Sorry to hear this, man... how big is the tank?
For posterity (and since I'm home on a Saturday night), quick tally of what I've spent on my 10 gallon... I don't include the tank, heater, or HOB filters here...
70W ballast - $25
Noma fixture - $35 (DIYed my own MH light)
14K bulb - $25
Wire, tools, electrical tape, connectors - $60
Bucket of Instant Ocean - $100 (waaaay overpriced, tell me about it... I won't forget this one for a long time)
Live rock - $60
Seachem Sand - $40
Test Kits - $100
Refractometer - $45...
The list goes on, and I won't tally what I've spent
Cause honestly, I don't wanna know
And I haven't even started stocking the tank yet... that's just the equipment and basic stuff I bought to do a very low tech 10 gallon.
I knew this was going to be expensive when I got into it... I feel your pain man. At least I knew what I was doing when I started, I can see now how expensive (and painful) a mistake could be. Precious little comfort... but even unstocked my tank brings me a certain amount of joy.
Perhaps you could offer your wife some consolation... take her snorkelling on a shallow reef somewhere warm in the middle of winter? Then when she sees your tank, it could then conjure up warm memories of a winter vacation with her family. Everybody wins
