HELP?! Sorting out the Facts?

[wdragon4l]

Hello everyone, I am pretty new to the Salt water scene and have bought the books and talked to my local Fish store and now would like some help sorting out all the things that I have been told.

I have a 75 gal tank right now and am trying to figure out what I need for a system. I want to do live rock and eventually get some corals (Next year).

The fish I am looking at are: Gobies, Mandarins, Dartfish, and cleaners (crabs, snails, ect).

My local fish store is trying to sell me everything, Mechanical Filter, Wet/dry filter, Protein skimmer, UV light, the whole 9 yards. However I was also told if I have Live rock that I would not need a Wet/dry filter because that would produce to much Nitrate.

So what I would like to know is what I REALLY need to get this tank up and running, system wise. Any help will greatly be appreciated.

 

[mogurnda]

Here's what I think you need to spend your money on for a successful reef tank:
-top quality skimmer
-live rock
-lighting (can be discussed when we know what corals you want)
-circulation pumps, preferably with wavemaker(s)
-refugium, with associated lights

A sump is really nice, too. And I like deep sandbeds, but I wouldn't call them essential.

As I said on another thread earlier today, all the other stuff is just clutter as far as I'm concerned. In my mind, mechanical filtration just traps debris where it can break down and feed algae. If you quarantine and keep high water quality, pathogens are a non-issue, so a UV is just more plumbing and expense, and will kill off plankton.

Keep in mind that anything anyone tells you is mostly opinion. There are lots of ways to make a tank work.