pm3009 wrote:
Hello. I've always wanted a salt water tank, and just started
research on how to properly set up the tank, live rocks, etc. Very
overwhelmed with what's involved, and also the initial startup cost.
I figured about $1k, but never thought it would be more like $2k or
more without even adding the fish.

I'd recommend watching ebay or craig's list and see if you can find a
tank that somebody wants to unload. That's the cheapest way in although
you'll probably find something that hasn't been well taken care of.
That's alright, but it does take a little work to get things going again.

--Kurt