein skimmer
3.) Live rock
4.) Additional filter

I am assuming that you have lights already and you aren't trying to keep coral, nems, etc.

MikenDanielle said:

Yes it comes with two fluourescent bulbs and a makeshift canopy to hold them. I am planning on keeping corals eventually, but not until I can afford to upgrade to metal hallide lightening... so probaby 3-6 months from now.

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You can also go with HO T5 lighting. I have 4 54watt T5's on my 90 gal and keep mushrooms, zoos, polyps, torch, and trumpet corals.

if you plan on getting MH then save up your money for it and dont waste time/money on other products (youll be losing about $100 on the HO when it can go twords the MH

k so here are my thoughts
-turn your 70 into a refugium with some rubble and macro algae and a PC light over it
-HOB skimmer will help ALOT
-lots of liverock to keep your system stable

i htink additional filters just prolong the amount of time between water changes
-but water flow is a must , AC 70 + Rena xp4 + small power head= good flow and filtration

just had to shoot this in..im sure u didnt mean it that way but you never want to do the minimum when setting up a marine aquarium...the people above have given great advice though so im sure ur on the right track. when you go cheep just hits you later on. personally i would go with halides. and as long as u have about 70-90 lbs of rock in ther extra filtration shouldnt be needed. get a good skimmer, and dont forget test kits, us aragonite to save from buying buffers, and maybe a powerhead or two...korallia wave makers would be even better. and to have the "typical" sand bed ull want around 70-80 lbs of the aragonite sand.

In addition to what others have said these are purchases you'll want to get or consider getting:

RO/DI unit
Refractometer
Good basic test kits
Sump