That really depends on the corals you'll be trying to keep. I'd suggest all softies. You won't need a skimmer or a 'fuge. In my opinion, simplicity is a beautiful thing when it comes to picos. Use a hang-on or submersible filter, add a decent light and you're ready to go. You could use a heater if you want but if you're just doing softies, it shouldn't matter. Just keep it away from sunlight, windows, and vents.

Picos are cheap, but the cost depends on what tank and equipment you choose. My old picos were no more than $50.

thanks for everything. what kind of light as in watts and everything?

A peco could be a way to get a tank up and running cheaply.

Excess heat is more likely to be a problem with a peco so you usually don't need a heater.

Softies are a great recommendation because they are less sensitive to change which is hard to avoid in a peco.

what kind of stuff can i have in a pico. I'm thinking of 1 seahorse and 1 clown and some assorted softies. would this work?

No, the amount of food you'd have to feed a seahorse would quickly overwhelm anything under 20 gallons.

look at this for a second please http://www.melevsreef.com/pico.html he has a seahorse a cleaner shrimp and a clown goby. and it's all in a 2g not a 5g.

I guess my question to you is "how confident are you with your experience?"

i'm confident enough to start with one fish at the beggining and will progress to the seahorse would be my anwser. lol

any ideas?

:) Just as long as you're comfortable operating on a razor thin line, I don't see too much issue with that. Just keep in mind that neither the clown nor the seahorse can be considered long term residents for anything between 2-5 gallons.