thinking of starting a SW tank!!!

bigger tank=easier to manage= bad things happen at a reduced speed.

but

bigger tank=alot more$$$$$$ to get goin

read the post in DIY under perfect tank size. people give alot of good start up advice there.

generally for beginners, the bigger the tank, the better. it really depends on what you can afford. if you're really interested in reefs then it might make more sense to get a large tank now(75 gallon to 120 gallon), becuase if you get a smaller tank, eventually you will want more fish (like tangs) that require larger tanks.

well there are 3 main types of SW aquariums - FO(Fish only) which is (usually) just dead corals and fish. FOWLR(Fish only with live rock) which is Fish with Live Rock(not sure if you know what live rock is, but fyi, it's the rock you see in reefs, that has corralline algae, corals, anemones, etc. on it) fowlr usually have some inverts, such as shrimp, crabs, and other things that come on the live rock. and then there is Reef tank which is primarily focused on having (mainly) reef inverts. and reef safe fish.

My suggestion - start with a FOWLR - you can have fish and a few inverts and you can upgrade to a reef later(which are difficult for a beginner) then, you will already have the live rock and you can add corals, anemones, and upgrade your lighting to expensive metal halides (which are a must for reef tanks)

you said you wanted a tang - they require at least 6 feet of swimming room - so that means your tank has to be 72 inches long which means it will be at least 125gallon tank. i would wait till you get experienced with some of the more hardier fish first.

since you said you wanted to keep clowns, here is a list of species you could keep in say, a 40 gallon tank:

1 pair of Ocellaris Clownfish (Nemo) (Amphiprion ocellaris)
2 Pajama Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)
2 Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica)
1 Black ray shrimp goby (Stonogobiops nematodes)
1 Tiger Pistol Shrimp (alpeus bellulus)

in that combination the goby and the shrimp form a symbiotic relationship which is a pretty neat thing. you could also have bangaii cardinals instead of pajamas or percula clowns instead of ocellaris and also have neon gobies instead of firefish.

i would strongly recommend buying the following books to read and have as reference:

Marine Fishes by Scott W. Michael - this book is like a encyclopedia to saltwater aquarium fish. it tells how big of a tank to keep them in, what they eat, what kind of ph, salinity, etc. they require, and it shows beautiful photos.

The new marine aquarium by michael s. paletta - this book tells how to set up a sw tank and lists all the equipment required as well as tell how to maintain the tank.

The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Fenner - this is a great all around book that lists pretty much everything

also just read up on the forums and ask plenty of questions.

welcome to the salty side!