Reddit reviews The Reef Aquarium: A Comprehensive Guide to the Identification and Care of Tropical Marine Invertebrates (Volume 1)

Buy this book and thoroughly read all the parts about setting up a reef aquarium:

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium-Comprehensive-Identification-Invertebrates/dp/1883693128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1427291956&sr=1-1

It's a bit dated, but it's an awesome book. The only advice I'd add is that you should absolutely not skimp on your protein skimmer, lights, and chiller.

I would start with corals that are very easy to keep. So no hard corals.

It's hard to give advice about fish. I would only buy fish that are 100% reef safe. Flame angels, for example, are not. I would never buy any damsels, except for Chromis, maybe, because they're mean as hell. Any time you make a mistake and have to remove a fish (because, for example, it's bullying its tank mates or nipping at corals), you have to remove most of the rock from your aquarium, which is a major pain. I've always had good luck with tangs, grammas, mandarins, and rabbitfish. Anthias are nice, too, but they have very short lifespans.

Thiel is great, but for some reason I prefer Sprung. Julian Sprung does not necessarily target the newer Nano movement, but the core principles are always going to be the same.

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium-Comprehensive-Identification-Invertebrates/dp/1883693128/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1373246876&sr=1-1&keywords=the+reef+aquarium

http://www.amazon.com/Reef-Aquarium-Comprehensive-Identification-Invertebrates/dp/1883693128