Can anyone tell me the best things to buy if i want to set a saltwater tank u

Not an expert on SW fish tanks, have 7 fresh water tanks. They say the bigger the tank the easier it is to maintain. Usually for beginners, it's recommended to start with at least a 55 gallon tank, you cand do smaller tanks, but it's hard. I tried a 10 gallon, it was a lot of work. I know you'll need live rock, protein skimmer, good filtration system(wet dry is best from what I've read, think a good canister would work as well), substrate-usually a sand/crushed coral combination, marine salt, buckets for mixing the salt water, a hydrometer(sp). Off the top of my head that's all I can think of. I'm gonna post some links for you to search on, not sure if they'll show up though. Just search around for setting up/starting a salt water tank. Also, you'll want to be sure to research your fish BEFORE buying them. Especially salt water fish, so many of them are not compatible with others, and a lot of them grow fairly large. Good luck!(And yes, very expensive lol) http://www.about.com/ http://www.aquariacentral.com/ http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/home.php http://www.fishforums.com/forum/ http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.cfm?pcatid=15

I don't own a salt water tank (too much upkeep) but went with a friend when she bought her husband one. Salt water tanks are a pain to maintain, they have to be set up at least a month before you can put fish in them unless you can get water from the place where you purchase the tank (this is what she did, she only had the tank up a few days and started putting fish in). The place she got the tank from suggested a live reef tank with anenomies for a beginner and some of the heartier fish - like the clown fish. Reef tanks are the most expensive with the majoirity of your money being sunk into the coral.