I have a small 20g aquarium that I converted last year from a freshwater discus tank but it's already 10g over landlord max. As I was going to go for seahorses, a staff member at J&L recommended I use Real Reef Rock (
http://realreefrock.com/) which I'm glad I did. No bad stuff from the start and eco-responsible. If there's something I regret, it's not taking the plunge and going for a good LED from the start. Recently I was able to get a 120w LED with great spread, good feedback, etc on eBay for around $200. Here's the review:
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=109013 and everything has been growing like mad. I use the Instant Ocean Reef Crystals and suggest you might start with something like that from the beginning. In restrospect, I should have invested in a good new plastic gas tank for mixing salt water that allows for easy pouring into the tank and an air knob so there's less spillage/splash. I got a large skimmer early-on but didn't do much but produce micro-bubbles until recently. Now I see why it's important. Members of Canreef have been helpful, have mentioned great "tips & tricks" and I got some great starter coral in the Buy/Sell/Trade section.