Hello Amberlynn and welcome to R2R. You are going to get a lot of info on your questions so I suggest researching what you want to keep first. Next figure out what all you MUST have to keep that. For saltwater you are going to need things you never thought about so RESEASRCH heavily.
As to tanks.. I think you are going to find that if you are going to keep fish only or go reef that you will be much happier with standardized sized to start. for Saltwater, the 37 or the 55 are what I would consider non-standard.
Standards would basically include 40B (As an aside there is a 30B and 50B with the same footprint available)and 75 for starter reefs and smaller fish. 90, 120 for moderate fish and a nice footprint for aqua-scaping reefs. Tangs, Angels, and some of the other larger algae grazers, Triggers etc, 120 plus... Keep in mind these animals grow and get stressed in smaller systems if you are not prepared for their needs. I am not an advocate of the trade em in or sell em when they get too big.. to me its like selling your dog when it gets past the puppy stage.
Most of all, be sure you know what you are getting into and at the start in particular, Know about what your inhabitants are going to need and understand compatibility. You can do almost anything but you need to understand the limitations of each choice.
As to tanks.. I think you are going to find that if you are going to keep fish only or go reef that you will be much happier with standardized sized to start. for Saltwater, the 37 or the 55 are what I would consider non-standard.
Standards would basically include 40B (As an aside there is a 30B and 50B with the same footprint available)and 75 for starter reefs and smaller fish. 90, 120 for moderate fish and a nice footprint for aqua-scaping reefs. Tangs, Angels, and some of the other larger algae grazers, Triggers etc, 120 plus... Keep in mind these animals grow and get stressed in smaller systems if you are not prepared for their needs. I am not an advocate of the trade em in or sell em when they get too big.. to me its like selling your dog when it gets past the puppy stage.
Most of all, be sure you know what you are getting into and at the start in particular, Know about what your inhabitants are going to need and understand compatibility. You can do almost anything but you need to understand the limitations of each choice.