Hi Murph,
Welcome to the hobby and hopefully the club!
I guess there is a few ways I can approach your questions. some extra info about your system is probably needed though for me to give really good recommendations. but here are some thoughts:
1- I tend to agree with your comments about LFS prices. not only are many stores prices higher than I want to pay, but many stores also have reef caught/poorly cared for stock. not that I never buy, but I REALLY prefer trading or buying frags from other reefers. The prices are better and I dont have any guilt of knowing that I may be contributing to reef depletion. take some time to look at the local club forums on reef central. people are always selling something or even giving it away(like Xenia or cheto..)
as far as stores or places I do shop... exotic aquatics outside of Baltimore has fair prices from what I have seen and great stock. I also shop very frequently at That pet place outside of Lancaster. they cannot be beat on dry goods prices. be careful with your fish purchases there though as many members have had ick problems with their stock(myself included).. as far as online goes, many people report great experience with Doctors fosters and smith. another option is pacific east (dr macs)- he is online as well as a semi LFS in modena(sp?) MD. its about 3hrs away, but worth the drive every now and then or if you get down that way...
2- probably more important than where to get good stock is making sure your have the proper equipment to care for it when you get it.
If you are coming directly from fresh, then there are a LOT of changes that need to be made and investments in equipment you should consider upfront. unfortunately, this is an expensive hobby. there really isn't any other way of saying it. making these buys upfront after carefully researching them will be better in the end. you will be more successful with the hobby and in the end you will actually save yourself alot of time and money by dong it right the first time.
I was there once myself and choked on the prices, but in the end, if you want to be successful, you will need quality lights, water, flow, and filtration.
for lights you will at minimum need VHOs. you can set up a 55 with VHOs for about $100. this will get you started.
for water. do yourself a major favor and get a RODI unit from the start. dont even bother with buying corals if you are using tap water. you can drink the RO, which tastes way better than crappy DE water, and use RODI for your tank. you can get one from ebay (search maximus RODI unit) for about $100 as well...
alrighty, enough writing for now, check out this link if you haven't already and let us know what you think:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=912378&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
Cheers,
Eric
