danny zubot - yes they will share the same system...although there has been some frowning by people when I say that, I am going to give it a try...the tank was relativly in expensive, the back, bottom and overflow are made of my mom's old kitchen table

and the sides are reclaimed (used) glass with the front being the only new piece...figured I will never see through the rest anyway so...the ballasts were spares I had laying around, as well as the pump. The total for the tank, glass cut, drilled and assembled, minus the overflow which I installed myself, was approx. $200.