Andy, thanks for the reply. I would recommend a 40 breeder over a 30 high. You want the biggeset "footprint" a larger sandbed area is better than a small one with additional heigth.
Assuming you plan on starting with the easy corals rather than small polyp stony or tridacnid clams youre best bet for affordable lighting is
www.ahsupply.com you can get a reasonable priced dual 96 watt power compact setup there. Personally I like the Icecap powered VHO but they are more $
A
prizm skimmer would probably work on a 40 but I think you would be better served with a remora or remora pro. In the begining stages more skimmer will be a blessing and you wont outgrow it right away if you decide on a bigger tank.
Other than that enough sand to have a 4" sand bed and a box of liverock(usually around 44#)
3 maxijet power heads and the wave strip that Aquarium Systems sells will take care of circulation nicely.
Other than that you need salt mix, I use Instant Ocean bought in 200g buckets, cheaper,esp on sale and you will go thru a lot of water cycling your new tank
Thats most of the major expense, you will want a good hydrometer, and basic test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, Phosphorus would be good also. You can get the calcium and Alkalinity tests later
So you got lighting, skimmer, rock and sand covered, plus incidentals
What about water, you really dont want to do straight tapwater and chemical dechlorinators arent enough. You really need to use water thats run thru a reverse osmosis and de ionizing setup to remove the impurities and excess minerals. At the very least get a couple Tap Water Purifier(tm) units and run them in tandem, you can always add a RO filter later when the wallet recovers.
Since water is the life support of your reef it makes no sense to use less than perfect water to start off with. It goes along way towards controlling all the nasty pest algaes, cyanobacteria and other stuff that drives reefers mad
