should I ever bother with this?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

No. You are just setting yourself up to take over someone else's head ache. There are setups out there that are more or less plug & play. This one (as you can already guess) will require you battle the other person's major algae & other problems. Not worth it unless you're getting the system for next to nothing. For a beginner, it'll be more work & discouragement than fun.

Anthony