Extensive use of Plumbing supplies + freebies...
You had to know I had motive in mind when I was asking if
EVERYTHING in the plumbing aisle @ Rona/HomeDespots was fair game
UDSB/CR will be made out of some really big PVC pipe, Media - well Aragonite Sand is a freebie. Sump & Surge tanks will be rubbermaid brand (3.97 and 2.98 respectively), rest is all plumbing parts (including bourneman surge - Toilet flush valves are plumbing parts). CO2 Generator - like I said, Coke bottle (1.19 worst case + air line + plumbing fittings) I await a ruling on sugar and yeast (In theory covered, if I needed I suppose I could dish out for Zeovit adatives which are little more than that)
About the worst will be the tank rebuild costs + a ~400gph @ 4' head pump; and lighting... Savings here is in having 1 pump drive everything (out of sump into UDSB - out of udsb into surge (dump into surge + dump into tank should remove most of the CO2; if not I have another one of those crazy pvc (freebie!) fixes in mind) Surge @ ~20 second intervals should cover flow adequately; especially given residual waves trapped in tank by bubbletrap.
$'s are going to be a bit tight for livestock, no fancy acans, or rare SPS... But I've got some idears; and I can't wait to see how some of the "plainer" (read cheap like borscht) sps will grow under true reef crest surge conditions...