New Here!

Hello everyone! I heard about GIRS when I went down to Iowa City and met Bronson for the first time on Tuesday. He wasn't open yet but he was nice enough to let me in anyway and have a look around and chat with me for a while.
I am very, very new at this. I am in the process of starting up a couple tanks. One freshwater, one saltwater. They are both 50 gallon tanks. I have the freshwater one up and running and have begun cycling it. The saltwater tank.....I need to find a skimmer and sump for yet. So, I'm still burning money on that one
My folks live right on the Atlantic Ocean in Florida and every summer we spend our vacations down there either visiting various aquatic centers, jet skiing with dolphins, going to the beaches and seeing manatees, or hopping on a boat and hoping to bring in a shark (yes, we do eat it actually!). For us, to keep aquariums is to have a little part of our home away from home. The Floridians that I have come to know are great respectors of the marine ecosystem and I hope to show my kids the science behind establishing and maintaining that ecosystem in our tanks.
Hopefully I won't end up being really horrible at it and scarring my kids for life! Nice to meet you all