Thanks Tim.
Actually I must admit I don't own a marine tank anymore at the moment
Saving up for a new one, though. In the meantime, I have freshwater tanks with plants. And I try my best to keep my reef knowledge right up to date so when I do jump in again I'll know as much or more than the owner of the LFS (local fish store).
I'm really interested in this new system called Eco-Wheel that is driven by only a single large air pump, and uses an efficient and low-maintenance combination of "algae scrubbing" (using algae as filtration) and foam fractionation (protein skimming). It is very expensive at first look (too much for my wallet right now), but actually could save in the long run because it replaces wavemakers, skimmers, water pumps, complex plumbing, and other equipment you would normally have in a reef tank. It may also eliminate the need for a chiller because the air pump doesn't heat up the water due to friction like high-powered water pumps do. To me it seems like the ideal system, if it works as advertised.
Their web site is awful:
www.aquaticengineers.com -- but the people explained the system in detail to me through e-mail and sent better pictures. (They plan to improve their web site soon).
Hanging out in rec.aquarium.marine.reefs on Usenet is one of the best ways to learn. A lot of the folks there are experienced reefkeepers and are always discussing new things.
For beginning websites, hmm....I like this guy's site:
community-2.webtv.net/deflizard/doc/
And..
www.thereefweb.com
This place has a bunch of links:
www.reefkeepers.org/links/index.html
And these places are online stores:
www.marinedepot.com
www.ffexpress.com
www.petwarehouse.com (carries live marine animals now)
www.oceanrider.com (tank-raised seahorses)
www.harboraquatics.com
www.aquabid.com (the E-bay of the aquarium trade)
And finally, some cool 3D photos of marine life:
www.imagequest3d.com/page...marine.htm