Richie, I am in no way saying a reactor is the way to go, and in fact, for most people it doesn't make sense. You want cheap? Go talk to Shao about some kalk. For $15, I got enough to dose half the pacific ocean! A one time expense in a float valve and a $5 plastic jug, and voila! Instant balanced Ca, alk and bank account! The only technical piece of equipment you need is gravity, and that's free for most people. Don't want the fuss and the heavy jugs? Plenty of balanced 2 part solutions on the market. Buy the big jugs, they're more economical. The unfortunate part of keeping stoney corals in a reef tank is that it costs some money to do it properly. You want them to grow, give them the correct ratio of supplements. If you can't afford the right stuff (in all it's various forms), maybe a FO tank is the way to go.
But hey, it's ur tank, so you do wut you want.
