STARTUP IN A NUTSHELL: quickest method.

THE VERY VERY VERY ULTIMATELY SHORT WAY TO SET UP
Buy a tank suitable for what you want to keep. These aren't guppies. And corals do grow, pretty fast. Smaller than 50 gallons is much harder than larger than 50 gallons. A sump is next to essential for a reef and a good idea for any tank. Buy a quarantine tank. A pump. Lights (research here). A skimmer. Heater. ATO (autotopoff.) A reef-ready or 'drilled' tank is ready-to-use. Non-drilled means you drill the glass. Lids and canopies are a liability with a reef and often have to be removed: try to get by without. Thick glass is good. Thin is scary.
Other usefuls: a refractometer; a ro/di filter. A tds meter. Never mind a ph test: when you get to needing that, use an alkaliity test. Live rock, dry holey limestone or manmade rock, total of 1 lb per gallon. Aragonite sand: (MUST wash this!) 1 lb per gallon. Avoid or discard: bioballs, filters (except for qt tank; ok for fish-only, not ideal for a reef because corals are filters); any metal touching salt water.
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Rocks go on glass, or on eggcrate lighting grid (keeps them from rolling)---
sand goes down. Not live sand. Medium grade Aragonite is my rec.
Live rock gets piled atop the dry rock you put down. Limestone---not volcanic [volcanic contains metals.]
Add RO/DI based salt water. This saves you from SOME phosphate load, which otherwise will bring you to the point of sobbing desperation...as algae takes your tank in sheets and waves.
Start your lights, on timer, your pump, and your ATO (autotopoff)with ro/di water in a bucket. Never mind the skimmer yet. 2 ATOs is a good thing---one is for your quarantine (qt) tank.
Just let 'er run, about 80 degrees F day and night, close as you can. Salinity 1.024-1.026. Your ATO will hold this steady.
If you despair of your cycle starting and WANT to throw something nasty in, add enough marine red-colored fishfood to feed three IMAGINARY guppies, once daily. After a week, start testing every few days.
Expect 4 weeks to cycle if you used almost all live rock. 12 weeks if you used mostly dry and 10% live.
Keep feeding the imaginary guppies. Even after the ammonia spike, keep feeding the guppies. When you've fed those guppies for 5 days after your spike, and you can get no more ammonia, add snails (ceriths are the best, and strombus grazers if you can get 2-3) and a few scarlet hermits. If your tank isn't growing algae by now, I'm surprised.
While your snails work, buy ONE or two fish. Keep them in a jumpproof quarantine tank with NO sand, no rock (haven for ich parasite) and a simple, often changed filter. Buy a bottle of Amquel and have it on hand, just inc case.
If ich shows up, treat it and use that ATO. If it doesn't show up, still wait til the 4th week, and then, being sure your salinity matches, add your fish to their new home. Turn your skimmer on.
Expect these fish to live at least 10 years and grow to full size. (with, say, a hippo tang, this is pushing a foot long: there's a reason for that name)
If not, find out why-not before you buy any new fish.
Do your water changes, buy a test for alkalinity, and some buffer, test for calcium and magnesium (alk won't stabilize if either of those two are off) and either add corals or not as you please---supposing you have the right light for them.)

There!! Never say I never gave you anything. Skip the potions. ALL potions. Coralline will happen if you keep your magnesium up and have one tiny rock that has any on it to start with. EVERYTHING is water quality. Now go read the OTHER stickies. And post your questions about what I've just told you.