i have a 55 gallon tank that is empty i had freshwater fish but i want a reef tank but dont know were to start so im lookin for advise tips or anything on how to get started

1: You will need
-skimmer
-mechanical/chemical filter
-heater
-PH's for circulation
-260+ watts of lighting
- ~60 lbs. of LR
- ~55 lbs. of LS

first setup the epiupment. I assume u hav no overflow for a sump since it was FW, if so you need a HOB skimmer. The mechanical/chemical filter you used for FW should work fine. Your old heater should also work. Since it's a reef you also need a couple PHs for circulation and atleast 260 watts of lighting. If you want a softies and LPS system a fixture w/260 watts of 50/50 PCs will work nicely. If you want SPS and clams you'd need closer to 400 watts and in order to get that you'd need expensive MHs. Once everthing is set add ~55lbs LS and then the water. Use a salt that is special for reefs. (reef crystals) To save $$ add like 30-40lbs of base rock instead of LR after awhile you won't notice the difference. After you add the base rock add the LR. This will start your cycle. Test ammonia & nitrate every other day until they are both at 0. This may take from 2-6 weeks. You can now slowly add hardy corals, fish, and a cleanup crew.

just a word of advice get lots of live rock and dont buy a cheap crappy skimmer spend some cash and get a good one you wont regret it i use a coralife 65 super skimmer on my 56 gallon fowlr and love it easy to adjust and setup. And it is a HOT style and relatively inexpensive for a skimmer i paid 86 dollars at www.drsfosterandsmith.com.

one more thing to add to those already mentioned. have you ever use any medication to your tank and if so check to see if it's copper base. copper have a way of getting into the silicon and will leach back out later.

copper is deadly to invertebrates.