What am i getting myself into?

After a few previous attempts and 4 years worth of constant reading and talking with knowledgable LFS owners, my 75g system is virtually maintenance free.

10% water changes per week
Kalkwasser drip for ca and alk for coral
Xenia and Cheato refugiums to deal with nitrates
Pura Complete in reactor to deal with excess PO4 and etc.
Skimmer pulling outside air to keep PH up

It is not difficult at all to keep a healthy system suitable for fish and coral. All that is needed is a substantial understanding of the needs of the coral and fish you want to keep.

You can learn a lot through others mistakes on forums like these but there is no substitution for getting your feet wet and learning some the hard way.

Best advice I can give is to decide if you want to focus on fish or coral.If your focus is fish, research the fish you want and make sure they will work with each other and if they will work with the coral you want.

If your focus is on coral, decide which coral you want and build the system around those coral and then choose the fish that will have the least amount of negative impact on the coral.

Get an RO/DI filter for making water.....no excuse to not have one, especially for any system larger than nano.

Provide adequate water flow via closed loop or powerheads to at least keep "crap" suspended in the water column to be skimmed out.

Provide good lighting for the coral. Power compact lighting for SPS coral ain't gonna cut it. Don't go cheap when it comes to providing light(food) for photosynthetic coral.

Any monetary figure you might have for setting up a reef, double it and feel somewhat comfortable.

Read a book called The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and then read every sticky on this site, Reef Central, Reef Frontiers and numerous others.

Ya once you start up and get things stable it becomes MUCH easier, but starting it up and LEARNING is one hell of a ride with many ups and downs. If you really love animals, you won't regret it in due time.

I would have hated to have to take on this kind of venture without the benefit of the internet.

There are a ton of "build threads" and many span over 2 years or more and you can read exactly what the person had to deal with step by step.

Reading through build threads are some of the best real time experience you can benefit from when starting your own new system.

i jumped in knowing nothing and learned through sites like this!
i have learned so so much and still am! i enjoy every second!
be warned its very addictive!
i test my water once a week unless i think somethings up then test more.
good test kits is a must from the start.
research your salt some are better than others.
work out how much you think is enough flow and then double it!
buy the biggest and best you can afford skimmer and light wise.
ask lots of questions! research all fish never trust the lfs unless you know you can, they always out for a sale! i am sure there are good ones out there i found 1 good out of 6!
the waiting is the hardest for the cycle to end
good luck!