1st reef tank

Question
Hi I have a 30 halon acrylic flat back hex I'm wanting to do a reef tank in. The only thing as far as equipment I needis lighting and a protien skimmer. What would be the best lighting for the money for a 36" tank? I'm planning on keeping easy corals and a sml bubble tip anemone! Also what protien skimmer? I'm very confused on the whole t5 ho vho thing, so any help would be great! How many fish can be housed I'm guessing 2-3 at most?

Answer
a 30 gallon tank is a fantastic beginner tank size, for that tank i would suggest either t5 or pc lighting. power compact lighting is normally considered outdated but for a cheap fixture that will grow easy corals they are fairly economical. t5 is also a good choice as they are more powerful and look better, but also cost a bit more.
as for the anemone they need very established tanks, this means even after your tank is fully cycled i would reccomend waiting 8-12 months before adding one. so dont plan the tank around the anemone, because when that time comes around you may end up not wanting on in the first place they can often times wreak havoc on a peaceful reef tank with all their roaming around.

as for fish you could do one larger fish, such as a dwarf angel, and then add another 2-3 smaller fish. or you could just have 5-6 smaller fish in the tank. its really a matter of opinion.

i dont know much about protein skimmers as i do not run them on any of my tanks, as i do not find they entirely necessary but they sure do benefit the tank so i would suggest researching that a bit.

hope that helps a bit

Marcus.