New Guy from Silvis, IL

Hi everyone!
I am extremely new to the reefkeeping hobby, having only started to get into the research part. I have been keeping things in glass cages for as long as I can remember. Started out with keeping bullfrog tadpoles and have moved on to various types of freshwater fish through the years.
Until recently, I was always under the impression that a Saltwater tank was too difficult to maintain and therefore had stayed away from it. However that all changed when my wife got tired of seeing the empty aquarium and said she wanted a "Nemo" tank.
Since my wife rarely asks about getting any kind of fish, I jumped on it and have been doing almost non - stop research for about a month now. I am a very big believer in doing my homework before even putting any water in the tank. I have been reading back issues of Reefkeeper and Advanced Aquarist while looking at a ton of DIY sites and anything I can think of. I have been drooling over all the different types of coral, especially the Softies.
Right now, I have a 55 gallon glass aquarium, and thats about it. Money is a little tight as I got married this year and no OT available at work, but i can be patient and work on building it piece by piece. Meanwhile, I am planning like crazy.
Thanks for providing a local resource to the newbie reefkeepers.
Jeremy

 

Thanks for the exuberant welcome! I am without home internet access for now due to budgetary cutbacks (wedding, economy, etc) but my job allows me the ability to keep up on all things aquaria at work, as long as they dont catch me, /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/wink.gif

@ REEFer Madness - I will definitely take you up on that offer when the time comes. Ive shown the wife different coral pictures to get an idea of what she likes and she really liked Xenia!

@jtesdall - Through Reefkeeper forums. I lurked for about a week, just checking things out and really liked what I saw. So many times, you see local chapters of different interest clubs that are either extremely inclusive or just not very active. You all should be very proud of what you have here. I have been a part of a lot of special interest forums due to to fascination with all things living (see list below) and think you have something very special here.

0.0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 California Kingsnake
0.1.0 Gray Treefrog
1.0.0 Mini-Rex Rabbit
0.1.0 Smooth Coat Guinea Pig
3.1.0 Dwarf Homo Sapiens

Have had Rats, many types of fish, and was an accidental breeder of russian dwarf hamsters (trusted the pet store sexing of them..)