Hi Chris, welcome to the nuttiest chapter on Canreef... myself included, I guess.
I'm sure you'll what you're looking for here.
Regarding the current debate, I have yet to buy into the RO/DI camp (BUY INTO being the operative phrase). Not only is it expensive for the filtering unit, but David Suzuki will have us all flogged in the village square for wasting 4 gallons of precious fresh water for every 1 that we produce for our extravagant and environmentally disastrous hobby.
If there is a way to limit our "footprint" on nature, we should look into it. If we can save some money, so much the better, but good luck. There are many successful reef tanks run on many different methods. We all adapt one that fits our own requirements and consciences.
I've taken a slower route into this hobby, partly because of my own early challenges with a larger system (tank, sump, etc) and partly due to the litany of disaster-posts that I read from many enthusiastic reef keepers who learned largely by trial and error. For example:
http://www.canreef.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2510
My advice would be to visit as many people as will have you, and see which tanks and setups seem to fit what you want to do for yourself. I wish I had done more of that, instead of deciding then jumping...
It is often a very different thing, what you think you might want versus what you really have the patience and money and time for...