First Reef

[oolichan]

Allright, so I'm going jump into a reef in the next few weeks or so. I'm not new to fishkeeping - I've been obsessed with fish since I was a kid and currently have a 300G FW cichla tank and a 55G malawi tank going at the house.

I know that SW and reef is a whole new ballgame but I'm up for the task. I drool looking at some of the tanksvon this site, reef tanks are where it's at.

With that in mind I need some advice. I know that fishkeeping is a slippery slope, hence the 300 in my living room! I want to make sure that my fist reef will keep me interested for at least a year or so.

I'm considering having a 24x24x17 rimless cube built. It ends up being about 45G. It will have a centre overflow plumbed and I'll build a stand and sump for it. Lighting will be as needed and likely bought used through this site.

My question is will this be a tank tank that will give me enough coral/fish options to stay interested for a while? I'd hate to drop $1500 to get this sucker running and realize I should have gone bigger!