Whether your goal is a nano reef tank or a 150 gallon aquarium with an ecosystem of coral and saltwater fish, following five steps will lead you on your way to success.

1) Commit! Decide you are going to spend $$ it takes to make a proper go of it. At a minimum, most tanks, (from 10 gal to 55 gal) take between $250 and $500 to get going. Can you do it cheaper? Yes, but usually not your first one. You have to know what you are doing and understand how things can and will go wrong before you can choose less expensive husbandry options and/or equipment. Save up if you have to, but count on that first tank being expensive.

Realize that this is not a short term commitment. And as much fun as it is to collect coolest coral fragments out there and show them off to your friends, there WILL come a time when you are hauling all of those same 'frags' out of tank and into temporary storage when your six year old cracks side of display tank with a pool ball or some other calamity occurs.

To survive means to stay warm and dry, hydrated, uninjured, and to find your way out of survival situation. Eating is nice too, but not crucial if situation is for a few days. Below are some more or less random survival tips, just to get you interested.

Wilderness Survival Tips

1. Warmth: Sleep with your head slightly downhill to stay warmer. This may take some getting used to, but it works.

2. Food: In North America, there is no berry that looks like a blueberry, strawberry, or rasberry, that can hurt you from one taste. Just spit it out if it doesn't taste right. If it looks and tastes like a blueberry - it is.

3. Fire starter: If you put dried moss or milkweed fuzz in your pocket as you walk, you'll have dry tinder to start a fire, just in case it's raining later. Experiment with different materials.