Ah, a new mind fresh for shaping!
A couple of tips to keep in mind, as salt is a bit different than fresh water.
* "Aquarium Salt" won't work, it's only sodium chloride, and sea salt is much, much, much more complex than that. For fish only tanks, I'd go with Instant Ocean, it's priced nicely and is a very, very good and proven product.
*A skimmer is a fantastic tool, it removes stuff that nothing else removes. I personally have only used homemade models that sit in a sump, so for a 10+ gallon tank mine are drastic overkill. A skimmer for a small tank is certainly a good idea, but I'll leave it to those who know the brands well to recommend what to get. But you can do a tank without a skimmer. Just keep levels low, use good grade activated carbon, and I use Hypersorb as well, seems to do well at simulating skimming (only in removal of crud, not in aeration)
*Small 10gallon tanks are not necessarily easy. I started with a 15, and then added a 20gallon sump/fuge just for fun, it stabilizes everything. I'd recommend you start with something in the 15-30 gallon range. Focus on surface area, not tank height. A 10 is possible, but the extra water in a 15 makes a difference (it's 50% bigger than a 10, do the math!)
*Chemicals you need: Dechlorinator (AmQuel Plus is my favorite by a long shot), Instant Ocean or similar, and buffer (baking soda will do fine, 1/2 tsp per 10 gallons added slowly will raise dKH 2-4 points). Other chemicals are either for specialized stuff, or snake oil that nobody needs. Most actually fall somewhere in between.
*Live rock and good water flow from a big hang-on-back filter will make life a lot easier. LR will populate the tank with the needed bacteria and other infauna, and the hang-on-back filter (shoot for 20-40X turnover, meaning 200 to 400 gallons per hour in a 10) will keep things healthier. I have nearly 800 gph moving in my 15g nano reef between the hang-on and the powerheads.
*Light--- this is easy, WalMart sells a screw-in compact flourescent that is 6500K (a sunlight/daylight type) that is 20 watts, use a normal old incandescent light fixture. Two over a ten will give tons of light.
*Stock lightly. One damsel or similar fish in a 10 is all you'll want to try until you get the hang of it. Maybe, just maybe, a fish or two more if they are small types.
