Yea the sand color was chosen by my wife...letting her decide a few minor things like that helps me get away with all the money i spend on this stuff lol....
as far as price goes i got the tank for free but everything else i had to do from pocket....
filters:200
heater:30
live rock: ~ 100
sand:40
salt:20
so a very rough estimate on the cost to start it would be $390 or so. But that doesnt include the testing kits, inverts, or fish...overall on this tank i am sure ive spent around 1k over 6 months