I watched the inappropriate reefer nano tank series and am considering buying the light he bought, the reason I’m asking for options is because I would have to buy 2 of the lights he used to light my 30” tank. I saw a couple black boxes on amazon, but some say you’ll have problems with algae in the future because they put out so much light. I havnt rlly done deep research with black boxes yet but I am considering it. And yes I have a CCIf you want corals, then it can be expensive. And you already have a puffer, which is not reef safe. How about keeping it FOWLR for now.
I will add the 1st thing I bought to start this hobby.
RODI - if you can ask your parents, RODI can be use for drinking water too. Get the big RODI system if you can, the RObuddie can work for you but it might cost more on the filters refill in the long run.
If you are going the budget corals route:
Black box for light.
Jebao pump.
If you want a good budget light. AI Prime HD is the choice. You can start with 1 to keep softies/LPS. Check the buy forum here. I got 2 prime HD with mounts for a good deal. But you are 15, so.. do you have CC?
Watch the innappropriate reefer budget series.
If you have more money after getting the essentials, get an ATO. ATO would be very beneficial for a small tank. Balancing the salinity swing.