Thanks guys! Hey GeejEx, 6th ave aquarium's livestock is also moderate. It's a lot better than Aquatraders though. I've heard they use a lot of medications like copper in their fish tanks to get rid of ich and other diseases. You should check out Tropical Reef here in the sunset area, it's between 28th and 27th and Taraval. Their livestock is much better, their pricing is pretty steep, but their quality is awesome. Thanks Godbert and omard, I will definitely take things slow. Patience is the key in reef keeping. Hey Luna what's your review about their lighting? I was thinking about getting the 36" MH system, but I've been hearing a lot of mixed reviews about it.
*Edit, heres my stand for my 40 gallon. I just stained it yesterday, it's about 95% done, I just need to add wood on the bottom to prevent the legs from separating.
I ran out of stain, so I decided not to stain the back of the stand as much. I wanted to go for a simply and clean look yet cheap. This stand was in my backyard that use to hold up my brothers 100 gallon arowana tank, but he found another stand.
Plans so far are to DIY a overflow with PVC pipes and a DIY sump/fuge with a 50g rubbermaid tube. Found the ideas here too! This is such a great site!