New to saltwater and need help with tank ect

Try this site, it is very helpful and can answer alot of your questions.
www.saltwater101.com Luna

 

Ill try to help...
Most protein skimmers don't come with a pump,although some do, it should say in the description. However the pump needed can be cheap, such as a maxi jet 1200. This may be confusing, but the maxi jet is also a powerhead. other such as Koralia's, a brand, are just powerheads and not pumps.
If you have a sump, you usually only need a pump to return the water from the sump to the main tank. The water gets to the sump by gravity/siphon.

As to general equipment..
-Tank
- some sort of mechanical filter, canister, hang on back, you can use a sump for this too. Although some people don't use any mechanical filter.
-protein skimmer, many different types. There is a distinction between ones that go in the sump and ones that hang on the back. If you don't use a sump, you will need one that hangs on the back.
-pump for skimmer if it doesn't come with one
-lighting fixture (large selection, T5, metal halide, pc)
-if you choose to use a sump, you will need another tank or you can buy a premade sump with different compartments for the skimmer, refugium etc.
-pump for the sump (if applicable, these pumps are much more powerful than a skimmer pump and are purely pumps, not power heads)
-power heads to move water (also can be pumps)
-heater
- thats all I can think of now, there of course are other things, but these are the basics

As a beginner some things are/can be optional. I don't use a sump, I just have a hang on back filter. I also have a hang on back protein skimmer. Many will recommend a sump but it is not required. I believe your confusion is resulting from the many options you can use. It really comes down to preference. Some people use a canister filter others a sump, some both. I use a hang on back filter. Many things do the same thing, only in different ways.

 

Thank you very much for your help. The only thing im wondering about now is the two holes that I see in the bottom of the tanks. Is that for a sump, or the canister? If so and I don't have a tank with holes can you just have that water go out and back in from the top?

I am assuming the when I do buy whatever I do buy its going to have a pretty good instruction manual that comes along with it right?

 

I don't run a sump so I'm not sure, someone else will have to answer that. If you do go with a canister filter you can just have the water go out the top and back in that way with no need of any holes, or as they are called bulkheads. You can still run a sump with out a predrilled tank. You will need a overflow box that sits inside the main tank and allows water to drain into it and flow down into the sump and just have the pump in the sump drain into the top of the tank.