nwaas.com

Hello! I have had freshwater tanks for years and I am planning on going for my first saltwater tank. I am here looking for advice on the basic equipment I need for a fish only tank. I have a 55 gal in my garage just waiting to be filled. I am also open to suggestions on what fish to buy to start out. Thanks! Megan

glad to see you on the forum, Megan. I too, just started a 55 saltwater tank. The group here is mainly freshwater but you're in luck as there's a saltwater club also here in NWA. Here's a link to their forum.
http://in2deep.org/forum/portal.php

There is another Arkansas marine club: http://razorbackreef.org, but their meetings are (I think) held in the Little Rock area.

As far as equipment goes, the most important piece is a good protein skimmer. This device not only removes wastes before they can break down into other wastes, but bubbles them out into a separate cup where they are no longer in contact with the aquarium water. This is unlike other filters that continue to pump water through the collected waste.

These days, the typical recommendation is also to use live rock for biofiltration and an outside power filter to remove solids. Lighting doesn't need to be anything special for a fish-only setup. Be sure to buy test kits and use them. I'd probably go with ammonia, pH, and alkalinity tests at minimum.