Newby on the scene, intro and questions

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   Hi all,

My name is Sean and I am a total newby to the reef aquarium hobby, and really to fish keeping in general.  I have a betta sitting on my desk here but otherwise I've never really kept fish.  I've always had an interest in saltwater fish and corals and I've recently been considering setting up a relatively small and relatively low-maintenance reef tank.  I have done a lot of reading on the Internet which has taught me a lot but has also provided a bunch of conflicting info.

My initial goal is to set up the tank with some soft corals and a small fish population.  I would like to consider moving into LPS corals in the future, and from the sounds of it I could probably get some LPS corals going without any real crazy lighting or current requirements.  My hope is to get the equipment I need to support this goal without a bunch of unnecessary spending, either by getting stuff I simply don't need or stuff that I will need to replace sooner than later.

The only equipment I have at this point is a glass 10 gallon tank that I was originally going to use for freshwater.  Now I am thinking I will convert it to a three-chamber sump/refugium.  I figure the live rock / macroalgae / protein skimmer route is the way to go. However, I have heard mixed opinions regarding BioBalls and the like in sumps.  Some people say that they're just traps for poison and other people highly recommend them.  Does anyone have opinions or experience one way or the other?  Is there something else I should consider that I am missing for sump filtration?

From what I've read the 55 gallon tank seems to be the de facto starter size.  I really like the idea of custom building an acrylic tank but I am worried that it will be cost prohibitive.  One thing that I haven't been able to get a satisfactory answer to is reef tank height requirements.  Based on the DIY acrylic tank guides I've seen, the tank height determines the required acrylic thickness.  I'd really like to do something like a 36" L x 18" W x 18" H but that requires 3/8" acrylic from what I've read and that gets spendy fast from what I've seen.  On the opposite end, I've been keeping an eye on KSL looking for a used tank that isn't scratched and can be drilled.  I want to avoid an external overflow and I'd really like to run a closed loop circulation system rather than powerheads.  Would it be feasible to drill a glass tank for internal overflow and closed loop or do I run the risk of hurting the structural integrity of the tank?  I know acrylic carries a lot of benefits compared to glass and I think I'd prefer that, but not if it's carrying a 4x price premium or whatever.  Does anyone know of a good, inexpensive local supplier for cell cast acrylic?

As far as internal overflows go, I'm still a little foggy.  I haven't been able to find a good resource for designing overflows.  I'm assuming the simplest and most effective design is to just drill a hole in the bottom of a tank, drill some holes into a length of PVC to use as the drain, and then surround it with glass or acrylic.  If the bottom of the tank is tempered glass, is there any disadvantage to putting the bulkhead(s) in the side of the tank rather than the bottom?

For a closed loop setup on a 55-ish gallon tank and the goal of some fish with soft and LPS corals, how much flow should I be looking for?  How many outlets should I go for, and is there any specific tank location where I should put the outlets?  My initial thought was to put four outlets in the back wall of the tank near the bottom, but I really have no idea if that will work or not.  Any thoughts?

Lighting is something that I am 100% confused on.  I have seen people running all manner of crazy lighting setups and a lot of them seem like overkill to me.  A lot of the sites describing the keeping of various corals use terms like "low light" and "medium light".  I have no idea what that translates to in real-world items.  PC?  T5?  HO/VHO flourescent?  What's going to give me the best bang-for-my-buck while keeping my fish and corals happy?  Also, I'm thinking that I will do a custom-built stand and canopy.  Are there any considerations other than keeping the lights dry and ventilated?

Does anyone have any opinions on protein skimmers for this kind of set up?  What about the DIY skimmer plans I've seen out there?  Has anyone attempted a DIY skimmer set up or does anyone have any knowledge of their effectiveness?

I still have a bunch of questions regarding how best to get started once I have all the equipment ready, but I figure I should have a place to stick stuff before I worry about the rest. =)

Man, I did it again.  Sorry for the super long post.

Sean